Ravens will garnish Bryant McKinnie's wages to repay debt

Ravens left tackle Bryant McKinnie will have 50 percent of his eligible wages garnished this season, according to a settlement he reached with Pro Player Funding.

McKinnie owes the New York-based company more than $4.5 million for loans he took out to cover costs during the NFL lockout last year. According to the NFL players association, McKinnie is scheduled to earn a base salary of $3.2 million this season. Court documents show he was eligible for a $1.5 million performance bonus on March 15, and a roster bonus of $500,000 on March 17. Both were garnished, but it is unclear exactly how much money Pro Player Funding will recover.

“We don’t talk about players’ finances,” Ravens senior vice president Kevin Byrne said.

Attempts to reach lawyers representing McKinnie and Pro Player Funding were unsuccessful.

According to the agreement, Pro Player Funding will take no other action to collect the debt as long as McKinnie’s wages from the Ravens are garnished.
McKinnie missed the first three days of training camp this year, incurring a fine of $90,000. At first his absence was attributed to a personal matter; he has since said a back injury kept him from the field.

McKinnie defaulted on the loans last August in part because the agreement stipulated that the Minnesota Vikings would transfer a payment the team owed him directly to Pro Player Funding. But the Vikings cut McKinnie before they were required to pay it .


(baltimoresun.com)