GatewayRedbirds.com

Sadly, McMahon isn't the only former NFL player to get caught up in alleged financial misdeeds. The recent recession, brought about as it was by unprecedented and often fraudulent asset value inflation, brought all sorts of unexpected names to light.

Former Chicago Bears receiver Willie Gault, who caught quite a few of McMahon's passes in a career that lasted from 1983 through 1993, was arrested in December 2011 and charged with several counts of securities fraud. The SEC is interested in Gault's involvement with a company called Heart Tronics, and the possibility that he "authorized his signature to be used on public filings that contained false and misleading statements about the company's sales."

Add in the allegations of tax fraud against former receiver Freddie Mitchell, the six years served by punter Russell Erxleben for mail fraud and securities fraud, Fran Tarkenton's repayment to the SEC for fraud, and most certainly the "interesting" life led by quarterback Art Schlichter, and it would seem that the long-told tales of former athletes getting ripped off by shysters has been modified by a new spin that has the players wearing the black hats.

Ex-NFL quarterback Jim McMahon, whose most persistent worry used to be the wrath of Mike Ditka, has a bit more on his mind these days. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, McMahon is one of seven former board members of Illinois' Broadway Bank facing a lawsuit brought by the FDIC. The suit is an attempt to recover $104 million from 17 bad loans before the bank was shut down in 2010. According to the Sun-Times, the bank was owned by the family of Alexi Giannoulias, the former Illinois state treasurer who made an unsuccessful run for President Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat two years ago.

Sapp’s $6.45 million in assets includes 240 pairs of Jordan athletic shoes worth almost $6,500, a $2,250 watch and a lion skin rug worth $1,200. He also reported losing his 2002 Super Bowl ring with the Bucs and his 1991 national championship ring from the University of Miami.