Bankrupt NHL Players: Jackets' Jack Johnson Not the First

This past week, we learned that Jack Johnson became the latest in a long line of bankrupt NHL players. While his specific situation is somewhat unique, it’s far from uncommon.

Now in his ninth NHL season, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson has earned just over 20 million dollars. He’s also in the middle of a 7-year deal that’s worth a little more than 30 million dollars. Set for life, right?

Not so fast. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reported this past week that Johnson is bankrupt.

To us regular folks, the story is quite unbelievable.

After firing his agent Pat Brisson in 2008, just before he signed his current deal, Jack Johnson signed over control of his money to his mother, Tina Johnson. His parents then proceeded to take out several high-interest loans, allegedly totalling over 16 million dollars, on future guaranteed money Johnson would earn. Because Johnson’s name was on those loans, he was on the hook for all interest and fees in addition to being sued by some of the creditors for not paying them back.

While what Johnson is going through is unique in that it’s happening in the middle of his playing career, bankrupt NHL players have gone through similar hardship many times before.

Bankrupt NHL Players that made headlines

One that springs to mind for me was Darren McCarty. After having earned over 12 million dollars during his 15 year NHL career, McCarty filed for bankruptcy in 2006, citing over 6 million dollars in debts. While McCarty’s reasons for joining the long list of bankrupt NHL players are different from Johnson, the fact remains that he should have been set for life, even on his modest (by pro sports standards) salary.

Another one that garnered quite a bit of attention was Bryan Trottier. The fact that Trottier played most of his career before salaries exploded makes his 8 million dollar bankruptcy in 1994 even more significant. In Trottier’s case, the cause was a bad investment in an ice-rink.

The reality of life after the game

Many of us envy the money professional athletes make for playing a game. It’s often very easy to get caught up in the latest report of a star player signing that big multi-year, multi-million dollar contract and think: “There’s no way he’ll ever even spend all that”.

What we typically disregard is that in most cases, making it as an elite athlete in any sport requires dedication and commitment. Those qualities may sound noble, but they also mean that most will forego a commitment to education in order to maximize their chances to “make it” in their sport.

Once they sign their big deals, they often rely on others to know what to do with that usually ungodly amount of money. That’s where they get into trouble. Money and greed has a funny way of making people very selfish, and blind to the consequences of their actions.

Jack Johnson has joined many other bankrupt NHL players

Oct 31, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson (7) against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Nationwide Arena. The Leafs won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

In Johnson’s case, it’s hard to believe parents who dedicated themselves, just like any hockey parents, to helping their son fulfil his dream could blindly ruin him in this way. But when you’re responsible for 30 million dollars after having gotten used to a relatively modest way of life, that amount can seem endless.

His parents likely figured that even if they spent 15 million, the remaining amount would be more than enough to have them and their son live very comfortable lives indefinitely.

In other cases, they trust ex-teammates to invest it for them in businesses they know nothing about. Again, some of those acquaintances may start out with good intentions, but when you’re playing with someone else’s money, whatever the amount, it’s far too easy to be reckless with it.

Most of those situations happen during or at the tail end of players’ careers. By the time they realize what’s going on, it’s often too late. Too late to keep playing and earn more money, or at least big money, too late to pull out of bad investments, too late to educate themselves.

All that can lead to more than just financial ruin. Many bankrupt NHL players face depression and see no way out, like Theo Fleury for example, while others get caught trying to make a quick buck gambling or, out of desperation, try taking advantage of others like Len Barrie.

These people, like any other celebrities, live a life most of us will never relate to. We’ve all faced being taken for hundreds of dollars by a car mechanic or a bad investment. No matter how much you make, that’s recoverable in the grand scheme of things.

Now imagine someone you trust ripping off every dime you ever earned, leaving you without any knowledge or skill to fall back on. That’s what many of these athletes are facing, and most will never play long enough or be good enough to make what Johnson makes.

Can anything be done?

I think this is a real opportunity for the league and the NHLPA to help its players. Educate them on how to find the right people to manage their assets. Set up resources for players who find themselves in questionable situations.

Surely in an industry that is worth over 3 billion dollars annually, some of that can be spent to protect their earnings.

After all, no matter what your opinion is on professional athletes’ salaries, we can all agree that no one should have to deal with the things that come with being taken advantage of to the extent that Jack Johnson was.

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Home/Columbus Blue Jackets

Bankrupt NHL Players: Jackets’ Jack Johnson Not the First

By Andreas Matsoukas | Nov 21, 2014

This past week, we learned that Jack Johnson became the latest in a long line of bankrupt NHL players. While his specific situation is somewhat unique, it’s far from uncommon.

Bankrupt NHL Players that made headlines

The reality of life after the game

Can anything be done?

More from FanSided