Randy Moss 'returns to football' with Charlotte Independence -- or does he?

Randy Moss made a dramatic return to football on Friday, "signing" a contract with the Charlotte Independence of the United Soccer League.

The 40-year-old former NFL star, now an analyst for ESPN, was featured in a video and news release the second-tier club put out announcing their newest player.

He put on his famous No. 84 jersey along with a pair of goalkeeper gloves, and mugged: "You see the name on the back. It's real. It's official."

But as much fun as it would be to believe, sadly it's neither real nor official, but simply an early April Fools' Day joke, the club confirmed.

The biggest clue? The sentences of the news release all start with the letters A-P-R-I-L-F-O-O-L-S.