FOOTBALL isn’t just a sport, it’s a business – and one player managed to cost his former team over $2 million per touchdown.

Over the last two decades, JaMarcus Russell has made headlines for his dominance in high school and college football, his disappointing and short-lived NFL career, and his 2010 arrest, but on June 29, 2024, multiple reports revealed that Russell had also found himself at the center of controversy.

Who is JaMarcus Russell?

JaMarcus Trenell Russell is a former football quarterback and high school coach.

Russell was born on August 9, 1985, in Mobile, Alabama.

He played college football for the Louisiana State University Tigers, where he won the Manning Award, given annually to the best college football quarterback, his junior year.

He was selected by the Oakland Raiders as the first overall draft pack in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Despite not participating in the team’s training camp or the first few games of the season, Russell eventually signed a contract with the Raiders on September 12, 2007.

He made his first NFL game appearance on December 2, 2007, against the Denver Broncos.

Russell was named starting quarterback in August 2009, ahead of his third season with the Raiders.

He finished the season with the:

• Lowest quarterback rating,
• Lowest completion percentage,
• Fewest passing touchdowns, and the
• Fewest passing yards among all NFL quarterbacks

On May 6, 2010, the Raiders released Russell, and a few weeks later, the team filed a grievance on May 28, 2010.

The Raiders were seeking nearly $10 million back from Russell, who had received the funds for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons.

On July 5, 2010, Russell was arrested in his hometown for being in possession of codeine syrup without a valid prescription.

After pleading not guilty to a state felony charge of possession of a controlled substance, a Mobile County grand jury formally declined to indict Russell on the charge on October 29, 2010.

Russell later told ESPN’s Colleen Dominguez that he had tested positive for codeine after being selected by the Raiders in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Despite his interest in returning to the NFL, many teams reportedly questioned Russell’s work ethic and past arrest.

Russell claims to have reached out to all 32 NFL teams asking for a tryout – and promising to play for free for an entire year to prove his worth – but none of the teams responded.

Due to his dramatic fall from collegiate superstar and top draft pick, Russell is considered the biggest draft bust in NFL history.

What is JaMarcus Russell being accused of?

JaMarcus Russell is reportedly facing a lawsuit accusing him of taking a $74,000 check.

The check was meant as a donation to Russell’s alma mater, Williamson High School, located in Mobile, Alabama.

Along with the accusation and lawsuit, Russell was fired from the school during the middle of football season in the fall of 2023.

Russell, who joined the Williamson football team’s staff in 2018, served as a volunteer assistant coach.

“JaMarcus Russell was relieved of his volunteer coaching duties at Williamson High School during the fall of last year,” Mobile County Public School officials told WKRG Sports, as reported by ESPN.

Russell, who tried attending an event for the school’s football team in June 2024, is also banned from the school’s campus.

“Earlier this week, it was reiterated to Mr. Russell that he is not permitted to be around the football program or on [the] school campus,” the school district said in a statement to WKRG.

Chris Knowles, a local business owner, was approached by Russell in the summer of 2022.

Russell claimed to have been raising funds for the school’s football team to purchase weight-room equipment.

Knowles, the owner of Selwonk Enterprises, a local building company, wrote a check for $74,000, but the school allegedly never received the check or the funds.

Russell is accused of allegedly taking the check to a local credit union.

He deposited the check at Navigator Credit Union in July 2022, and managed to withdraw a portion of the $74,000 total on the same day of the deposit.

Knowles stopped payment on the check when Russell couldn’t provide him with a receipt for the donation.

He also reportedly quit returning Knowles’ several phone calls.

Navigator Credit Union is suing Russell for the portion of the check they paid to him – nearly $55,000 – in a lawsuit filed in March 2023.

In November 2023, Russell filed a counterclaim against Knowles for stopping payment on the check.

Russell has reportedly admitted “to depositing the check, but denies wrongdoing, per court documents,” as reported by WKRG News.

The case is scheduled to go to trial in October 2024.

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What is JaMarcus Russell’s net worth?

JaMarcus Russell has managed to amass a significant net worth, according to several online sources.

Celebrity Net Worth places Russell’s net worth in the $4 million range.

The majority of those millions likely stem from his time in the NFL.

While he only played for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders for three seasons, he reportedly signed a six-year contract worth $61 million, with $32 million guaranteed.

The Raiders, who had already given Russell $10 million in salary advances, agreed on a settlement of $3 million in 2013, as reported by Bleacher Report.

The NFL team shelled out nearly $40 million – including the settlement – for Russell, but only received three years of mediocre gameplay in return.

Russell won just seven of the 25 games he started in, “and threw 18 touchdowns against 23 interceptions.”

If the latest allegations of Russell reportedly taking what was meant to be a donation check for his alma mater turn out to be true, he may have already spent that $40 million, or he may be running low on actual cash.

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