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TAMPA — Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Chidi Ahanotu has less than a week to decide: give up his National Football Conference championship ring or face the chance of jail.
A judge already had ordered him to hand over the ring, earned with the St. Louis Rams after their 2001 run to the Super Bowl, to help pay down debt he owes a law firm.
On Thursday morning, Ahanotu showed up to a court hearing without the ring — prompting Hillsborough Circuit Judge Liz Rice to issue an order to show why. He is scheduled to appear again in court Wednesday to explain. The judge told him to bring the ring this time.
Whether he will, Ahanotu, a 12-year veteran who played his last NFL season in 2004, won't say. He did, however, say he isn't afraid to go to jail, which could happen if found in contempt.
"It would give me a good opportunity to counsel some young men if I was in jail," said Ahanotu, who spent nine seasons with the Bucs.
Lawyer Matthew Thatcher of the Solomon Law Group said Ahanotu owes the firm about $130,000 from a judgment and other fees. The firm represented the mother of his children from 2005 to 2007 in a custody dispute, which ended when they got married. They were divorced a short time later.
Ahanotu says his only income is less than $40,000 a year in disability. He is the president and chief executive of Magellan Entertainment, but he said the company currently does not make money. Thatcher said Ahanotu hasn't provided documentation of any income.
If he hands over the ring as some payment, the law group would publish a notice of a sheriff's sale and then auction it, Thatcher said. Ahanotu would be allowed to buy it back.
It's unclear how much the NFC title ring is worth, but after seeking payment for two years, "anything at this point would be worthwhile," Thatcher said. The law firm also is going after Ahanotu's other sports memorabilia.
In an e-mail sent to St. Petersburg Times sports columnist Gary Shelton on Monday, Ahanotu said he won't surrender the ring — that it got lost while traveling this summer with his kids.
Thursday, Ahanotu wouldn't confirm the ring is lost. Neither he nor his attorney made any mention to Rice of it being lost.
"I was going to leave that ring to my children in my will," he told reporters. "They were going to give it to their grandkids in their will. The sentimental value of the ring … you can't even put it into words."
Outside the courthouse, Ahanotu, 39, said he would rather pay the judgment through his pension, which he won't start receiving until he is 55.
Thatcher said the Solomon Law Group has begun litigation to draw from his pension.
Ahanotu began his NFL career with the Bucs in 1993 after Tampa Bay drafted him with the 145th overall pick out of California. He remained with the team through the 2000 season. He played for the Rams in 2001, when they advanced to the Super Bowl but lost.
Ahanotu spent the next three years with four different teams, including the final eight games of his career with the Bucs in 2004. He finished with 429 total tackles, 46.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in 174 career games.
Kevin Smetana can be reached at ksmetana@sptimes.com or (813) 661-2439.
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