Le’Veon Bell wasn’t ponying up the dough.
The former running back, who was a disappointment for the Jets across parts of two seasons after a strong run with the Steelers that ended in a contract dispute, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly failing to pay child support.
Bell, who made roughly $45 million in career NFL earnings, was nabbed in Canton, Ohio, after failing to make a $50,000 child support payment, according to the Stark County Sheriff’s Office, with Bell having a warrant issued by the Michigan Attorney General where the child lives.
The former star running back was at an autograph signing at Prime Time Sports and Framing in Canton and was arrested there as a “courtesy hold” for the state of Michigan and remains in jail.
His attorney, Thomas Shaffer, told TMZ that Bell had been struggling to make lofty support payments that are based on a healthy NFL salary that he has not earned in years.
Bell lives in California but had been traveling to Ohio to sign autographs and continue to make the money needed to keep up with payments.
Bell, 34, retired from the league after the 2021 season, when he bounced between the Ravens and Buccaneers and hardly played.
The former Michigan State product has seven children with six different women.
It is unclear which child Bell was struggling to pay child support payments to, but he recently went viral for how difficult it is with six different mothers and struggled to name all seven of his children when challenged to name them on a podcast appearance.
Just last year, Bell was ordered to pay $25 million as a default judgment when he failed to respond to a 2024 civil lawsuit.
