These NFL players earned millions - then they lost it all
NFL stars are making mega millions, but many of them are at risk of going bankrupt once their playing careers come to an end and the money stops coming.
There is nothing better than a rags to riches story. We have seen thousands of those cases in the NFL over the years, but unfortunately we have seen a lot of players go from the fame and fortune to losing it all soon after hanging it up.
It’s an all too common occurrence in the NFL. Athletes chase their dreams for so long and put in so much work in the gym and on the practice field that when they finally make it to the big time and the big pay checks come flowing in, they reward themselves with luxury cars and mansions. What they don’t realize is that football careers don’t last forever, and in such a dangerous sport, those already short careers can come to an end in the blink of an eye. According to a Sports Illustrated report, 78% of NFL players face financial distress or bankruptcy within the first two years of retirement. These are some of the most famous riches to rags story.
Warren Sapp
He was one of the dominant forces in the NFL. Playing on the defensive line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Warren Sapp talked a big game and backed it up. He played in the league for 12 years, racking up $82 million dollars over the course of his career. It didn’t take long for him to lose it all. Five years after he retired, he had to file for bankruptcy. There was a real estate deal that went belly up, and the more than $70,000 he was having to pay in child support each month didn’t help either. At one time he was almost $7 million in debt, despite working for the NFL Network as an analyst.
Vince Young
The Texas Longhorns quarterback was on the of the greatest college football players to ever play the game. He was electric, he was explosive and he was exciting. That’s why the Tennessee Titans took him in the top three of the 2006 NFL Draft, singing him to a five year deal worth $25.7 million. Young fell victim to his own generosity, and people around him taking advantage of the big bucks the gunslinger was earning. Young retired in 2011 and declared bankruptcy in 2014 after making a total of $35 million over the course of his career.
Former NFL Quarterback Vince Young earned $35M playing in the NFL but filed for bankruptcy after retiring due to bad spending habits. Young said he use to spend $5K/Month at the Cheesecake Factory and he use to buy all the tickets on his southwest commercial flights because he… pic.twitter.com/QL7fCeaRln
— Black Millionaires ® (@Blackmillions_) March 13, 2023
OJ Simpson
We all know about OJ´s legal issues, and with his legal issues came a massive payouts to lawyers and lawsuits that ended in multimillion dollar payouts. Simpson was one of the top running backs in the NFL, and was one of the first players to make the jump to the big screen, featuring in hit movies. That fortune from his multifaceted career came crashing down in 1994, long after he retired in 1979. He was never charged in the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her Ron Goldman, but he was made to pay $33.5 million after he was taken to civil court by family of the victims. Those weren’t the end of his legal troubles. He spent time in jail, for robbing a piece of his own memorabilia, and continued to struggle with debt until he passed away in 2024.
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