NFL Players Going Bankrupt
Whether it is the result of bad investments, poor financial counsel, divorce and support payments, or excessive spending, many top NFL players have filed for bankruptcy protection. According to Sports Illustrated, 78 percent of NFL players file for bankruptcy or are under financial stress approximately two years after retiring from professional football. With the 2013 NFL season officially upon us and Sunday Night Football starting last week with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the New York Giants, we thought it might be an appropriate time to research a few NFL players that filed in recent years.
After pleading guilty to felony dog fighting charges in August 2007, former Atlanta Falcon, Michael Vick, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2008 while incarcerated. He listed approximately $16 million in assets and $20.4 million in liabilities. It is estimated during his career in the NFL Vick has earned over $130 million. Vick’s bankruptcy case is expected to close in the coming months with an unusual outcome of full repayment to all creditors listed in his petition. In regards to the full repayment of his creditors, Vick was quoted in an article with the Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk saying, “I had obligations and responsibilities that I had to take care of. Through the success I’ve had over the last four years, I could take care of those issues.”
During his thirteen years in the NFL, it is estimated Warren Sapp earned well over $60 million. In March 2012 he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief listing $6.45 million in assets and $6.7 million in liabilities. The petition also listed a monthly income of $115,881. One interesting asset listed in his bankruptcy filing was a $6,500 Michael Jordan shoe collection. Not listed among his assets were his 2002 Super Bowl ring won with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 1991 National Championship ring he won while playing with the University of Miami. Sapp claims that both rings were lost. His bankruptcy case is still pending in the state of Florida.
After eight seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints and earning an estimated $70 million, Dulymus Jenod “Deuce” McAllister was in financial distress. In March 2009 his business, Deuce McAllister Nissan of Jackson, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy listing $6.8 million in assets and $3.3 million in liabilities. Nissan North America Corp. was the largest creditor listed. McAllister was confident the dealership would successfully reorganize, but the case converted to Chapter 7 in June 2009 upon motion of the United States Trustee. This case is ongoing in the state of Alabama.
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For more than 20 years, the Sasser Law Firm has been helping individuals and business owners sort through financial hardships to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our North Carolina bankruptcy attorneys are all board-certified specialists, which means we have passed a complex exam, undergone a thorough peer review, and continue to earn legal education credits in this ever-evolving area of law.
