The average salary for an NFL player who has only played for one year is $510,000 a year. For the NHL player who only has one year under his belt it’s $525,000 and for the NBA, it’s $845,059. But when they think they’re bigger than life, start meddling with drugs or give their money to the wrong people. Some of these athletes were veterans in the sport and were paid millions and still find a way to flush all their hard earned cash down the drain.
Here are some of the top professional athletes who went from mountains of cash to completely penniless.
Bill Buckner
Estimated earnings: $10 Million
Winner of the 1980 National League batting title and best known for helping the Boston Red Sox lose the 1986 World Series, the former baseball player saw an economic low in 2008 when he declared bankruptcy after his car dealership failed.
Lawrence ‘LT’ Taylor
Estimated earnings: $50 Million.
Bad spending habits, drug addiction and poor lifestyle choices, including forcing himself on a minor; forced this Football Hall of Fame member, who was once worth more than $50 million, into bankruptcy in 2009 to avoid foreclosure on his home.
Vince Young
Estimated earnings: $30.7 million.
Young was a first-round pick by Tennessee back in 2006 and signed a five-year contract with $25.7 million guaranteed. He then signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles for $5 million in 2011. But somehow he managed to spend it all, and then some.
The Former NFL quarterback filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, 2014. He only had about 1,500,001 in assets but his liabilities went over $10 million. He even had a $1.8 million loan which accrued to over $2.5 million in interest.
Latrell Sprewell
Estimated earnings: $50 million.
The 13-year NBA star played for the Timberwolves. When he turned down a contract extension of $21 million from his team, he went into financial ruin. The Federal government repossessed his yacht, and he still owed $1.3 million.
In 2008, he defaulted on his $1.5 million mortgages and lost his home, couldn’t pay his motorsports bills and defaulted on another home loan with another $10 million.
Lenny Dykstra
Estimated earnings: $22 million.
Dykstra was a former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies player. On July 7, 2009 he filed for bankruptcy. In 2012, he was accused of removing, destroying and selling property part of his bankruptcy estate.
He was sentenced to six and a half months in federal custody following bankruptcy fraud, concealment of assets and money laundering according to the U.S. Attorney spokesman, Thom Mrozek. He was already serving a three-year state prison sentence for a grand theft auto case and pleading no contest.
Evander Holyfield
Estimated earnings: $250 million
The man whose ear got bitten off by Mike Tyson has much more to worry about these days than missing part of his ear. The four-time Heavyweight champion once had a deal with Diet Coke and was worth over $200 million.
His 11 children are what caused him to lose his money. He was taken to court for being behind in child support payments worth over $9,000. The banks foreclosed on his $10 million home, and a landscaping company claimed he owed them $500,000 for their services.
Dennis Rodman
Estimated earnings: $26,965,000.
The Former NBA star started out making $160,000 on the Detroit Pistons and at the height of his career was being paid $9 million with the Chicago Bulls. He finally dropped out of the league in 2000. He tried to make a comeback in 2005 but finally retired in 2006.
In 2012, he was found in contempt of court and was forced to pay $500,000 in back child support. The Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Barry Michaelson even threatened him with jail time if he didn’t pay for it. His lawyers claimed that he was “extremely sick” and “broke” which was preventing him from paying for his children. “Respondent Dennis Rodman is broke and cannot afford any additional fees,” was what was officially written on the documents filed on his behalf by his attorney Linnea Willis.
But this wasn’t his first time getting in trouble with his baby’s momma. He was found guilty of four counts of contempt for not paying child support in 2009 and 2010 as well.
Scottie Pippen
Estimated earnings: $120 million.
With six NBA Championships as the Chicago Bulls forward, Scottie Pippen played alongside Michael Jordan. He had earned $110 million in salary alone during his 17-year career.
He tried to sue his former law firm for losing $27 million of his hard-earned cash on poor investments. He was also hit by the Missouri Court of Appeals who upheld a ruling that Pippen owed U.S. Bank over $5 million in principal, interest fees, and attorney fees from a dispute over a Grumman Gulfstream II corporate jet he purchased in 2001.
Michael Vick
Estimated earnings: $130 million.
Michael Vick was the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and was a three-time Pro Bowl Quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons before playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was one of the 50 World’s Highest Paid Athletes in 2012 according to Forbes. He was even endorsed by Nike and Coca-Cola at one point.
But when he was found guilty of being one of the “key figures” in an illegal underground dog-fighting ring for five years, he lost everything. He put up his two homes, went to Federal prison and had to file for bankruptcy.
Mike Tyson
Estimated earnings: $300-400 million.
Mike Tyson was one of the biggest heavyweight champions in the 1980s and 90s. He was the youngest man to win the WBC, WBA and IBF Heavyweight.
Over his entire career, he amassed between $300-400 million. He started throwing all his money at mansions, luxury cars, and even a pet tiger.
But after his wife accused him of domestic violence which led to a divorce, the death of his trainer, and several charges of rape, possession of drugs, a DUI, and biting Evander Holyfield’s ear, his career was headed straight for the toilet. He owed more than $13 million to the IRS and lost $9 million in a divorce settlement. At one point his estimated worth was less than $700, and he was headed towards bankruptcy.