Steve Young, the NFL needs you back.
Not so much on the Gridiron per se, though your legacy as a quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers will long be revered in the annals of football history, but as the voice of financial reason for dozens of players who can’t seem to manage their millions.
Indeed, Young, who earned his law degree
Marlin Briscoe
His trailblazing career and subsequent fall from grace is nothing short of legend in pro football history – not to mention the subject of a feature film due out early next year.
Drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1968, Marlin “The Magician†Briscoe broke the color barrier halfway through his rookie season, becoming the first African-American starting quarterback in NFL history.
Raghib ‘Rocket’ Ismail
You’ve got to hand it to him. The Rocket doesn’t give up. Though he earned an estimated $18 million during his 10-year NFL career, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys, he lost most of it in a series of bad investment picks that began in 1991.
They included a theme restaurant called Rock N’ Roll Café, the production of an inspirational religious movie, the music label COZ Records
Johnny Unitas
His superstar career with the Baltimore Colts during the 1950s is widely credited with turning televised football into a national pastime – to this day his record of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass is considered by most to be unbreakable.
Michael Vick
No financial fumble list would be complete without a mention of NFL bad boy Michael Vick.
After being sentenced in 2007 to 23 months in jail for his involvement in an illegal dogfighting ring, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback forfeited his record $130 million contract, along with an estimated $7 million a year in endorsement deals from Nike and Coca-Cola and everyone else.
Deuce McAllister
As the New Orleans Saints all-time leading rusher, Dulymus “Deuce†McAllister raked in an estimated $70 million during his NFL career.
Apparently, it wasn’t enough. Debt related to his failed Nissan car dealership in Jackson, Miss., including personal guarantees on loans for which he defaulted, forced the famous running back into Ch. 11 bankruptcy in 2010 – the same year he retired.
Mark Brunell
It was the real estate recession that put the former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback on the financial injury list. The three-time Pro Bowler, who raked in more than $50 million during his decade-long career and took home a Super Bowl ring in the 2009-2010 season with the New Orleans Saints, filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy in June 2010.
Travis Henry
It was his penchant for producing offspring that cost Travel Henry his fortune – that and a little cocaine trafficking incident. Having fathered 11 children by 10 different mothers (one had twins), the former running back for the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos has indicated in various court filings that his child support payments of roughly $180,000 per year have left him penniless.
Dermontti Dawson
The real estate recession hit Dermontti Dawson like, well, a linebacker. The one-time highest paid offensive lineman in Pittsburgh Steelers history, earning $4.2 million per year at the peak of his 13-year career, filed for Ch. 7 bankruptcy last year citing $69 million in debt.
Dawson’s money troubles primarily stem from his personal guaranty on a number of failed real estate ventures including shopping
Lawrence Taylor
It was a career marked by controversy for former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, starting in 1988 when the NFL suspended him for failing a second drug test. The real trouble began, however, both personal and financial, after his retirement in 1994. He was arrested in two states on drug charges in 1996 and filed for bankruptcy in 1998 to keep creditors from taking his house.
