It's a sorry story.
Jack Johnson, who played hockey for two seasons at the University of Michigan from 2005-07, now plays in the NHL. But his finances have become a disaster, and he's filed for bankruptcy.
The Columbus Dispatch tells the sordid tale of Johnson, who plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets and how his parents wild spending helped him land him in the financial mess he's in today.
Reporter Aaron Portzline begins his story:
On the morning of Oct. 7, two days before the Blue Jackets opened the 2014-15 season, Jack Johnson left his Ferrari parked in the garage of his Dublin apartment and drove his BMW to a federal courthouse Downtown to file for bankruptcy.
Johnson has earned more than $18 million during his nine-year NHL career, not including the $5 million he will be paid this season by the Blue Jackets.
Almost all of the money is gone, and some of his future earnings have already been promised — which is why Johnson, surrounded by a new team of financial advisers and an attorney, signed his financial surrender.
The paper goes on to write:
But sources close to Johnson have told The Dispatch that his own parents — Jack Sr. and Tina Johnson — are among the “wrong people” who led him astray financially.
In 2008, Johnson parted ways with agent Pat Brisson, who represents some of the National Hockey League’s biggest stars, including Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. With no agent and little knowledge of how the financial world works, Johnson turned over control of his money to his parents.
In 2011, in the weeks leading up to Johnson’s first big contract — a seven-year, $30.5 million deal signed with the Los Angeles Kings, under which he now plays for the Blue Jackets — Johnson signed a power of attorney that granted his mother full control of his finances.
His parents bought a house in Manhattan Beach, Calif., without his knowledge and spent $800,000 on upgrades, the Columbus reporter adds.
