Mark Brunell, the Jets backup quarterback who declared bankruptcy this year despite earning $52 million in his career, said at a hearing that he simply couldn’t keep up with his losses in the real estate market.
“I got in over my head and the debt was insurmountable,” Brunell said, per the Jacksonville Daily Record. “I’m filing Chapter 11 to reorganize and come up with a plan to make this right.”
Although Brunell is generally considered a lock to make the Jets’ roster as their No. 2 quarterback, he said at yesterday’s bankruptcy hearing (which he attended by phone from Philadelphia, where the Jets are playing tonight) that there are no guarantees he’ll earn the $1.5 million he’s expecting to make in the NFL this year.
“It depends on how I play tomorrow night,” Brunell said. “You’re not guaranteed anything if you’re not on the roster the opening day of the season. . . . I should know within the next seven days.”
Asked what he’ll do if he doesn’t make the team, Brunell said, “First off, cry.”
The people Brunell owes millions of dollars know the feeling.