Colorado football safety Shiloh Sanders has been questioned in court about his personal income and assets since filing for bankruptcy last October with more than $11 million in debt, according to court records obtained by USA Today Sports.
The debt is primarily due to what a Texas court said was a debt Sanders owed to a security guard at his former school. The guard claims Sanders assaulted him in 2015, leaving him with severe and permanent injuries, including “neurological damage and cervical spine injuries.” The guard, John Darjeel, sued Sanders for damages in the case after Sanders failed to appear for trial in 2022, and won a $12 million judgment.
Sanders, the son of University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, has filed for bankruptcy to repay the debt, but Darjeel is still trying to collect a judgment against Sanders and is questioning in court how much Shiloh Sanders earned from a name, image and likeness (NIL) contract during his time in college.
“Shiloh is an honest but unfortunate debtor who desires to be relieved of the burden of her debts, including default judgments against Plaintiffs, and to begin a new life,” Shiloh Sanders' lawyers wrote in February court documents.
The University of Colorado declined to comment, and Shiloh and Deion Sanders said they also declined to comment.
What happened in 2015?
The incident in question was also reported by Denver's Westword newspaper on Friday. According to court documents, the incident occurred when Sanders was 15 and attending Triple-A Academy in Dallas, where Dargene worked as a security guard. Dargene said in the lawsuit that Sanders had been told not to use his cell phone on school grounds during class time, but continued to do so. After Sanders refused his request to hand over his phone, Dargene allegedly became violent towards him.
“Suddenly, and without any warning, Shiloh Sanders physically assaulted John Darjean by striking him in the chest and neck with her elbow and striking him multiple times in the chest and neck area,” Darjean's lawsuit states.
A Dallas County court essentially accepted Darjean's version of events without Shiloh Sanders' objection.
“The Court finds that Shiloh Sanders' conduct was the proximate cause of John Darjeel's injuries/damages,” states the final judgment, signed by a Dallas County judge in May 2022. “The Court further finds that Shiloh Sanders' conduct was a substantial contributing factor in bringing about the physical and mental injuries suffered by John Darjeel, and that without it, such injuries and damages would not have occurred.”
But Sanders later disputed Darjeel's version of events in court documents, alleging that Darjeel had “cornered” him during a phone call with his mother. His lawyers included witness testimony in support of Sanders in court documents.
“What I saw is the student didn't want to give (Darjan) his phone so (Darjan) kept asking for it,” one witness said in a statement. “Then (Darjan) reached for the phone and (Siro) pushed the adult and (Darjan) started pushing him and choking him. (Siro) was screaming, 'I can't breathe,' and crying. That's when the adults came and pulled (Darjan) off (Siro).”
So why did Shiloh Sanders lose her court case?
He was sentenced in default because he did not appear for trial. His lawyers said in court filings that he was unaware of the trial and would not learn of the sentence until 2023. Notice of the sentence was never received by him or was sent to the wrong address, according to court filings. He also did not have an attorney representing him in the case at the time the notice of trial was sent.
“In March 2022, a state court trial was opened without Shiloh's knowledge or involvement,” Shiloh's lawyers explained in a court filing. “After the state court opened trial, a judgment was entered by Plaintiff and his workers' compensation insurance company and finalized by the state court without any further notice, knowledge, or opportunity to present a defense, including the existence of a pre-existing, substantial injury resulting from Shiloh's prior career as a (professional) baseball player. The total judgment amounted to more than $11.8 million.”
What is the current status of this case?
Darjean is contesting Shiloh Sanders' bankruptcy case, seeking payment of the amounts awarded to him by the court and questioning where Sanders' NIL funds are going.
In his October bankruptcy filing, Sanders listed his liabilities, including court judgments, at $11.3 million. He also listed his assets at $478,000, including a 2023 Mercedes worth $75,900 and a necklace worth $75,000. His lawyers later revised the asset value to about $320,000 in December and removed the necklace from the list, saying it was a loan from an unsecured loan agreement with Saki Diamonds.
Darjan claims Sanders transferred the NIL transactions to his own company, Big 21 LLC, to keep them out of his hands, but Sanders' lawyers say Sanders did nothing wrong by doing so.
Sanders testified at the creditors' meeting that “all unsecured loan agreements were made with his company, Big 21 LLC, and all funds from those agreements were routed through Big 21 LLC accounts,” his lawyers said in a court filing. “As an owner of the companies, the debtor (Sanders) received funds from the companies, but the mere fact that funds were received from the companies does not create a transfer.”
Sanders' lawyers also said that Sanders “took no action either before or after the bankruptcy filing date to conceal, transfer, destroy or dispose of any assets and voluntarily surrendered over $210,000 to the Trustee without further order or agreement of surrender of the Bankruptcy Court.”
Shiloh Sanders looking for a fresh start
Sanders, 24, is in his final collegiate season at Colorado College, where he was the team's leading tackler in 2023. According to bankruptcy filings, his total earnings for 2023 were $193,713 at the time of the October filing. In 2022, while playing at Jackson State, his total earnings were $216,950.
“Given the size of the judgment and the fact that Shiloh was a college student intending to attend graduate school, the appointment of a post-judgment bankruptcy receiver would likely have a permanent impact on his life after graduation and expose the Debtor (Sanders) to collection activities from Plaintiffs for the rest of his life,” his lawyers wrote in a February court filing. “As a result, the Debtor has filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in order to relieve himself of the oppressive burden of his debts and obtain a fresh start.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer SchrotenboerEmail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
