Colorado defensive back Shilo Sanders, son of head coach Deion Sanders, is $11 million in debt and filed for bankruptcy in October 2023, according to USA Today. The petition for relief — which was filed under Chapter 7 in Colorado’s Bankruptcy Code — states Sanders is on the hook for $11.3 million stemming from a March 2022 civil trial in Texas. The initial filing noted Sanders owns $478,000 in assets, though an amendment in December brought that number down to $320,000.
The filing obtained by USA Today states that Sanders brought in a gross income of $193,713 during the 2023 fiscal year. That number is actually down from the $216,950 he netted while playing at Jackson State in 2022. A large portion of his income can be attributed to name, image and likeness deals — Sanders reported a Mercedes valued at almost $76,000 among his assets — but it’s a far cry from some of the NIL projections that external metrics have placed on the Colorado star.
Here’s a look at the lengthy legal battle that brought Sanders to this point and what his bankruptcy filing could mean.
Legal troubles stem from a high school incident
John Darjean, a former security guard at Triple A Academy in Dallas, Texas, filed a lawsuit against Sanders and his family in June 2016. The suit alleges that in 2015, Sanders — who was 15 at the time — assaulted Darjean after Sanders refused Darjean’s request to turn over his cellphone.
Court documents obtained by Westword claim Sanders “slammed his elbow into Darjean’s chest and continued to hit Darjean after he fell. Darjean was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.”
Darjean alleges he “sustained severe and permanent injuries, including a broken neck, damage to his cervical spine, permanent neurological injuries…
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