Vince Young Nearly Broke: How Did He Blow $26 Million?

What a precipitous fall it’s been for former NFL quarterback Vince Young. Just six years removed from being the No. 3 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, Young is nearly broke despite pocketing $26 million from his last guaranteed contract.

So how did Young nearly squander all that dough? Trey Dolezal, Young’s attorney, said the former quarterback can get back to having some financial security if an NFL team inks him to a contract.

“I would just say that Vince needs a job,” Dolezal told the Associated Press.

Young was riding on top as a senior at the University of Texas, where he helped the Longhorns win the Rose Bowl in 2006. He parlayed that success into being chosen No. 3 overall in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. Young flourished in Tennessee and was a three-time Pro Bowler before being cut by the Titans.

His downfall continued, being snagged by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011 to backup Michael Vick. Young signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills this offseason, but the team cut him heading into the opening of the 2012 NFL season.

Young is trying to recoup some of the money he’s lost through a $5.5 million lawsuit filed against his former agent, Major Adams, and his financial planner, Ronnie Peoples, the Associated Press reported.

The quarterback alleges Adams and Peoples misappropriated his funds by forging his signature or purporting to be Young in phone calls and e-mails, according to the AP.

“They conspired to take Vince’s money,” Dolezal told the wire service. “It’s that simple.”

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a notice that Young defaulted on a $1.9 million loan taken out during the NFL lockout last year, with the lender seeking $1.7 million. The quarterback claims he was not involved in the loan, which he alleged benefitted Peoples and Adams.

Young’s lawyer said the quarterback had poor judgment in deciding who should handle his affairs.

“He was just very young ... and allowing these people to have too much control over his life and his name,” Dolezal told the AP.

But lawyers for People and Adams contend Young isn’t a victim and that the quarterback is using others as an excuse for his behavior.

“This is a person scrambling helplessly and pointing in all directions to blame others to get out of debt,” Charles Peckham, Adams’ attorney, told the AP.

In a countersuit, Peoples claims Young should not have hired his uncle to be his business manager because the relative had no experience with such matters, according to the AP.

“You’ll find there was a lot of money being spent in a bunch of different directions,”Peoples’ lawyer, David Chaumette, told the AP.

The quarterback accused Pro Player Funding LLC, the lender of the $1.9 million loan, of serving the notice at a time that made it easy for the Bills to cut Young.

“I wasn’t in the room when they (the Bills) made a decision, but what would you think? It certainly wouldn’t help me if I’m the owner or the head coach knowing all this is going on with Vince and then he goes out and plays poorly,” Young’s attorney told the AP.