Russell was promises $31,000,000 guaranteed under terms of his first deal. He stopped playing football after he signed it and now Oakland is suing to get it all back..
That said, why did he take out a mortgage when he obviously had the money?
I'd like to know why the lender made the loan when this guy had no money.
Conventional wisdom among a certain set of financial "advisors" was to mortgage any real estate to the hilt and "invest" capital for a better return elsewhere.
So long as rates were low, houses were appreciating and the income stream continued uninterrupted, it worked during those few years. I'd imagine a lot of the higher end residential RE in foreclosure was once "owned" by people who were thusly "advised," though.
It's just human nature to assume how things are now are how things always will be. That can work to the bad, for the unobservant, and to the good, for the observant.
And then, there are the financially clueless who are suddenly vaulted into wealth due to musical talent, athletic ability or winning the lottery. It gets p*ssed away far more often than not.
You have to remember...these guys get approached by agents in college and they really aren’t that smart about the game, the finances, or the future. This guy will likely never play another game in the NFL and in ten years...you will likely see him as shift manager of some pizza shop. He just didn’t have the skills that he advertised.