Clinton Portis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. And the filings, published by Deadspin, reveal that the former NFL running back owes a lot of money to a lot of people … including his mom.
Portis’s debt to creditors, in total, adds up to $4,857,659.50 — a number equivalent to more than 11 percent of Portis’s total earnings in a nine-year, NFL career according to Spotrac data. But it’s the breakdown of that debt that makes this story a bit bizarre.
MORE: Athletes who went bankrupt | NFL’s most infamous moments
The filing from Portis has predictable creditors; his debts include unpaid phone bills, a repossessed BMW, Atlantic City casino losses and back taxes. But Portis also owes money to several women in his life, for reasons seemingly unknown.
For example, Portis owes $500,000 to his own mother, and the same amount to Nischelle Turner — a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and CNN. Portis also owes money to four separate women — “unpaid domestic support” that sums more than $400,000.
The debt looks overwhelming in comparison to Portis’s current income. According to the filings, he makes $3,500 monthly from NFL disability payments, as well as $1,000 for his sideline reporting gigs.
A report from the Gainesville Sun in November might, in part, explain Portis’s owed mother money. According to the Sun, the bankruptcy filing stopped foreclosure proceedings for a house in Florida. A house Portis had built for his mother. The 7,000-square-foot home faced foreclosure because of an unpaid loan of $920,000.
Sun sources say Portis has been “a victim of swindlers.” He also lost money in a failed casino venture in Alabama.
MORE: The best rushing seasons in history
Once a star at the University of Miami, Portis rushed for 9,923 yards in the NFL, most notably for Washington. He led the league in yards per attempt as a Bronco in 2003, the second of two consecutive seasons of 1500-plus yards to jumpstart his career.
Portis, the 2002 Rookie of the Year, ranks 30th all time in rushing yards. No runner has ever retired closer to the 10,000-yard club.
