In recent years, a number of retired NFL players have made news with public falls from grace. The latest pro footballer to fall head first into the poor house is former Heisman Trophy finalist and the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, Vince Young. (Check out the quarterback’s better days with STACK’s Vince Young training videos.)
Young attributes his financial challenges to poor money management. After being drafted by the Tennessee Titans), he made $26 million in guaranteed money. Just six years later, at the age of 29, Young is out of work and broke as a joke.
Although Young claims that his financial ruin was caused by mismanagement by his financial advisors and agents, people who knew with him during his time in Nashville claim the young QB was careless with money, wasting it on lavish living.
Young is only one of many former NFL players who achieved notoriety by blowing through their money. Other NFL millionaires who fell into financial ruin include:

• JaMarcus Russell. How can you blow $40 million in less than five years? It’s easy if you’re Russell, a former first-round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders. Russell bombed out from the beginning of his NFL career. In addition to the lien placed on his house, the former millionaire owes the State of California back taxes.
• Lawrence Taylor. It’s surprising that a two-time Super Bowl champion and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is broke, but Taylor allegedly is. Poor investments, a drug habit and extravagant spending have all but wiped out the $50 million he earned during his NFL career.
• Michael Vick. Vick lost almost all the $130 million he initially made in the NFL, filing for bankruptcy prior to serving two years in prison for sponsoring and gambling on dog fighting. However, Vick’s recent $100 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles should keep the athlete sitting pretty for quite awhile.

There are no guarantees in life. That’s why it pays to be smart with your money.