Former NFL quarterback Vince Young's life was supposed to be golden. He was the man at the University of Texas who led the Longhorns to a national championship with a game-winning nine-yard TD run on fourth down.
He was a first-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2006, and he reportedly signed a five-year deal with $25.7 million guaranteed. In 2011 He signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles that was worth up to reportedly $5 million.
Last week he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Young has filed for bankruptcy protection only a few years removed from being on a NFL roster.
According to Brian Kilmer, the quarterback’s attorney, his estimated assets are between $500,001 and $1 million, but his liabilities range between $1,001,000 and $10 million, the Houston Chronicle reports.
During the 2011 lockout, Young allegedly obtained a $1.8 million loan from a New York Company called Pro Player Funding.
Young sued his former financial adviser (Ronnie Peoples of Raleigh, N.C.) and former agent (Major Adams II of Houston), alleging that they "defrauded him and conspired with Pro Player Funding to obtain the loan and that Young himself never received the money in question," the Houston Chronicle reports.
A judgment against Young was granted to recoup that money, which has now ballooned to $2.5 million with interest, according to the Houston Chronicle.
A settlement was reached with Peoples, but that agreement has not been finalized.
"If you wanted to write a manual about how to go into bankruptcy, Vince's story would be it," said Ed Butowsky, a Dallas financial adviser who contributed to an ESPN Films documentary about the money woes of pro athletes. "It's a classic example of all the things that can go wrong."
"(Young) invested in private, illiquid investments, and he overspent," Ed Butowsky, a Dallas financial adviser who worked on the ESPN documentary Broke told the Houston Chronicle. "He's ultimately responsible for all his decisions, but the people around him should have taken better care of him … You should never equate trust with capability. My wife trusts me, but she's not going to let me do her dental work."
Read more at the Houston Chronicle.