Dan Marino
The well-known former Miami Dolphins quarterback lost millions of dollars after investing in a company formed by James Cameron that went bankrupt in 2012. Digital Domain Media Group, a visual effects business that worked on films such as Titanic and Apollo 13, filed for bankruptcy protection almost a decade ago, citing financial difficulties. Dan Marino owned 1.6 million shares in the company when it went public in 2011, and his loss was estimated to be in the region of $14 million at the time. Digital Domain is still in business today, having completed visual effects work for films such as Avengers: Endgame and Terminator: Dark Fate. After retiring from football, Marino began broadcasting for CBS and HBO, and since 2014, he has served as a special advisor to the Dolphins’ management team.
Dan Marino
John Elway
The Broncos’ Hall of Famer may be one of the all-time greats in professional football, but he’s also well-known for making poor financial decisions, particularly when he was duped into a Ponzi scam in 2010 and lost everything. Elway and his business partner in a car company suffered a $15 million loss as a result of their investment in a so-called “hedge fund” run by Sean Mueller. Elway again made headlines in 2016 after it was alleged that he had missed out on a lucrative “fortune.” In exchange for $15 million, he was offered a 10 percent share in the Denver Broncos, with the option to purchase another 10 percent by foregoing his deferred pay of around $21 million. Additionally, if he was not satisfied with the agreement after a few years, he had the option of selling his interest back for a larger sum of money. Elway declined to accept the offer. According to ABC News, the share would have been worth $388 million in 2016 if the value had been adjusted for inflation.
John Elway
