Defensive tackle, Bob Lilly is in the running for the greatest Dallas Cowboy of all-time after not missing a single game in his fourteen-year NFL career with the Cowboys and for his efforts in helping the Cowboys solidify their first-ever Super Bowl victory. However, his accolades and overall impact on football culture isn't as strong as running back Emmitt Smith's. Smith is the influence of every NFL running back today, his field awareness and cut-back ability allowed him to become the Hall of Fame NFL athlete he is today.
After having a legendary three-year run at the presitigous football school in the University of Florida, Smith was drafted 17th overall in the 1990 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys where he would thirteen years out his fifteen year NFL career. Within those fifteen years Smith would go on to snag the all-time leading rushing yards record (18,355), rushing attempts record (4,409), and rushing touchdown record (164). The 8x Pro Bowler would stack up a total of three Super Bowl victories with the Cowboys and earn Super Bowl MVP honors for his performance in Super Bowl XXVIII. To this day, we haven't seen a running back have as much success during the Super Bowl era of football since Emmitt Smith.
Not all celebrities have fame and fortune, some are just famous – and in a ton of debt. They came from rags to riches, then went back to rags. Whether they’ve filed bankruptcy, ended up in court, or just can’t stop spending, celebrities mismanage their money just like everyone else. They just hide it well.
50 Cent coined the term “wanksta,” then “partied like it was his birthday” until he filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015. The rapper was said to be anywhere between $10 million and $50 million in debt. In 2016, a federal bankruptcy court judge in Connecticut approved a plan for the founder of G-Unit to pay his debts back. He was able to get his bankruptcy discharged in February of the following year.
Following a 45-year-long career in Hollywood, acting in more than 70 films, actor Gary Busey found himself in more debt than he was worth. In 2012, it was reported that Busey owed between $500,000 and $1 million worth of debt, but only had $50,000 to his name. The 74-year-old actor owed money to hospitals, banks, the L.A. Waterworks District, and even a storage company. He filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy that same year. Despite his longstanding career in Hollywood, Busey's net worth is now only $500,000.
Burt Reynolds is still worth five million dollars, but his battles with debt date back more than 20 years. Between bad investments and a pricey divorce from actress Loni Anderson, the 1970s superstar had to deal with over $10 million in debt and decided to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1996. While testifying in a 1994 custody hearing, the South Florida native said he spent $40 million getting through his divorce.
The former Hollywood bad boy, Charlie Sheen owes the IRS nearly $5 million. But that's not all. In 2016, his net worth was reportedly still as high as $150 million, but he was nonetheless $12 million in debt at the time – including mortgages, legal fees, and taxes. That same year, Debt.com reported Sheen owed nearly $300,000 on an American Express card alone.