Young’s Career in Football
Vincent Paul Young Jr. was born in Houston, Texas, on May 18, 1983. He was an American sports star, notable in the field of football as a quarterback. During his career, Young had played in the National Football League(NFL) for six seasons. As well as that he was also drafted by the Tennessee Titans and spent the first five seasons of his career with them.
During his high school, Young started as a quarterback for three years at Madison High School under coach Ray Seals. He then had compiled about 12,097 yards of total offense. In his senior years, he led their team, Madison Marlins, in the 5A Regionals against the former undefeated North Shore Mustangs, to a 61-58 victory. Subsequently, they defeated Missouri City Hightower in the state quarterfinals with 56-22 wins. However, despite the fact that Young had completed 18-30 passes for 400 yards and five touchdowns, Austin Westlake beats Madison Marlins by a score of 48-42 in the state semi-finals.
Among the acknowledgments he received during his high school were being named National Player of the Year after he had completed 59 touchdowns and 3,819 yards. As well as that, Young had also been the 2001 Texas Offensive Player of the Year. He had also obtained the Pete Dawkins Trophy in the U.S All-American Bowl. Furthermore, he was a varsity athlete in other sports aside from football. Back then, he also played basketball, track and field, and baseball.
During his College days, Young had enrolled at the University of Texas. In there,he played for the Texas Longhorns football team under coach Mack Brown, from the years 2002 to 2005. Alongside Young were also the future NFL players, including Justin Blalock, Aaron Ross, Selvin Young, Lyle Sendlein, Kasey Studdard, and Rodrique Wright.
As a redshirt sophomore, Young had led the Longhorn to victories and more bowl games. In the 2004 Rose Bowl, the Longhorns defeated the University of Michigan. Since then, after passing for 1,849 yards and rushing for 189 yards, his reputation as a dual-threat quarterback had started. In the following football season, as a redshirt junior, Young had led their team on a #2 rank in the preseason and #1 in the Bowl Championship Series. Afterward, in the 2006 Rose Bowl, Young had accounted for 467 yards offense and three rushing touchdowns, leading their team to a 41-38 victory. Also, his exceptional performance had gained him an MVP Rose Bowl honor. In 2007, when the ESPN had compiled the top 100 plays in college football history, Young’s winning touchdown on the 2006 Rose Bowl was ranked #5.
For the subsequent years before he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles in the year 2011, Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as their first-round pick. He was the first quarterback at that time to be taken in the draft. In July 2006, Young had signed his initial contract with the Titans and had continued to play with them for the following years of Tennessee Titans season until 2010.
In May 2012, Young had signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills and was then released three months after signing the contract. In August 2013, he also had signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers. However, he was released by the end of August. Afterward, on May 1, 2014, he again signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns but was released on May 12, 2014. Consequently, Young had announced his retirement on June 14, 2014.
Bankruptcy and Financial Problems
Young was among the sports star who had earned millions of dollars during their times. Aside from his $34 million salaries from his NFL career, he had also signed a $30 million endorsement deals with Campbell Soup, Reebok, Madden NFL, and the National Dairy Council.
However, in 2012, the Associated Press had reported that Vince Young had spent much of the salary he had earned in the NFL. In addition to that, he also faced a financial crisis after failing to meet his legal obligations on a $1.9 million high-interest salary loan. Thus, Young filed a lawsuit against the Pro Player Funding LLC and sought to stop the lender. Subsequently, he had also filed a lawsuit against Major Adams, his former agent, and to Ronnie Peoples, a North Carolina financial planner, on alleged misappropriation of $5.5 million of funds. However, his attorney had said that Young’s financial problems were the result of his lavish spending.
Moreover, In January 2014, Young had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Houston federal bankruptcy court. He later dismissed this after having a settlement with Peoples and Adams, as well as on the Pro Player Funding.