Terrell Owens has spoken openly in the past about financial setbacks and trusting the wrong people with his money. Now, the former San Francisco 49ers star is once again facing a similar situation. Apparently, one of his close associates, Heather Mesalam, has taken advantage of his financial support. Upset over what happened, Owens took to Instagram to speak out, airing his frustrations publicly and even pulling ESPN into the conversation.

“A PERSON CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH!” Terrell Owens noted on his Instagram post, sharing proof supporting the stealing accusations. “Growing up, my grandmama said there are 2 people she can’t stand… A LIAR and A THIEF… When you’re managing someone’s affairs and getting paid to do it, you have to be accountable for it! I haven’t always used my voice when I should, but I GOT TIME TODAY.

I struggled with whether I should post or not because of the many questions I would receive about what and/or why, but with so many people committing suicide and leaving loved ones behind and leaving their families to try to figure out why,” he added. “This IS Why?!” Because if “I” had stolen from someone, I’d be ALL OVER the news; media talking heads at @espn would be having a field day with it along with blogs where my reputation and character would be questioned and destroyed, ruining business opportunities and relationships.”

Heather Mesalam has managed Owens’ business affairs for over 15 years, dating back to roughly 2011. Owens had been paying her $1,300 a month for her management services. He shared screenshots showing the payment had jumped to $1,500 per month without his consent.

“Without my knowledge…that’s stealing,” he texted her as per the screen recording of their conversation.

In the past, Owens has also faced major financial setbacks. He has spoken candidly about how much of his fortune was lost due to a combination of poor decisions and trusting the wrong people with his money. In a previous conversation with GQ, Terrell Owens explained that many of those mistakes came from relying on others to invest and manage his finances on his behalf.

“I hate myself for letting this happen,” he told the fashion publication a few years ago. “I believed they had my back when they said, ‘You take care of the football, and we’ll do the rest.’ And in the end, they just basically stole from me.”

Even between 2008-2013, Owens lost somewhere around $5 million through a failed investment in Country Crossing, an electronic bingo casino in Dothan, Alabama. This loss was part of a larger scandal involving financial advisor Jeff Rubin, who led 31 NFL players to lose a combined $40 million to $43 million between 2008 and 2011.

“Trust me, with ALL that I’ve been through with former agents like Drew and Jason Rosenhaus and the financial advisor Jeff Rubin that they referred me to upon signing with them, where they mismanaged football earnings, paid extraordinary child support payments and more, I PRAY 🙏🏾 THAT THE DEVIL DOESN’T TRICK ME AND I GIVE IN. MAMA, I’m gonna be alright. WE are going to be alright. Don’t stress yourself worrying about me. It’s getting handled,” he added in his caption.

This dispute goes far beyond a couple of hundred dollars on a monthly invoice. It highlights the compounded trauma of chronic financial mismanagement that many athletes silently endure. The legendary receiver painfully connected these invisible, behind-the-scenes betrayals to the broader crisis of athlete mental health. He stated that this exact type of financial stress pushes former football players toward severe crises and bad decisions. The NFL star opened up about such financial distress earlier this year as well. 

Terrell Owens recalled his trouble with former adviser a few months ago

It’s clear that Terrell Owens has taken lessons from his past financial struggles. After losing a significant amount of money to poor investments and misplaced trust in advisors, he has become far more careful with how he handles his finances. The six-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro has also been open about revisiting some of those decade-old challenges, offering an unusual and honest reflection on that period of his life.

“I didn’t have a lot of investments then,” Terrell Owens confessed in an interview with CNBC back in February 2026. “I had like my main account and I had like a miscellaneous account. All the money that I made from the games was automatically deposited into a main account that Jeff Rubin managed.”

“And once I found somebody to help, they hired two girls to help oversee some of the athletes they help,” he went on. “They had like 80-90 of Drew Rosenhaus’ clients and I was one of them. So, they hired people to manage some of those. And it wasn’t until 2010 when I found out the fate of my situation. And it wasn’t good.”

Soon after he found out that he was being betrayed, he filed a lawsuit and moved on to hire Mezchick. But 15 years later, she allegedly betrayed him. Now, Owens has moved on from Heather Mesalam and fired her. She might face legal consequences, as Owens shook hands with trial attorney Paul Aloise. 

Owens is currently receiving quite some money from his deal with DUDE Wipes. And regarding the betrayal, the Hall of Famer is not going to stay silent.