Bernie Kosar’s money problems started before he filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and one of the reasons was his family. In his book Learning to Scramble, he explained how his finances were affected by decisions made by people close to him. That’s why he is warning young athletes to avoid this mistake.
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“Don’t have your uncle, your father, be your accountant,” Bernie Kosar said on the Sage Steele Show.
“I let my family, because we didn’t really have jobs and I just wanted to play football, I let them do the business stuff. I’m glad I did it. I got massive experience from it. But play your sport and let professionals do that. Not all of them are great, but they’re more licensed and regulated than our family. So if something goes wrong in your family, I don’t want to sue my dad. You see it a lot with the families. You see Lamar Jackson’s mother negotiating his contract.”
Early in his career, Kosar entrusted members of his family with much of his financial affairs. He later said his father had taken money without his knowledge while managing his finances, including money spent on personal expenses. Even so, Kosar walked away from a 12-season career and a Super Bowl ring with the Cowboys, having earned nearly $20 million.
Retirement brought a string of business ventures. He held an ownership stake in the Florida Panthers and a minority stake in the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League. Then in 2009, word broke that the Browns legend had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the numbers behind it were brutal: $44 left in his checking account. And Kosar’s memoir has mentioned how his family kept playing a role in how his financial situation unfolded.
One example involved a possible role with the new Cleveland Browns. Kosar, his father Bernie Sr., and owner Al Lerner discussed a deal that could have given Kosar a 5% ownership stake. However, the meeting ended after Kosar’s father insulted Lerner and accused him of using Kosar to gain public support.
“Needless to say, after a brief, stunned silence, the meeting ended abruptly, and I lost whatever chance I had to participate in the new organization,” Kosar said.
At one point, Kosar became very successful in his post-NFL business career and said his net worth reached about $75 million. However, he said bad business deals managed by his father and brother caused major financial losses. He also faced a $3 million divorce settlement, which added to his financial problems.
These problems eventually became too much for Kosar to handle, and he filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
Kosar reported $9.2 million in assets and $18.9 million in debt. He owed $1.5 million to the Cleveland Browns, $3 million to his ex-wife, and more than $9 million to a bank because of failed real estate deals. Kosar also owed $725,000 from a personal loan he received from the owner of the Cleveland Gladiators.
In 2010, a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge changed his bankruptcy case to Chapter 7, which meant a court-appointed trustee could sell his assets and use the money to pay his creditors.
So, now he is making sure young athletes don’t repeat the same mistakes he did, leaving financial decisions in the family’s hands.