This list includes sports-people who have been convicted of serious crimes (such as felonies in the United States). It comprises both professionals and those amateurs who have competed at the highest levels.
| Name | Status with team when arrested | Crime | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Allen | Free agent | Sexual assault | 15 years[1] | Released after 33 months. | |
| Will Allen | Retired | Wire fraud and money laundering | 6 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $16.8 million (along with co-defendant)[2] | ||
| Richard Alston | Retired | Conspiracy to distribute drugs | 14 years[3] | ||
| Josh Bellamy | Cut | Conspiracy to commit wire fraud | 3 years and 1 month, plus payment of $1,246,565 in restitution and $1,246,565 in forfeiture [4] | ||
| Michael Bennett | Cut | Wire fraud | 15 months[5] | ||
| Burglary, identity theft and attempted theft | 5 years | Was on parole from previous conviction when arrested.[6] | |||
| Trevone Boykin | Seattle Seahawks | Aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and witness tampering | 3 years[7] | ||
| Josh Brent | Dallas Cowboys | Intoxication manslaughter | 180 days and 10 years' probation[8] | ||
| Plaxico Burress | New York Giants | Attempted criminal possession of a weapon | 2 years | Conviction was a plea bargain for an incident in which Burress accidentally shot himself in a nightclub.[9] Eligible for parole in April 2011;[10] released June 7, 2011.[11] | |
| Billy Cannon | Retired | Counterfeiting | 5 years[12] | Served years. Had been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame before his conviction in 1983, but the Hall rescinded the honor before his scheduled induction. The Hall elected him a second time in 2008 and he was inducted at that time. | |
| Rae Carruth | Carolina Panthers | Conspiracy to commit murder | 18 years[13] | Released on October 22, 2018, having served 19 years.[14] | |
| Cecil Collins | Miami Dolphins | Burglary | 15 years[15] | Released after serving 13 years[16] | |
| Maurice Clarett | Free agent | Armed robbery, possession of a concealed weapon without a permit, failure to maintain current lane | years | Clarett was released to a halfway house after less than four years.[17] | |
| Russell Erxleben | Retired | Conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, then wire fraud and money laundering | 7 years then years[18] | ||
| Michael Floyd | Arizona Cardinals | Extreme DUI | 24 days in jail, 96 days of house arrest, 30 hours of community service and a $5,115.99 fine[19] | Floyd was found unconscious in his car in the middle of a road at 2:48 a.m. with a .217 blood alcohol content.[20] He originally faced seven charges but pleaded to one. | |
| Irving Fryar | Retired | Conspiracy and theft by deception (mortgage scam) | 5 years[21] | ||
| Dwayne Goodrich | Dallas Cowboys | Criminally negligent homicide | years[22] | Hit and run accident. Released after serving approximately eight years.[23] | |
| Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson | Retired | Sexual assault, bribery | 4 years, 8 months | Released after serving 28 months[24] | |
| Darryl Henley | Los Angeles Rams | Drug trafficking, attempted conspiracy to commit murder | 42 years[25] | Expected release date: March 28, 2031[26] | |
| Aaron Hernandez | New England Patriots | First-degree murder | Life without parole[27] | Committed suicide in prison on April 19, 2017. | |
| Travis Henry | Cut | Drug trafficking | years[28] | Served 2 years and 5 months[29] | |
| Jimmy Hitchcock | Retired | Fraud, bribery and money laundering | 46 months[30] to be followed by two years of supervised release[31] | ||
| Sam Hurd | Chicago Bears | Conspiracy to possess cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute | 15 years[32] | ||
| Mark Ingram Sr. | Retired | Money laundering and fraud | 7 years in prison and up to 5 years of probation. Ordered to pay $252,000 in restitution. Given an additional 2 years in prison for jumping bail to see his son Mark Ingram II play for the University of Alabama.[33] | Released 2015 | |
| Tank Johnson | Chicago Bears | Probation violation relating to weapons possession | 120 days | Served 60 days[34] | |
| Johnny Jolly | Green Bay Packers | Drug possession, evidence tampering, violating probation[35] | 6 years | Served 6 months[36] | |
| Tommy Kane | Seattle Seahawks | Manslaughter | 18 years[37] | ||
| Ryan Leaf | Retired | Burglary, drug possession | 5 years[38] | AP, January 18, 2013. | Released after serving years.[39] |
| Ray Lewis | Baltimore Ravens | Obstruction of justice | 12 months probation, $250,000 fine | Lewis pled down to obstruction in exchange for his testimony after a bar fight he was involved in left two people dead. Lewis was named Super Bowl MVP the year following his arrest. On April 29, 2004, Lewis reached an out-of-court settlement with four-year-old India Lollar, born months after the death of her father Richard, pre-empting a scheduled civil proceeding. Lewis also reached an undisclosed settlement with Baker's family.[40] | |
| Jamal Lewis | Baltimore Ravens | Using a cell phone to facilitate a drug deal | 4 months | [41] | |
| Leonard Little | St. Louis Rams | Involuntary manslaughter | 3 months[42] | involved in fatal car crash while intoxicated. | |
| Derek Loville | Retired | Racketeering conspiracy | 15 months, $5,000 fine | Loville was charged for his role in a drug trafficking ring, but pleaded guilty only to racketeering.[43] | |
| Kevin Mack | Cleveland Browns | Drug use | 6 months | Mack was charged with cocaine trafficking, using a motor vehicle for drug abuse and possessing criminal tools but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.[44] He served only a month at the Ohio State Reformatory.[45] | |
| Dexter Manley | Washington Redskins | Drug possession, evidence tampering | 4 years (1996) 2 years (2002) | Served over three years[46] | |
| Dave Meggett | Retired | Criminal sexual conduct and burglary | 30 years | Previously convicted of misdemeanor sexual battery[47] | |
| Bam Morris | Kansas City Chiefs | Drug trafficking | 30 months | Released after serving two and a half years[48] | |
| Mercury Morris | Retired | Drug trafficking | 20 years | Served 3 years. Released early after a plea agreement in which he pleaded no contest to felony drug trafficking charges.[49] | |
| Eric Naposki | Cut | First-degree murder | Life in prison without the possibility of parole[50] | ||
| Nate Newton | Retired | Drug trafficking | years (two separate convictions)[51] | released after serving about two and a half years[52] | |
| Lawrence Phillips | Retired | Assault, separate incident of assault with a deadly weapon (intentionally driving into victims) | 31 years total | Previously sentenced to 10 years on driving charge, which was reduced to seven years during sentencing for assault charge against his girlfriend in 2009[53] In 2016, while awaiting trial regarding the death of his cellmate, Phillips committed suicide in prison after serving 7+ years.[54] | |
| Alabama Pitts | Pre-career | Armed robbery | 8–16 years | Pitts was released after six years and played minor league baseball after his release. | |
| Joe Prokop | Retired | Tax evasion, fraud | years in prison and years of home confinement[55] | ||
| Saleem Rasheed | Retired | Food stamp fraud, immigration fraud | 8 months in prison followed by 8 months of home detention followed by 3 years of supervised release, $500 fine, $5,551 restitution | Rasheed falsely claimed a woman as his wife on immigration forms and collected food stamps despite being ineligible.[56] | |
| Two counts of School Employee Engaging in a Sex Act | 3 years | Rasheed was charged with two counts of School Employee Engaging in a Sex Act and two counts of School Employee Engaging in a Deviate Sex Act stemming from consensual sex acts with of-age girls while he was a schoolteacher. He pleaded guilty to the two lesser charges.[57] [58] | |||
| Robert Rozier | Retired[59] | Multiple murders | Multiple | Convicted of four murders, served 10 years and placed in witness protection after testifying against Yahweh Ben Yahweh, later sentenced to 25 to life on check kiting charge under a Three-strikes law[60] | |
| Henry Ruggs | Las Vegas Raiders[61] |