Shocking Legal Woes Led to the Downfall of This MLB Superstar

Throughout the years, athletes have emerged on the scene, demonstrating their skills, and dedication to their sport, and illustrating how hard work and dedication can be incredibly rewarding. Across all sports disciplines, from baseball, basketball, and football to golf, soccer, wrestling, and much more, athletes compete to take home the ultimate prize – it could be a championship ring, an award, or a cash prize – while entertaining fans. Yet, not everything is always positive. Shocking legal woes led to the downfall of this MLB superstar and others in similar situations.

For many iconic athletes, life is good after retirement. They manage to secure endorsement deals, land hosting gigs, become sports commentators, invest in other sports teams, or start new businesses. But not everyone does as well. Many iconic names, like basketball legend Allen Iverson, who retired and declared bankruptcy, or MLB pitcher Ugueth Urbina who was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to 14 years in jail (he was released after serving half and returned to baseball).

To learn about life after sport for these iconic athletes, 24/7 Tempo checked many online sources, including Bleacher Report, ESPN, Prime Time Sports Talk, and more. Want to learn about other iconic athletes? Check out this list of the athletes with the most Summer Olympics medals ever.

George Foreman

Sport: Boxing
Year Retired: 1997
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

For many iconic athletes, life after sport has been very good, and that's certainly the case for George Foreman. After being the oldest fighter to ever win the world heavyweight boxing championship, Foreman went on to several other business endeavors. The most successful was his George Foreman Grill.

The famous clamshell design and easy-to-use operation made it a hit with adults, teens, college students, and more. The company that produces it paid Foreman over 137 million dollars to use his name, and he's been enjoying that stardom ever since. Other than that, he's mostly been out of the spotlight.

Allen Iverson

Sport: Basketball
Year Retired: 2013
Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending

You'll likely find many people who thought that Allen Iverson was one of the best competitors in the NBA. However, though he made over $200 million during his career, once he retired, he began to lose much of his nest egg. It's reported that he was supporting 50 friends and family members, and they started bleeding him dry.

Iverson was banned from several casinos after his gambling went wrong. He tried to start a new career playing professional indoor soccer, but that fell through. Iverson has tried to say he's doing fine financially, but things don't look good.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Sport: Wrestling
Year Retired: 2004
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

At the beginning of his career, The Rock was known for his showmanship in the ring as a WWE wrestler. Though he does some part-time appearances here and there, he retired from wrestling in 2004. Since then, he mostly goes by Dwayne Johnson, and he has become one of the biggest movie stars of the last two decades.

Some of his hit movies include the remake of "Jumanji," the disaster movie "San Andreas," and appearances in a few "Fast and Furious" films. He's easily the most successful person to ever make the transition from wrestling to Hollywood.

Magic Johnson

Sport: Basketball
Year Retired: 1996
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

Another iconic athlete who has done well after retirement is Magic Johnson. He was one of the best basketball players and he made history as part of the Olympic Dream Team back in the day. After his retirement, he became quite a businessman. In 2012, he was part of the group that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers, which made him even wealthier, especially after the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series. He also owns a minor league baseball team, he helped to purchase the WNBA team the Los Angeles Sparks, and the soccer team called the Los Angeles FC.

Jack Nicklaus

Sport: Golf
Year Retired: 2005
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

Jack Nicklaus was considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. He continued to win for many years. He was Player of the Year five times, and he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. When he finally hung his golf clubs up officially in 2005, he began to start other business endeavors. One of them is designing golf courses.

His designs have been so successful that he's made millions off of his work. So now, he can be remembered for his golf game and also whenever someone plays on one of his courses.

Evander Holyfield

Sport: Boxing
Year Retired: 2014
Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending

During his heyday, Evander Holyfield was one of the best in the game and a big name in the sport. It's reported that he made over $250 million over his career. However, he always had a hard time saying no to friends and family who asked him for money, and that eventually cost him.

Not only did he lose a lot of money, but he also had to sell a lot of his boxing memorabilia. It's a sad ending for someone so giving. These days, he still makes some money off of his speaking engagements.

David Beckham

Sport: Soccer
Year Retired: 2013
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

For many years, David Beckham was considered one of the best soccer players on the planet and made a lot of money along the way. That fact did not change when he retired in 2023. Since then, he has had many endorsement deals that have made him millions of dollars. One of those endorsements was a $160 million contract with Adidas. He also had a long-term deal with PepsiCo.

Ugueth Urbina

Sport: Baseball
Year Retired: 2005
Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending

Life after sport for baseball pitcher Ugueth Urbina was downright sinister. One month after retirement, he was arrested for attacking several workers on a farm he owned. He attacked them with a machete and tried to set them on fire because he believed one of the workers had stolen his gun. As a result of his actions, Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in jail, serving 7.5 years before his release.

Tony Hawk

Sport: Skateboard
Year Retired: 2003
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

Tony Hawk is among the most influential skateboarders of all time. The year he retired from competing professionally, he signed a deal with the video game company Activision to create the first Tony Hawk skateboarding game. Since then, the series has taken off in a big way and many of the Tony Hawk games are considered to be amongst the best overall games of all time. Hawk still makes cameos on TV shows and makes professional appearances from time to time.

Michael Strahan

Sport: Football
Year Retired: 2007
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

In 2007, football player Michael Stahan retired after 15 seasons with the New York Giants. However, his career has not died down. Since then, he's been a co-host of the long-running NFL show "Fox NFL Sunday," was co-host of "Live! with Kelly and Michael" with Kelly Ripa for several years (he won a Daytime Emmy for his work), and currently co-hosts "Good Morning America," and hosts the game show, "The $100,000 Pyramid."

Lawrence Taylor

Sport: Football
Year Retired: 1993
Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending

Another iconic athlete who went south after retirement is NFL defensive player Lawrence Taylor. He retired as the franchise sacks leader playing for the Giants. Life after retirement included losses in the stock market, tax issues, and several run-ins with the law. Just when it seemed like he was getting his life right in 2009, he was arrested for a hit-and-run accident where he fled the scene.

He was also later arrested for allegedly paying an underage girl to commit lewd acts.

Alex Rodriguez

Sport: Baseball
Year Retired: 2016
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

In 2016, acclaimed baseball player Alex Rodiguez stopped competing professionally. He was considered to be one of the best to ever play the game and many people wondered what he would do next. In the years following, he has worked as an announcer for other baseball games and he's had a good career doing so. His other claim to fame is co-hosting the podcast "The Deal," which he hosts with Jason Kelly.

Julie Foudy

Sport: Soccer
Year Retired: 2004
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

Julie Foudy is considered to be one of the best female soccer players of all time. During her career, she played 270 games and had incredible success. She won two gold medals and two silver medals in four different Olympics. She also won two World Cups and is now in the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Since she retired, she's had a pretty good career working as a commentator for ESPN soccer as well as being a sports analyst.

Denny McLain

Sport: Baseball
Year Retired: 1973
Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending

Denny McLain was an iconic athlete and baseball pitcher during the 1960s and the early 70s. He did so well that he won two Cy Young Awards during back-to-back years. However, he was released by the Braves and completed two years of minor-league baseball before retiring at only 29 years old. After that, things went downhill quickly for him as he was arrested multiple times for various crimes, ranging from mail fraud to embezzlement to counts of drug trafficking.

Michael Jordan

Sport: Basketball
Year Retired: 2003
Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending

Arguably one of the best overall athletes of all time, basketball player Michael Jordan was a dominant force on the court and is arguably the GOAT of the sport. One of his biggest claims to fame after retirement is becoming the minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. He has also continued to enjoy the profits of his NIKE franchise, which has officially made him a billionaire. It's no wonder why Jordan is one of America's favorite athletes of all time.