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Vince Young files for bankruptcy protection

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Vince Young made $34 million in his six years as an NFL quarterback.

Last week, the 30-year-old Young filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

“[Young] invested in private, illiquid investments, and he overspent,” said Ed Butowsky, a Dallas financial adviser who contributed to an ESPN Films documentary about the money woes of pro athletes. “He’s ultimately responsible for all his decisions, but the people around him should have taken better care of him.

The petition, filed in a Houston federal bankruptcy court, lists his estimated assets between $500,001 and $1 million and liabilities between $1,001,000 and $10 million.

The former University of Texas star is fighting two lawsuits stemming from a loan of nearly $2 million taken out in his name while NFL players were locked out in 2011.

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Pro Player Funding, the company that made the loan, which is said to have grown to more than $2.5 million with interest, has been granted a judgment by a New York state court. Young says he never received the loan and has sued a group including his former financial advisor, Ronnie Peoples, and former agent, Major Adams II, for conspiring to obtain the loan.

“Vince is trying to stay low and just wants this over with,” said Trey Dolezal, Young’s Austin-based personal attorney. “He was so happy and relieved when we reached a financial settlement (in December, three days before a trial was to begin), but Vince is owed several million dollars and that has not been paid. I would say he is very frustrated.”

Young became a college superstar when he led the Longhorns to the BCS championship with a victory over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl. He was then selected third overall by Tennessee in the NFL draft and made the Pro Bowl twice in four seasons with the Titans.

But he was cut after the 2010 season following a disagreement with then-coach Jeff Fisher, played sparingly as a backup for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011 and was released by the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers during the past two preseasons.

Young is out of work now but still hopes for an NFL comeback, his attorney said.

“He’s planning on it,” Dolezal said. “He’s working out every day, and he’s focused on it. If he can get into a system in the spring, that would be the best thing for him.”

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