The Ohio State prodigy, whom the Baltimore Colts selected with the fourth overall pick in ’82, literally gambled his career away. The compulsive bettor had lost his entire $35,000 signing bonus by midseason of his rookie year. Before the end of the ’82 players’ strike, Schlichter has amassed at least $700,000 in gambling debts. The next year, he was suspended by commissioner Pete Rozelle, and though Schlichter was reinstated in ’84 his habit continued to dog him. The Colts released him in 1985, with just three touchdown passes and eleven interceptions to his name.
Schlichter went on to spend ten years in prison between 1995 and 2006, and estimated he has stolen at least $1.5 million over the years, from both friends and strangers.