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Shilo Sanders Files for Bankruptcy to Absolve $11.8 Million Assault Judgment: Report
Colorado safety Shilo Sanders, son of coach Deion Sanders, files for bankruptcy to absolve $11.8M assault judgment from 2015 incident, drawing scrutiny over undisclosed NIL income.
In a bold move to wipe the slate clean, University of Colorado safety Shilo Sanders has filed for bankruptcy in an effort to discharge a staggering $11.8 million civil judgment against him.
The filing represents the latest chapter in Sanders' years-long legal entanglement stemming from an alleged assault incident during his high school days in Texas nearly a decade ago.
Shilo Sanders' Multi-Million-Dollar Judgment Stems From 2015 Altercation
The bankruptcy proceedings revolve around a 2022 civil lawsuit in which Sanders was found liable for severely injuring a security guard named John Darjean at his former Dallas high school, Triple A Academy.
According to court records, Darjean's lawsuit claimed that in 2015, the then-15-year-old Sanders elbowed and repeatedly struck him during a confrontation over Sanders' use of a cell phone on campus.
Darjean alleged the vicious assault left him with "severe and permanent injuries including a broken neck, damage to his cervical spine, permanent neurological injuries and irreversible incontinence."
With Sanders failing to show up for the 2022 trial, the court handed down a jaw-dropping $11.89 million default judgment against the young athlete.
Financial Fresh Start for Shilo Sanders Sought After Inherited Legal Burden
Now 24 years old and the son of Colorado head coach Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, Shilo Sanders hopes the bankruptcy filing will provide him a desperately needed "fresh start" from the "oppressive burden" of the multimillion-dollar judgment he had no part in contesting.
"Given the size of the judgment and the fact that Shilo was an undergraduate college student looking towards graduate programs, the creation of a post-judgment receivership would have a permanent effect on his ability to start his life after graduation," Sanders' attorney argued in court filings.
However, Sanders' bid for a financial reset has drawn scrutiny over apparent discrepancies in his reported income and valuables.
In his initial December 2023 bankruptcy filing, the Colorado defensive back declared just $477,881 in assets - a figure that included a $300,000 Robinhood investment account, a $75,000 Mercedes SUV, and $75,000 worth of necklaces reportedly "on loan" as part of a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal.
Just weeks later, though, Sanders revised his asset total down to $320,477, removing the necklaces from the equation but providing no details on the nature or value of his numerous NIL agreements and endorsements.
John Darjean's lawyers criticized Sanders for not providing clear information about his income from NIL deals.
They said Sanders purposely did not disclose these income sources in his court filings, even though he appears to be living an expensive, cash-rich lifestyle based on his social media posts.
Darjean's lawyers pointed out that Sanders seems to have a lot of money to spend lavishly, contradicting the limited assets and income he reported to the court.
"Contrary to the schedules, Shilo has admitted acquiring vast amounts of high-end and expensive clothing," one filing declared, citing a May 2023 YouTube video in which Sanders bragged about dropping $50,000 on a shopping spree at Louis Vuitton.
Darjean's legal team has zeroed in on Sanders' lack of financial transparency regarding his NIL activities, which they describe as potentially his "most lucrative and highly valued" assets that have been improperly shielded.
"The entire underpinning of the NIL concept is the value of the individual athlete, but Shilo chose not only to hide the value of the entire NIL endeavor...but Shilo intentionally failed to identify and disclose his individual NIL property interest anywhere in the schedules," a filing alleged.
Sanders has denied any attempt to defraud, testifying that his NIL agreements were properly disclosed and funds properly accounted for through his company Big 21 LLC, which he claimed was the contracted entity for such deals.
Conflicting Accounts of the 2015 Shilo Sanders-John Darjean Incident
While the 2022 court ruling accepted Darjean's version of the events from 2015, Sanders has pushed back with an opposing narrative supported by witness accounts.
Sanders claimed Darjean initiated the confrontation by "cornering" him while he was on a phone call with his mother and then escalated the situation by choking Sanders after he refused to surrender his phone.
Sanders further alleged he was completely unaware of the 2022 trial proceedings until well after the fact, claiming court notices were never properly received or sent to his correct address at the time.
He has vowed to clear his name, though Darjean's camp has blasted such assertions as "preposterous."
As the legal wrangling continues to play out, Sanders is seeking to put the financial burden and controversy behind him as he prepares for his senior season at Colorado, where he was the Buffaloes' leading tackler in 2023 after transferring from Jackson State.
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