Finance professor speculates how NBA figures got caught in alleged gambling ties

Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were arrested Thursday morning as part of an FBI investigation into alleged illegal gambling activities linked to the La Cosa Nostra crime families.

The accusations come despite both Billups and Rozier earning over $100 million each in their careers, while Jones earned around $20 million.

With so much money to spend, it's fair to wonder how NBA figures allegedly became embroiled in the scandal.

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“How could they get into a situation where they would do that? Their lifetime income was somewhere around $150 million. For most people, you couldn't spend $150 million in your lifetime.” Notre Dame finance professor Richard Sheehan This was stated in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.

Billups is accused of making $50,000 playing at least one poker game, while Rozier allegedly counted “tens of thousands” of dollars from his friend's bets after Rozier's early exit from the game.

Sheehan said the net worths he saw for Billups and Rozier, which were much lower than their career earnings, didn't add up.

“However, the numbers I saw in terms of their net worth were in the region of $35-$40 million. Still, that's not bad at all, but I look at $150 million in income, subtract taxes, subtract expenses, etc. And as a finance professor, I look at that and say, “Their wealth must be twice that of $35 or $40 million.” Easy, should be twice as much. And that’s not true,” Sheehan said.

Sheehan accused “cliques” of being attached to athletes, resulting in athletes giving them money.

“A lot of people in sports circles essentially view them as walking ATM machines,” Sheehan said.

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He also suggested the possibility of bad financial decisions being made by consultants and lawyers due to the large discrepancy between income and net worth.

“Another possibility is that they had dealings with shady characters, such as the Mafia, that they may not have known about at the time, and that led them to compromising positions when they felt they needed to do something,” Sheehan said, essentially repeating the poker scheme allegations.

However, there is another possibility: simple stupidity and greed.

“I have $40 million in the bank. But, you know, if I had $41 million, I'd feel a little better.” If you can do it honestly, then it's one story. If you have to cut corners, then that's just stupid because your future income, in terms of sports, your future income will go to zero and you could end up spending a fair amount of time in a jail cell,” Sheehan said.

Billups, Rozier and Jones, the latter of whom is a defendant in both cases, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The NBA announced that Billups and Rozier were placed on leave from their teams effective immediately, “and we will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities.”

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“The integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.

Lawyers for Billups and Rozier deny any wrongdoing.

“Anyone who knows Chauncey Billups knows that he is an honest man; honest people do not deceive or deceive others,” attorney Chris Haywood said in a statement.

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