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Most professional athletes do pretty well for themselves, but there are only a handful of people who’ve made a living playing a sport who’ve racked up a net worth north of $1 billion. That does not include former NHL goaltender Eddie Belfour, but that didn’t stop him from offering some cops that exact amount to try to avoid getting arrested.
Hockey goalies have a reputation for being some pretty unique individuals with some strange quirks, and the fact that Belfour earned the nickname “Crazy Eddie” during his time in the NHL should let you know he was certainly no exception.
Belfour was known for the trademark eagle he rocked on his helmet, and he was very protective of all of his equipment to the point where he threatened to kill anyone who didn’t handle it in a manner he approved. He may not have been serious about that threat, but anyone who knew the fairly unpredictable goalie was wise enough to never put him to the test.
The netminder got his start with the Chicago Blackhawks in the early 1990s and eventually ended up with the Stars. However, his time in Dallas was marred by some incidents off the ice—including the legal situation he was unable to wriggle his way out of despite his best efforts.
Eddie Belfour tried to use a $1 billion bribe to avoid arrest
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Belfour earned around $50 million over the course of his 17 seasons in the NHL, so while he did pretty well for himself, he never really came close to joining the Three Commas Club.
In the middle of the 1999-2000 NHL season, police in Dallas were called to a hotel where Belfour was staying after he was accused of placing a 50-year-old employee in a headlock. The intoxicated goalie was less than thrilled with that development, as the responding officers needed to spray him with mace to restrain the man who kicked at them as they attempted to apprehend him.
Belfour didn’t calm down once he was placed in the back of a car, as he continued to kick while spitting at the police before they placed a set of cuffs around his ankles prior to leaving for the station.
At that point, he realized there was only so much he could do to avoid ending up in jail, but that didn’t stop him from offering to give the cops $100,000 before upping that number to $1 billion after they declined to take him up on the initial bribe.
When everything was said and done, Belfour spent six hours in jail before being released on charges of resisting arrest (he supposedly didn’t get in trouble for the attempted bribe because no reasonable person thought he’d be able to pay it).
He did ultimately pay a $3,000 fine to settle the matter after pleading guilty and apologized to the police and the Stars organization for his actions after getting the chance to come to his senses.
That wasn’t the last time Belfour got in trouble with the law inside a hotel; in 2020, he was charged with criminal mischief and public intoxication courtesy of an incident that unfolded in Kentucky.