Michael Vick may have flushed $100 million down the drain by backing a dogfighting operation. His guilty plea on federal charges will result in prison time and suspension by the NFL.
Vick, 27, may attempt a comeback sometime down the road. But sponsorship deals with Nike, Upper Deck, and Rawlings Sporting Goods are gone — and his notoriety will make him a difficult sell should he play again.
His 10-year, $130 million contract will evaporate, too, and Falcons owner Arthur Blank could demand repayment of at least some of Vick's $22 million signing bonus.
Rather than earn $20 million a year in salary and endorsement fees for the next several years, Vick will spend millions to clean up his various legal and public relations crises.
"We have not seen a fall from grace like this in contemporary American sports," NFL agent Leigh Steinberg told the Los Angeles Times. "No fall has been this rapid or dramatic."
But plenty of athletes have fallen. Here are the other candidates for the All-Time Money Flushers in sports:
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson generated $300 million in earnings during his boxing career. He could have earned at least $100 million more had he not been incarcerated on a rape conviction.
He didn't fight between June 28, 1991 and Aug. 19, 1995, when he was in his athletic prime. His earning power would have been enormous; for instance, his quick demolition of Michael Spinks brought him $21 million.
After his layoff, Tyson got $30 million for his second fight with Evander Holyfield. He typically fought two or three times a year while at his best, so his prison time cut at least five or six good fights from the course his career.
Of course, that setback is relative. Had he made another $100 million, he would have just run through it. Like too many former boxers, he ended up with more trouble than money in retirement.
John Daly
In many ways, this man is a train wreck. Hard living has a taken a toll on his game and his life. His struggle with alcoholism has played out on the course, with millions watching on TV. He has written a country music song lamenting his failed marriages.
He gambled away $50-$60 million, by his own estimate. Erratic play on the course and erratic living off the course cost him a similar amount. He no longer carries a full PGA Tour exemption.
Daly, 41, has earned a shade over $9 million in Tour events — a number he could have doubled by keeping himself together. (By comparison, Tiger Woods has earned more than $73 million in tour events.) Daly finished 192nd on the money list in 2006 and was running 173rd at last check this year.
On the other hand, Daly's reckless behavior makes him appealing to ordinary fans. Sponsor exemptions allow him to play full-time. He wrote a book, got his own reality TV show, stayed in demand for personal appearances and moved a lot of his own merchandise.
Industry analysts estimated Daly's off-course take at $8 million last year — less than 10 percent of what Woods made, but still enough to rank him among golf's top 20 endorsement earners.
Dwight Gooden
He had a nice run in the major leagues, winning 194 games and making about $36 million. But how many more games could he have won had his cocaine addiction not marred the second half of his career?
For that estimate, compare "Doc" Gooden to Roger Clemens. In 1993, he earned $5.9 million and Clemens made $4.6 million. They were the top power pitchers of their era.
But Gooden was suspended for the 1995 season for cocaine abuse. The next season, he made just $950,000 coming back from rehab. From 1992 to 1999, Gooden made $24 million while in and out of the sport. During that same time, Clemens, exploiting the free-agent marketplace, made $51 million.
Gooden lost some of that earning power due to shoulder trouble unrelated to his lifestyle. But Gooden also had greater marketing potential, given his enduring popularity in New York City. Cocaine abuse cost him more than $25 million.
Darryl Strawberry
Like Gooden, Strawberry made his mark in the big leagues. He hit 335 career homers, drove in 1,000 runs and made more than $30 million from 1985 to 1998.
Like Gooden, the former Mets phenom suffered frequent substance abuse relapses — leading to suspensions, legal trouble, lost earning power and additional suffering in retirement. He cost himself more than $20 million by making unfortunate lifestyle choices.
Baseball salaries soared in the 1990s. During Strawberry's prime free-agent era, from 1991-98, he made $23 million. Jose Canseco, another star-crossed slugger from the class of 1985, made $35.5 million during that span.
Strawberry, like Canseco, had the potential to become of baseball's all-time greats. Had Strawberry fulfilled that promise, he would have made Juan Gonzalez money ($47.5 million between from 1994-2000) and maximized his marketing potential.
But his recurring alcohol and drug problems — along with knee injuries and colon cancer later in his career — kept baseball fans wondering "what if?"
Vick, 27, may attempt a comeback sometime down the road. But sponsorship deals with Nike, Upper Deck, and Rawlings Sporting Goods are gone — and his notoriety will make him a difficult sell should he play again.
His 10-year, $130 million contract will evaporate, too, and Falcons owner Arthur Blank could demand repayment of at least some of Vick's $22 million signing bonus.
Rather than earn $20 million a year in salary and endorsement fees for the next several years, Vick will spend millions to clean up his various legal and public relations crises.
"We have not seen a fall from grace like this in contemporary American sports," NFL agent Leigh Steinberg told the Los Angeles Times. "No fall has been this rapid or dramatic."
But plenty of athletes have fallen. Here are the other candidates for the All-Time Money Flushers in sports:
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson generated $300 million in earnings during his boxing career. He could have earned at least $100 million more had he not been incarcerated on a rape conviction.
He didn't fight between June 28, 1991 and Aug. 19, 1995, when he was in his athletic prime. His earning power would have been enormous; for instance, his quick demolition of Michael Spinks brought him $21 million.
After his layoff, Tyson got $30 million for his second fight with Evander Holyfield. He typically fought two or three times a year while at his best, so his prison time cut at least five or six good fights from the course his career.
Of course, that setback is relative. Had he made another $100 million, he would have just run through it. Like too many former boxers, he ended up with more trouble than money in retirement.
John Daly
In many ways, this man is a train wreck. Hard living has a taken a toll on his game and his life. His struggle with alcoholism has played out on the course, with millions watching on TV. He has written a country music song lamenting his failed marriages.
He gambled away $50-$60 million, by his own estimate. Erratic play on the course and erratic living off the course cost him a similar amount. He no longer carries a full PGA Tour exemption.
Daly, 41, has earned a shade over $9 million in Tour events — a number he could have doubled by keeping himself together. (By comparison, Tiger Woods has earned more than $73 million in tour events.) Daly finished 192nd on the money list in 2006 and was running 173rd at last check this year.
On the other hand, Daly's reckless behavior makes him appealing to ordinary fans. Sponsor exemptions allow him to play full-time. He wrote a book, got his own reality TV show, stayed in demand for personal appearances and moved a lot of his own merchandise.
Industry analysts estimated Daly's off-course take at $8 million last year — less than 10 percent of what Woods made, but still enough to rank him among golf's top 20 endorsement earners.
Dwight Gooden
He had a nice run in the major leagues, winning 194 games and making about $36 million. But how many more games could he have won had his cocaine addiction not marred the second half of his career?
For that estimate, compare "Doc" Gooden to Roger Clemens. In 1993, he earned $5.9 million and Clemens made $4.6 million. They were the top power pitchers of their era.
But Gooden was suspended for the 1995 season for cocaine abuse. The next season, he made just $950,000 coming back from rehab. From 1992 to 1999, Gooden made $24 million while in and out of the sport. During that same time, Clemens, exploiting the free-agent marketplace, made $51 million.
Gooden lost some of that earning power due to shoulder trouble unrelated to his lifestyle. But Gooden also had greater marketing potential, given his enduring popularity in New York City. Cocaine abuse cost him more than $25 million.
Darryl Strawberry
Like Gooden, Strawberry made his mark in the big leagues. He hit 335 career homers, drove in 1,000 runs and made more than $30 million from 1985 to 1998.
Like Gooden, the former Mets phenom suffered frequent substance abuse relapses — leading to suspensions, legal trouble, lost earning power and additional suffering in retirement. He cost himself more than $20 million by making unfortunate lifestyle choices.
Baseball salaries soared in the 1990s. During Strawberry's prime free-agent era, from 1991-98, he made $23 million. Jose Canseco, another star-crossed slugger from the class of 1985, made $35.5 million during that span.
Strawberry, like Canseco, had the potential to become of baseball's all-time greats. Had Strawberry fulfilled that promise, he would have made Juan Gonzalez money ($47.5 million between from 1994-2000) and maximized his marketing potential.
But his recurring alcohol and drug problems — along with knee injuries and colon cancer later in his career — kept baseball fans wondering "what if?"
