Broker behind fake NFL player loans files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Sure Sports Lending, the athlete-loan broker at the center of the fake NFL player loan scheme, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. Front Office Sports reported the filing Tuesday, and the court docket lists it as case No. 26-24675.

Sure Sports arranged at least three loans in 2023 and 2024 totaling $11.7 million to borrowers it believed were NFL players Michael Penix Jr., Xavier McKinney and David Njoku. The borrower was actually former Alabama lineman Luther Davis, who showed up to loan closings in disguise. The three players had no role in the fraud.

Where the criminal case stands

Davis was arrested by the FBI in 2024 at a fake closing Sure Sports had set up. He pleaded guilty this year and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 3. His co-defendant, CJ Evins, was sentenced to six years in prison. Federal prosecutors in Georgia charged that the pair obtained at least 13 fraudulent loans totaling more than $19.8 million.

What the filing shows

The filing lists assets and liabilities each between $1 million and $10 million, and 50 to 99 creditors. Two lenders, Aliya Sports Finance Fund and All Pro Capital Funding, are suing Sure Sports and say it did not do its due diligence on the fake loans. A Chapter 11 case should pause those suits against the company. FOS reports it is unclear how the filing affects All Pro's claim against co-founder Leon McKenzie, who has asked the court to dismiss it.

The company is not winding down. On the same day it filed, Sportico reported Sure Sports' plans to lend to MLB players in case of an extended lockout next year.

What it means for players and owners

Sure Sports' business is bridge loans that players repay once contract money comes in, and the lenders' suits turn on how well it checked who was borrowing. Nothing here touches Penix, McKinney or Njoku on the field, so there is no roster move for RSO owners.

What to watch next: Davis' sentencing on Dec. 3 and whether the lenders' claims move into the bankruptcy case.