Despite a dominant college career in which he was an All-American and SEC Offensive Player of the Year, Trent Richardson quickly fizzled out of the NFL.
After four unproductive seasons with the Browns and Colts, Richardson failed to latch on with the Raiders last year (probably in part because of this play), and he was recently cut by the Ravens in his latest comeback attempt.
As it turns out, though, Richardson’s troubles go beyond his inability to play well on an NFL field. ESPN’s Shelley Smith recently sat down with the former Alabama running back for E:60 to discuss his financial troubles, and Richardson revealed that his family spent more than $1.5 million of his money.
This transcription comes via CBS Sports:
“I finally just looked at my bank statement, and I was just like, ‘Where did this come from? Where did that come from?’ And my guy was sitting there telling me, ‘Man, we was telling you.’ I know he was telling me, but that’s just like telling a kid to stop running in the hall. They’re going to still do it when you turn your back or you leave. It’s just one of them moments to where I was just blinded by my heart, by loving everybody and thinking that everyone was for me. I know they love me. I know they do care. But at the time, they took advantage of me.”
Richardson found out he had 11 Netflix accounts and eight Hulu accounts in his name. Not that that’s going to ring up all that much money in the grand scheme of things, but it’s still indicative of what was going on underneath his nose. He also found himself paying for friends and friends of friends that came calling because he was given a $20 million contract when he entered the league.
“You get calls, ‘Man, my car’s gonna get repo’d.’ So I’m like ‘OK, how much is it? Oh that’s it? Alright, I’ll send it to you.’ Send it out to em….Wire it out. Give $10,000 this week away. Then the next week you get a call the next week, ‘Man, somebody’s gonna repo my house. I’m fitting to get evicted.’ Another $10,000 go out. It’s stuff like that that adds up.”
Richardson was in the same situation that a lot of pro athletes find themselves in, but unfortunately he didn’t listen to his advisors and ended up getting taken advantage of. Now that he’s out of the league (presumably for good), all Richardson can do is try to be smart with the money he still has left from his days playing in the NFL.
(Via: E:60, CBS Sports)
