Dave Duerson, who shot himself last week, played football in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, the New York Giants and the Phoenix Cardinals. After his football career he was a successful businessman as a McDonald's franchisee, and as the founder of Duerson Foods, which became a supplier for McDonald's.

Just as Duerson Foods was about to grow exponentially, problems set the company back. The company sued a freezer supplier in 2004, and won a judgment of $34 million that has never been collected. In September of last year, Dave Duerson filed for bankruptcy in Fort Lauderdale and was reportedly very upbeat about his prospects for a brighter financial future after a fresh start.

The bankruptcy case was still pending when Duerson ended his life last Thursday.

The bankruptcy petition listed assets of $34.6 million, $34 million of which was the uncollected judgment, listed as an "account payable." The liabilities were set at $14.7 million. The petition also noted that should the judgment ever be collected, Duerson's ex-wife, Alicia Duerson, would be entitled to 30-50% of the payment.

Alicia Duerson also took the step of filing papers with the court in Dave Duerson's bankruptcy case. She said that Duerson owed her $70,000, and that he had failed to list all of his assets in his bankruptcy petition. Specifically, she named his two Super Bowl rings and his 1987 Walter Payton Man of the Year trophy.

Duerson seemed confident he could work out the differences with his ex-wife. He said that ownership of the rings and the trophy had been transferred to the Dave Duerson Foundation for display in a hall of fame museum.

Fort Lauderdale bankruptcy attorneys noted that filings in the bankruptcy case were made as recently as a week ago, indicating that Duerson planned to proceed with his case.

The bankruptcy petition said that Duerson's annual income was $16,800. His assets were minimal. A high-mileage vehicle and a checking account with $846 were among them.

Duerson was millions of dollars in debt with business loans, tax debts, mortgages, personal loans and credit card debt.

Source: Chicago Breaking Business "Bears' Duerson had pending personal bankruptcy" 2/21/2011