Priceless history, painful reality: The mega champions who were forced to sell their medals to survive

Mike Greenaway|Published 6 days ago

Few symbols of a sportsman’s fall from grace are more painful than a championship medal being put up for sale.

This week, former England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio revealed that he is selling his 2003 Rugby World Cup winner’s medal after being declared bankrupt.

The 54-year-old has put several treasured items from his illustrious career up for auction, including medals, trophies, and caps.

Dallaglio was one of the stars of the England team that dramatically beat Australia in Sydney 23 years ago, lifting the World Cup in extra time. Now, the gold medal that represented the pinnacle of his career has become a financial asset.

“I had some financial problems — I could’ve done things a lot better,” Dallaglio admitted.

His story struck a familiar chord in South Africa.

Last year, former Springbok No 8 Adriaan Richter also parted with his 1995 Rugby World Cup winner’s medal. Richter captained the Boks in their pool match against Romania, scoring two tries, and also scored twice against Canada. He came off the bench in the quarter-final against Samoa but did not feature in the semi-final or final.

For Richter, selling his medal was not about sentiment or choice; it was about survival.

“I definitely didn’t sell it because I wanted to. I can’t find work. It’s not nice,” he said.

Richter, then 59, spoke candidly about the pressure of providing for his family: “At my age, I can’t find work. Nobody wants to hire me. It’s absolutely dire.”

Dallaglio and Richter’s stories offer a stark reminder that sporting immortality does not guarantee financial security.

For every athlete who successfully converts fame and fortune into a comfortable life after retirement, there are others who struggle when the applause stops, the contracts disappear, and the income dries up.

Some make disastrous investments. Others spend beyond their means, unable or unwilling to adjust a lavish lifestyle to their post-playing income. Gambling, alcohol, and other addictions can compound the problems, while the loss of purpose and identity that accompanies retirement can make the transition even harder.

The sporting world is littered with cautionary tales.

O.J. Simpson went from American football superstar to actor and television personality before his life spiralled into one of the most notorious sagas in American sporting history.

He was acquitted of the 1995 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, but was later convicted in 2008 of armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. He spent nine years in prison.

Mike Tyson earned hundreds of millions of dollars during a remarkable heavyweight boxing career, but extravagant spending and a succession of legal and personal problems eventually left him bankrupt in 2003.

His spending included opulent mansions, luxury cars, and even Bengal tigers. The man who once ruled the heavyweight division ended up serving multiple prison sentences.

John Daly was one of golf’s great characters — capable of prodigious drives, heavy drinking, and extraordinary gambling losses.

He won the PGA Championship in 1991 and The Open Championship in 1995, but his off-course problems became almost as famous as his exploits on the course. Daly has said he once lost $1.65m playing slot machines in just five hours, estimating his lifetime gambling losses at between $50m and $60m.

His career became a remarkable mixture of triumph and turmoil. Today, he sells merchandise outside Augusta National Golf Club during Masters week.

Evander Holyfield became heavyweight champion of the world and earned an estimated $200m during his career. However, he has acknowledged that he found it difficult to say no when friends and family came looking for financial assistance.

Poor financial decisions eventually cost him much of his fortune, including his mansion and valuable memorabilia. Today, Holyfield earns money through speaking engagements and other commercial ventures.

Diego Maradona was one of football’s greatest-ever players, representing Argentina at four World Cups and earning a multi-million-dollar fortune.

However, his life away from football was blighted by addiction, financial problems, and legal battles. Tax debts and fines compounded his problems, while his troubled lifestyle consumed much of his fortune. When Maradona died in 2020, his financial affairs were still the subject of legal disputes.

Boris Becker seemed destined to have it all. The German won 49 singles titles, six Grand Slam tournaments, and Olympic gold, earning an enormous fortune during a stellar career.

Reckless spending and serious tax problems eventually destroyed much of his wealth. In 2017, Becker was declared bankrupt, and in 2022 he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in Britain for hiding assets and loans in his bankruptcy proceedings. He served part of the sentence before being released and deported to Germany.

Becker’s story, like those of so many others, illustrates the brutal difference between earning a fortune and keeping one.

And perhaps that is the saddest part of the Dallaglio and Richter stories. The medals they won are priceless in sporting terms — but when the bills have to be paid, even a piece of history carries a price tag.