Former Saints receiver Robert Meachem was thrown in jail yesterday for failing to pay child support and alimony.
Meachem was given 30 says in jail because he is behind by $388,019 on support owed his two children and his ex-wife, according to the Advocate. A judge ordered that Meachem can be released if he comes up with at least $100,000 of that; otherwise he’ll stay in jail for 30 days.
The child support and alimony were set when Meachem got divorced in 2014, when Meachem was still playing for the Saints and making an $855,000 salary. Meachem has not played a down in the NFL since 2014, although he has tried to get back into the league and has worked out for some teams.
It seems unlikely that Meachem, who turns 33 this year, will ever earn an NFL paycheck again. If he’s already so broke that he can’t even come up with the money he owes to keep himself out of jail, it’s hard to see how he’ll ever come up with the money. He’s the latest in a long line of players who go broke soon after their NFL paychecks go away.