Finance Professor Speculates How NBA Figures Got Caught Up in Alleged Gambling Ties

Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were arrested Thursday morning as part of an FBI investigation into alleged illegal gambling linked to the La Cosa Nostra crime families.

The allegations come despite Billups and Rozier each earning more than $100 million in career earnings, while Jones earned around $20 million.

With so much money being made, it’s fair to wonder how NBA numbers would have been implicated in the scandal.

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“How could they find themselves in a situation where they would do that? Their lifetime income was about $150 million. For most people, you couldn’t spend $150 million in your lifetime,” Richard Sheehan, a finance professor at Notre Dame, said in a recent interview with PK Press Club Digital.

Sure enough, Billups is accused of winning $50,000 playing at least one poker game, while Rozier allegedly counted “tens of thousands” of dollars after his friend’s bets following Rozier’s early exit from a game.

Sheehan said Billups and Rozier’s net worth that he saw, which was much lower than their career earnings, didn’t add up.

“The numbers I had seen in terms of net worth, though, were somewhere around $35 million and $40 million. That’s not bad at all, but I look at the $150 million in income, I subtract taxes, I subtract expenses, whatever, and as a finance professor I look at that and say their wealth should be double $35 or $40 million. Easy, should be double. And it’s not,” Sheehan said.

Sheehan blamed the possibility of “possessions” clinging to athletes, leading athletes to give them money.

“A lot of people in the athlete world would think of them as walking vending machines,” Sheehan said.

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups leaves the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse after a hearing following his arrest on federal gambling charges in Portland, Oregon, United States, October 23, 2025. (John Rudoff/Reuters)

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He also speculated about the possibility of poor financial decisions by advisors and lawyers due to the large gap between income and net worth.

“The other possibility is simply that they have had dealings with unsavory characters like the mafia, which they may not have been aware of at the time, and that has led them into compromising positions where they feel they have to do something,” Sheehan said, effectively reiterating the allegations of the poker scheme.

There is, however, one last possibility: simple stupidity and greed.

“‘I have $40 million in the bank. But, you know, if I had $41 million, I’d feel a little better.’ If you can do it honestly, then that’s a different story. If you have to cut corners, then that’s really stupid, because your future income, in terms of sports, your future income goes to zero, and you could end up spending quite a bit of time in a prison cell,” Sheehan said.

Billups, Rozier and Jones, the latter a defendant in both cases, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The NBA announced that Billups and Rozier had been placed on immediate leave from their teams, “and we will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities.”

(Left) Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups speaks to a referee during a first-half timeout against the Sacramento Kings at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on October 10, 2025. (Right) Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) leaves the court after the game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena from Detroit, Michigan, November 12. 2024. (Jaime Valdez/Imagn Images;Rick Osentoski/Imagn Images)

“The integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.

Lawyers for Billups and Rozier have denied any wrongdoing.

“Anyone who knows Chauncey Billups knows that he is a man of integrity; men of integrity do not cheat or defraud others,” read a statement from attorney Chris Heywood.