- NFL
- Jamie Gordon, US Sports Writer
Andre Rison earned $19million during a successful 12-season NFL career.
Selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 22nd pick of the 1989 NFL Draft, he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons after a solid rookie campaign.
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Rison became the fifth wideout in NFL history to rack up 60 touchdowns in his first six season and scored to help the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl in 1996.
The five-time Pro Bowler was in the conversation for a Hall of Fame place but never got the call.
He had a turbulent career off the field - including an infamous incident where his popstar ex-wife Lisa Lopes burned down his $2million mansion in 1994 - and was declared bankrupt in 2007 after blowing his fortune on cars, nights out, and jewellery.
“Some guys had a gambling problem,” Rison said in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary 'Broke'. “Well, I had a spending problem.
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"We were making it snow. You start throwing $100 bills instead of fives. So you’ve got a competition going on now [between teammates].
"I’d be lying on the bed knocked out [after getting back from the club] with $10,000 lying on the floor. I’ve got another $5,000 in my pocket. You might find another $7,500 in the pocket in my coat"
Rison estimated he spent seven figures on jewellery, and told djvlad that he once owned eight Ferraris and as part of a 50-strong fleet of luxury cars.
"Now all of a sudden you’ve got this bank account you control," he told mlive.
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"You can go to it, pull out anytime, put in any time, but at the time we were only pulling out.
"When you have cash, you create debt. You spend until you’ve got nothing left.
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"I should have saved a lot more money."
Given the nickname Bad Mood Rison, the Super Bowl champ once agreed with a reporter who called him the Dennis Rodman of the NFL.
“You remember when Michael Jordan went gambling the night before a playoff game and everyone killed him for it, and the next night he lit their ass up?” Rison told The Athletic.
“Ain’t no distractions when you different. Mike’s different. I’m different. I been different.
“This is Bad Moon we’re talking about.”
At one point, Rison and Deion Sanders were the face of a hungry, young Falcons franchise.
They were two of the first NFL stars to cash in on their popularity, opening the door for the next generation.
“We football players were told we couldn’t get no endorsements, those were for the basketball and baseball players,” he continued.
“They said we couldn’t get commercials, we couldn’t get involved with music. Deion and I didn’t listen.
"I opened doors. Everybody wasn’t willing to indulge in entertainment and hip-hop back then. When my teammates were on the golf course, I was meeting with Sony Records.”
Rison has owned 34 Mercedes Benzes and 14 BMWs, as well as his Ferraris.
But it was also an expanding inner circle that contributed to his financial woes, once lending a friend $30,000 to open a cafe.
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“Everybody used to say, and still does, that all Dre ever did away from the game was give, give, give,” he admitted.
Rison has bounced back since, becoming a coach and helping young athletes find their way.
The 57-year-old Flint native was named head coach ofUniversity Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, in June.
He wrote about his experiences in Wide Open and produced a movie of the same name.
His life now consists of coaching and taking his four daughters to school.
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“I’m living an even better life off the field than when I played,” Rison told The Athletic.
“I’d always prefer the way it went. And I damn sure wouldn’t change anything about where I’m at right now.”
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