By 2005, after 13 seasons in the National Football League, former University of Washington quarterback Mark Brunell was getting older and better. As a 35-year-old Washington Redskin, he passed for more than 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns. In a Monday Night Football game, the 6'1", 215-pound veteran coolly delivered two long TD passes to Santana Moss in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 14-13. His strong arm led Washington to the playoffs, losing to the Seattle Seahawks but earning him a third-place finish in the vote for NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
A star at the University of Washington, Brunell was named MVP of the 1991 Rose Bowl.
John Middlebrook/Cal Sport Media/Newscom
Now a backup with the New York Jets, this year will probably be Brunell’s last in the NFL.
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The three-time Rose Bowler was also near the pinnacle of his earnings career, making $9.4 million with the Redskins in 2004, a considerable jump from the $6.7 million he'd made the previous year at Jacksonville, where he'd been the Jaguars' starting quarterback for eight years, earning a Pro Bowl MVP award.
Married with four children, Brunell owned luxury properties, operated several businesses (including a football camp), and had invested a fortune in real estate. He'd become a multimillionaire since being drafted 118th in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers in 1993, a memorable year in which the Husky star and six of his teammates—including another quarterback, Billy Joe Hobert (selected 58th)—were picked in the first seven rounds of the NFL draft. Washington State QB Drew Bledsoe was the draft's #1 pick, by New England, followed by Notre Dame QB Rick Mirer, who went to Seattle—to the dismay of some Seahawks fans who favored Brunell.
Nineteen seasons later, Brunell is now a 41-year-old backup quarterback for the New York Jets, having outlasted and outearned his fellow QB draftees. He's avoided major injuries and maintained his arm strength, establishing a better playoff-winning percentage than superstar Peyton Manning. When he lost a step or two to age, he found a new career as backup, a job he has held with three teams in the past six years.
But his biggest loss, it turns out, has come off the field. This could be Brunell's last season, and despite having earned more than $75 million in almost two decades as a NFL quarterback, he is so deep in debt he has been forced to sell his three Husky Rose Bowl rings and other mementos of a game he has played most of his life.
A religious man who tithes his church 10 percent of his salary, Brunell is unforgiven by his debtors. Owing about $20 million more than he has to his name, the quarterback has taken what he calls "the only viable course of action," filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization—a category usually reserved for corporations, but chosen by Brunell because of his huge debts. According to statements he filed with federal bankruptcy court, Brunell and wife Stacy have assets worth $5.5 million, but liabilities of $24.7 million.
"Struggles and tough times like these are character-building," Brunell says in a statement, "and I have learned, and am presently learning, many lessons through this process."
The revered ex-Husky is hardly the only wealthy pro athlete to go bust. But his is likely the largest bankruptcy ever among NFL players, based on a review of records.
His debts outscore those of another notoriously bankrupt quarterback, Michael Vick, who in 2008 declared $16.1 million in assets and more than $20.4 million in debt. Vick went broke in prison after he was convicted of helping to run an illegal dog-fighting ring, though he has since rebounded by signing a $100 million deal to quarterback in Philadelphia.
Brunell joins a pantheon of famously broke NFL athletes, alongside golden-armed quarterback Johnny Unitas (1950s–70s) and others, who made risky investments, squandered their money, or unwisely trusted others to handle it. Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, the onetime Dallas Cowboys star receiver who made $18 million during a 10-year Canadian and NFL career, lost much of his fortune through bad investments; Luther Elliss, who made $11.6 million with the Detroit Lions from 2000 to 2004 but filed for bankruptcy five years later, told a reporter he went bust due to "bad choices."
Athletes in other pro sports suffer similar fates: baseball star Lenny Dykstra claimed $50,000 in assets but up to $50 million in liabilities when he filed for bankruptcy in 2009, at one point living in his car. But financial meltdowns are most widespread in the NFL, with its nearly 1,700 current players and 13,000 retired players. Within two years of retirement, as many as eight out of 10 go bankrupt or suffer financial stress due to joblessness or divorce, according to figures cited by Sports Illustrated in 2009.
Most cases are likely to involve players less known than Brunell, says former Green Bay Packer Ken Ruettgers, who counsels former pros down on their luck. He hears from the unheralded linemen, special-teams players, and reserves—many of whom made only minimum salaries (starting at $375,000 for rookies)—as well as handsomely paid athletes who went bust. Many spent their small fortunes during a short career; others retired unprepared for real life along with the loss of their celebrity status and football perks; some never foresaw the post-career toll that injuries and concussions could take. "A lot of guys come to me so late and in such deep holes that it's hard to help them dig out," Ruettgers says.
