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 suspected illegal gambling with ties 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.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were arrested Thursday. (Jaime Valdez/Imagn Images; Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images; Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

“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 Fox News Digital.

Billups is accused of winning $50,000 playing at least one game of poker, while Rozier allegedly counted “tens of thousands” of dollars from 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 still 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, it should be. be double. And that’s not the case,” 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, October 23, 2025. (John Rudoff/Reuters)

7 NBA GAMES DOJ SAYS WERE AFFECTED BY HIGH-STAKES BETTING AFTER PLAYER INFO LEAKED

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 just 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 like they have to do something,” Sheehan said, effectively reiterating the poker scheme allegations.

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.”

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier. (Imagn Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“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,” attorney Chris Heywood said in a statement.

Follow Fox News Digital sports coverage onand subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.