The fame. The money. The victory. Athletes from all walks of life enjoy the attention and fortune that comes with being a superstar. But what about when your empire crumbles?
Whether it’s due to bad investments, lifestyle choices or overindulging, some of the world’s greatest athletes have fallen from fame overnight. Here are just a few athletes who fell from grace, without grace.
1) Diego Maradona
Maradona set the world on fire with his performance on the football field. He was once referred to as a God. Maradona was named FIFA’s Player of the Century award and helped his team win the World Cup in 1986.
This was all before Maradona fell from fame. Nearly 20 years later, in 2009, Maradona filed for bankruptcy and was forced to pay the Italian Tax Authority an estimated $54 million that he failed to do while playing for Napoli from 1984 to 1991.
2) Mike Tyson
The American boxer was once earning upwards of $400 million per fight, but quickly found himself in nearly $30 million of debt. How does one fall so far, so fast?
Excessive spending did this boxer in. Tyson holds the record for being the youngest fighter to hold multiple championship titles. But living beyond his means caused the boxer to file bankruptcy while he was still actively fighting.
3) Bjorn Borg
When you can retire from sports at age 26, you must be doing something right. Bjorn Borg called it quits after winning five French Opens and six Wimbledon championships – but he didn’t call it quits soon enough.
This legendary tennis player decided to try his hand as an entrepreneur but failed miserably, claiming bankruptcy in 1989.
4) Chris Cairn
Not all financial trouble is a result of bad business ventures or overspending. Sometimes, criminal action is at play. Chris Cairns, a New Zealand cricket pro retired at the height of his career in 2006.
He was known all over the world as one of the most celebrated cricketers from his native country. But Cairns made some poor decisions and got involved in fixed matches, gambling, and later, perjury. Cairns’ legal troubles quickly snowballed into financial ones which led to him to take on embarrassing side jobs to make ends meet.
5) Evander Holyfield
Not only was Holyfield on the wrong side of Mike Tyson’s mouth during the infamous bite heard around the world, but he also got himself in his own set of financial troubles. Although he didn’t lose his ear for nothing.
That fight earned Holyfield $34 million. Over his entire boxing career, the heavyweight raked in over $550 million and six titles.
Unfortunately, his personal life was not nearly as put together as his professional career.
Holyfield had 11 children with nine different women which led to millions of dollars in unpaid child support and the need for the prizefighter to sell off most of his boxing memorabilia.
6) Dennis Rodman
Rodman was unmissable on the court. Sometimes due to his athletic ability and other times, his outlandish antics. The Chicago Bulls star changed his hair colour and piercings more often than Isaiah Thomas changed teams in the last two seasons of his NBA career.
But Rodman’s untraditional appearance didn’t stop him from going on to win five championships and appear in the All-Star game twice. So what did this unique star in? Perhaps it was his fascination with North Korea, where he blew millions on extravagant trips. Over $800,000 owed in child support and alimony didn’t help matters much.
7) Bobby Orr
You know you’ve made it big when you become the first millionaire in your sport. That’s what happened for NHL player, Bobby Orr.
Boston fans adored Orr who brought the Stanley Cup back to the New England city in 1972. In a bizarre twist of events, Orr was misled into leaving the city and team he’d called home to play with the Chicago Blackhawks.
But Orr’s fall from fame can’t be placed squarely on his shoulders alone. Orr’s manager, Alan Eagleson, mismanaged his finances so badly that he was bankrupt by 1980. Eagleson is the same person that convinced Orr to leave his beloved Bruins, sending his career on a virtual tailspin.
8) Michael Vick
For some athletes, the money they make on the field just isn’t enough. Michael Vick, a former NFL quarterback, is a prime example of this. Vick found himself in a heap of financial and legal trouble in 2007 when he was convicted of conspiracy in running a dogfighting ring.
Vick filed for bankruptcy one year later while detained in prison. One saving grace about this star who fell from grace is that it’s been reported Vick has paid back almost all of his debt. That can’t be said for many other athletes on this list.
Some people just can’t handle the pressure and demands of life as a superstar athlete. With money at their disposal, appreciation can quickly turn to greed and when it does, things get ugly. For these athletes, stardom just wasn’t enough and, in the end, their desire for bigger and better things left them lower than ever before.
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