A decade ago, a teenager in a Dallas school hallway refused to hand over his phone. That moment, followed by a shove, an elbow, and a security guard left crumpled on the floor, set in motion a legal avalanche that has swallowed Shilo Sanders whole. Now, on March 4, 2026, a federal bankruptcy judge made sure he could not escape the wreckage of that long-ago afternoon either. 

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Romero rejected Sanders’ bid to dismiss a lawsuit from the trustee overseeing his bankruptcy estate. It kept alive claims that Sanders illegally funneled roughly $250,000 that should have belonged to his creditors.​ The judge’s ruling was sharp and pointed. 

“The Court’s role in deciding the Motion to Dismiss is not to resolve factual disputes or weigh potential evidence outside the four corners of the Complaint,” Romero wrote. “The Trustee has otherwise sufficiently pled the necessary elements of his claims. He has also supported his claims with sufficient factual allegations regarding Sanders’ bank accounts, his NIL proceeds deposits into the Big 21 Account, and Sanders’ control over Big 21 and the Headache Gang. Whether the evidence will ultimately substantiate the Trustee’s claims is a matter to be decided at trial.” 

The decision was a green light for the case to move into full trial proceedings. At the center of the trustee’s lawsuit is a dispute over ownership of money Sanders earned through his name, image, and likeness (NIL) businesses, Big 21 LLC and Headache Gang LLC.  Trustee David Wadsworth, whose job is to identify and collect Sanders’ non-exempt assets for the benefit of creditors, filed the complaint in October 2025, alleging Sanders violated the automatic stay. 

Wadsworth is chasing approximately $250,000 in allegedly unauthorized transfers from the Big 21 account. The same is being done for nearly $203,000 tied to Headache Gang’s NIL-related payments received after Sanders filed for bankruptcy. 

The root of all this goes back to September 2015. Shilo, then a 15-year-old, was asked by security guard John Darjean to surrender his phone during school hours. Darjean claimed Sanders elbowed him in the chest and continued hitting him after he fell. What followed was an alleged assault that left Darjean with a broken neck, damage to his cervical spine, permanent neurological injuries, and irreversible incontinence.

A lawsuit was filed in Dallas in 2016, but when the case finally reached trial in 2022, Shilo simply didn’t show up, leading to a default judgment of $11.89 million against him. The judgment included $3 million for future physical impairment and $2 million for future medical care. Shilo’s legal team later claimed his absence was due to the fact that he did not receive his notice because as it was sent to an outdated address in South Carolina.

“I will not relent until the truth is revealed and I receive my $12 million,” Darjean said defiantly in a 2024 interview. Unable to pay, Shilo filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2023 in Colorado federal court, with the explicit goal of having the $11.89 million debt discharged.

This is where the problems get even deeper. Sanders initially reported $477,881 in assets, later amended down to $320,477 in December 2023. Some of the major reported assets included a 2023 Mercedes-Benz valued at $75,900 and a Robinhood investment account.

But now David Wadsworth and Darjean’s legal team alleged Sanders failed to disclose significant Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) earnings and transferred approximately $250,000 to his LLCs (Big 21 LLC and Headache Gang LLC) to hide assets from creditors. It is this lawsuit that Shilo tried to get squashed. But it looks like the court system does not see it the same way and will move this complaint forward.

The court is further determining if the 2015 incident constitutes “willful and malicious” injury, which under law would make the debt non-dischargeable. To make things worse, in late 2025, a law firm filed a separate suit against Sanders seeking $164,285.55 for unpaid services related to his personal injury and bankruptcy cases.

Shilo’s case is not completely out of the ordinary. There are other NFL athletes who find themselves within such predicaments. Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is facing a cascade of financial liabilities stemming from a 2024 high-speed crash and subsequent allegations. Rice settled one civil case for $1.086 million in fees and damages in July 2025. He paid over $115,000 in immediate out-of-pocket medical expenses for victims. In February 2026, a former partner filed a civil suit seeking more than $1 million in damages for alleged domestic violence.

Then there is the former All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown, who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-2024 to restructure debts following years of legal disputes. Despite making nearly $81 million during his career, Brown cited an inability to comply with mounting debt while no longer earning an NFL salary.

The legal battle concerning Darjean’s case is set for trial on Aug. 31, while the trustee’s separate lawsuit has yet to receive a trial date. With the legal battles still going, Shilo has hit a stagnant period when it comes to his career. 

Colorado Buffaloes alum’s offer for Shilo Sanders

The former Buffalo safety went undrafted in the 2025 NFL and later signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent. However, over the last few months, he could not find his footing in the pro league. Shilo held his ground in preseason play, only to see it end bitterly. A final-game ejection for taking a swing at an opponent closed that chapter.

Since then, Shilo has been waiting for another free-agent opportunity. But till now he stays on standby. That’s when Colorado alum Matt McChesney came with an idea for Deion’s son.  

“I’m not saying that in jest at all.” He placed his opinion on the Zero 2 Sixty podcast. “I’m 100% serious. Shilo doesn’t have a job, coaching, or playing. He knows the school; obviously, he doesn’t know the players because they’re all new guys. I know he makes a ton of money on YouTube and s—. You can still make money on YouTube and be a college coach.”

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Definitely, Shilo has shown enough talent as a safety in Boulder to compete for the coaching role. But as long as the legal baggage hangs over him, Shilo is caught up in his past actions and has to tread his future carefully.