In this Aug. 2, 2011, file photo, Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd watches teammates practice during NFL football training camp at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill.
Former Chicago Bears receiver Sam Hurd was sentenced in federal court to 15 years in prison Wednesday over a drug trafficking conviction.
Hurd, 28, had been facing a life sentence after being arrested outside a Morton’s steakhouse in Chicago where he accepted a kilogram of cocaine from an undercover police officer. Hurd pleaded not guilty in April to conspiring to possess and distribute cocaine and marijuana. He faced a minimum sentence of 10 years, the Chicago Tribune reports.
According to a report published Wednesday by Sports Illustrated, Hurd said in an interview that he smoked marijuana daily during his days in the NFL and often supplied it to teammates when he was with the Dallas Cowboys.