Shilo Sanders hasn't appeared on an NFL field since he wasejected from his final preseason game. Meanwhile, his legal situation doesn't appear to be getting any better.
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety, and middle son of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, is being sued by a law firm that claims he still owes more $164,000 in unpaid legal bills and interest,according to USA Today. Barnes & Thornburg LLP reportedly filed the lawsuit on Monday.
That legal work was reportedly related to the bankruptcy case in which Shilo was attempting to discharge nearly $12 million in debt, most of which was owed to a former security guard who had won a default judgement after accusing him of an assault that left him with permanent injuries.
From USA Today:
The firm "delivered the legal services and incurred the costs reflected in the Invoices between May 1, 2024 and August 26, 2024 based on the Agreement," an employee for the firm said in a written declaration filed in federal court in Dallas. "Mr. Sanders, however, failed to pay the amounts reflected the Invoices presented to him, and has not tendered payment in response to Plaintiff's efforts to obtain payment on the outstanding Invoices. The total of the Invoices that Mr. Sanders currently owes Plaintiff is $164,285.55, including $10,967.91 in interest for the services provided and costs incurred."
Barnes & Thornburg's work for Sanders reportedly ceased in August 2024 when the firm told him the attorney responsible for his case, Victor Vital, was moving to a different firm, Haynes Boone. They informed him he was still responsible for any outstanding account balance, though.
The timeline of Sanders' legal issues go back to 2015, when he was 15 years old and attending Triple A Academy, where his father was CEO. The timeline works out like this,via USA Today:
2015: Deion Sanders orders security guard John Darjean to confiscate Shilo's phone while he's in in-school suspension and Shilo allegedly reacts by attacking Darjean, leaving him "severe and permanent injuries including a broken neck, damage to his cervical spine, permanent neurological injuries and irreversible incontinence."
2016: Darjean sues Shilo and his parents, leading to a protracted back-and-forth in which the Sanders family claims Darjean was the aggressor.
2019: Shilo's parents are removed from the lawsuit, but Shilo is still a defendant. He begins college at South Carolina.
2020: Shilo drops his attorneys, who tell the court they have "been informed by Sanders that he is unwilling or unable to continue funding the defense of this case."
2021: Shilo transfers to play for his father at Jackson State. It's later claimed trial notices were still being sent to his South Carolina email address and physical address.
2022: The case goes to trial and Shilo doesn't appear in court, leading to an $11.89 million default judgement.
2023: Shilo, a college football player with a considerable following and NIL deals, files for bankruptcy after hiring new lawyers, who say he should get a "fresh start in life, free from the oppressive burden of his debts."
2024: Darjean files as Shilo's creditor and his lawyers contest Shilo's claim of having only $320,477, citing his NIL deals and shows of apparent wealth on social media.
2025: A bankruptcy trustee files a complaint against Shilo, claiming he violated bankruptcy law by making a transfer of roughly $250,000 and that he funneled $202,500 in post-bankruptcy NIL money to an LLC he owns.
And now, another creditor is saying they should get paid.
All of this has been playing out in the background as Sanders pursues an NFL career. He went unselected in the 2025 NFL Draft and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Bucs. He wasn't expected to make the team's 53-man roster, butan incident in which he took a swing at a Buffalo Bills tight endremoved all doubt about his future with the team.Tampa Bay waived him one day later, withthe NFL fining him $4,669.
Since then, Sanders has failed to find even a practice squad job in the NFL. Hegot a tryout with the San Francisco 49ers in September, but that appears to be the lone time an NFL team has shown legitimate interest in him.
Without an NFL team, Sanders seems to be focusing more on the influencer side of things,like when he played a prank on fans by impersonating his brother Shedeur. There was also a promotion with Fanatics Sportsbook at NASCAR championship weekend.
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Your guess is as good as ours at how much he, or an LLC, got paid for that.
