Mark Brunell to Seek Bankruptcy

[Jimbo]

It really sucks when bad things happen to good people.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5326679

Mark Brunell, the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback who as a backup in 2009 for the New Orleans Saints won a Super Bowl, planned to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday, the apparent result of a string of failed real-estate investments.

Among them was a partnership called Champion LLC that included Brunell and former Jaguars teammates Joel Smeenge and Todd Fordham and is mired in foreclosure proceedings stemming from a 2005 loan for $2.2 million, according to The Florida Times-Union.

Click link for the rest

 

[Lanky Livingston]

This makes me pissed off about the Haynesworth situation even more. A good guy like Brunell, who has never complained a day in his life and always come to work with his hard-hat on, is hurting for money. Fat Albert, aka the whiny one, cashes a check for $21M and then decides not to come to minicamp.

**** you with a 2 x 4, Haynesworth.

 

[Henry]

I blame Brunell.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

I'd do a "It's Brunell's fault" line, but I'm sad to see this happen to Mark.
He seems to be a really good guy and does a lot of charity work.

I wish him and his family the best and hopefully this will all work out.

 

[fansince62]

good man. sorry to see this.

but you know what? he took on the risk. sometimes you win. sometimes you lose.

 

[Om]

Mark's going to be okay.

This is a reorganization under chapter 11, not a liquidation under chapter 7. He's protecting his family's personal assets from lawsuits filed against him in his role as personal guarantor of multiple business loans. He'll file a proposed plan of reorganization that will pay off some percentage (probably nominal) of those loans he cannot make go away via negotiation, countersuit settlement, etc.

With a couple of decent investments, maybe even a lender who rides in on a white horse and invests in him and his name and potential as a 'celebrity' name endorsement, he may well end up being able to dismiss the case or fulfill his plan early and wash his hands of the bankrtupcy and the millions in personal guarantees in a matter of months.

If he loses his house it will likely be by choice (unless he's stopped making payments and gets foreclosed) because while the mortgage is over $5k a month, he and his wife apparently each $5k per month each from his corporation in salary. Since he's out of the league right now I believe he'll also be getting his NFL pension ... and that's not chump change (figure well in excess of $250k for a guy with his tenure).

If you do the quick math, he'll be able to meet $5k/mo. without having to tighten the belt much.

It is sad, yes, but you'd be surprised how many celebrities---athletes, actors, musicians, TV personalities, you name it---end up having to file chapter 11 to protect their personal assets against having guaranteed business loans, based on their names and potential earning income, while they're at the tops of their games. Brunell joins a long list.

Chances are, given his youth (the man's 39), education, marketable name, personable nature, etc., he'll come out of this just fine and barely miss a beat. Probably even manage to rework his mortgage and keep the house at a lower payment than he's making now.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

Rumor has it he'll be going to the Jets as the #2 QB at some point.

 

[Om]

Which won't hurt his chances of coming out of 11 early and clean any.

Mark's going to be okay.

 

[fansince62]

Mark's going to be okay.

This is a reorganization under chapter 11, not a liquidation under chapter 7. He's protecting his family's personal assets from lawsuits filed against him in his role as personal guarantor of multiple business loans. He'll file a proposed plan of reorganization that will pay off some percentage (probably nominal) of those loans he cannot make go away via negotiation, countersuit settlement, etc.

With a couple of decent investments, maybe even a lender who rides in on a white horse and invests in him and his name and potential as a 'celebrity' name endorsement, he may well end up being able to dismiss the case or fulfill his plan early and wash his hands of the bankrtupcy and the millions in personal guarantees in a matter of months.

If he loses his house it will likely be by choice (unless he's stopped making payments and gets foreclosed) because while the mortgage is over $5k a month, he and his wife apparently each $5k per month each from his corporation in salary. Since he's out of the league right now I believe he'll also be getting his NFL pension ... and that's not chump change (figure well in excess of $250k for a guy with his tenure).

If you do the quick math, he'll be able to meet $5k/mo. without having to tighten the belt much.

It is sad, yes, but you'd be surprised how many celebrities---athletes, actors, musicians, TV personalities, you name it---end up having to file chapter 11 to protect their personal assets against having guaranteed business loans, based on their names and potential earning income, while they're at the tops of their games. Brunell joins a long list.

Chances are, given his youth (the man's 39), education, marketable name, personable nature, etc., he'll come out of this just fine and barely miss a beat. Probably even manage to rework his mortgage and keep the house at a lower payment than he's making now.

informative post. thanks.

 

[Om]

Om Field: Mark Brunell Bankrupcty Perspective

This week, one of the real-life stories that tend to invade our sports consciousness more and more often happened to one of our recent own, former Redskins QB Mark Brunell.

I have been pleasantly surprised at the level of understanding many I have talked to have for the man—but cynicism is still the order of the day for many pro football fans, perhaps none more so than among Redskins fans.

For those interested in looking just a tad deeper, below are some observations and notes you may not know about what the filing means, and how it may affect Brunell's short-term financial life.

Here is the AP story itself, as printed in the Wall Street Journal, with my comments interlineated ...

More...

 

[Pravda]

It is sad, yes, but you'd be surprised how many celebrities---athletes, actors, musicians, TV personalities, you name it---end up having to file chapter 11 to protect their personal assets against having guaranteed business loans, based on their names and potential earning income, while they're at the tops of their games. Brunell joins a long list.

• By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.

• Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1153364/1/index.htm

Pretty amazing stat -- speaks to a big market for good financial analysts to help these guys made good business decisions.

 

[Boone]

• By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.

• Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1153364/1/index.htm

Pretty amazing stat -- speaks to a big market for good financial analysts to help these guys made good business decisions.

And the number of barracuda that seek out NFL players like big fat grouper ripe for the plucking....

No excuses...we are all accountable for our personal finanaces. But lets face it, the NFL is literally a smorgasbord of rich men ill-prepared for wealth. How could it be otherwise given their circumstances. Even relatively smart guys are at high risk for making poor decisions.

 

[CounterTrey]

The flip side of that is that players don't enter the NFL straight out of High School Mike.