The FBI’s massive illegal gambling investigation that rocked the NBA has turned a spotlight on the financial fortunes of the three most high-profile defendants: Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard and assistant coach Damon Jones.
They and more than 30 others were arrested on Oct. 23 following an FBI investigation illegal sports-betting and rigged poker games.
Inside their Net Worths
According to the indictment and statements from authorities, the schemes included: A sports-betting case where NBA players or coaches allegedly shared non-public info about player injuries or planned early exits so that accomplices could place bets and a rigged poker game network tied to organized-crime families (Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese) to defraud players out of large sums.
During the Oct. 23 “Inside the NBA” broadcast, Shaquille O’Neal addressed the scandal, saying, “So all these guys knew what was at stake. And I’m just ashamed that they put themselves and put their family and put the NBA in this position.”
Billups, 49, inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year, capping off a 17-year playing career that earned him nearly $107 million in salary, according to Spotrac. The former Finals MVP and five-time All-Star is now in his fourth season as Portland’s head coach, making an estimated $4.7 million annually after signing a two-year extension in 2025. Reports estimate Billups’ current net worth at around $35 million, a number that some financial analysts question, given his long career, post-retirement broadcasting work, and coaching contracts.
Prosecutors allege that Billups acted as a “face card” in rigged poker games tied to organized crime families, allegedly taking a cut of profits from victims cheated out of millions. His attorney, Chris Heywood, has called the charges “baseless,” insisting that Billups “would not jeopardize his legacy for anything, let alone a card game.”
Rozier, the lone active NBA player named in the indictments, is accused of providing inside information about a 2023 game while with the Charlotte Hornets, allowing co-conspirators to place more than $200,000 in winning bets. Currently with the Miami Heat (although suspended because of the charges), the 31-year-old guard has career earnings of $160 million and an estimated net worth of $10 million, much of it tied up in luxury real estate and cars. His attorney, James Trusty, called the case “a revival of a non-case,” saying Rozier “is not a gambler” and plans to fight the charges.
Jones, 49, a former journeyman NBA player who later coached, is also charged in the poker and betting schemes. With total career earnings of just under $22 million, Jones’ net worth is estimated at $7 million.
As federal prosecutors move forward, the trio’s fortunes now hang in the balance.
