​Shilo Sanders bankruptcy trial, explained: What to know about $11M debt lawsuit against Deion’s son originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.It’s a prove-it year for much of the Sanders family, with Deion looking to bounce back from a 3-9 season and Shedeur hoping he will still get his chance to start games for the Browns at some point after losing a quarterback battle with Deshaun Watson.Shedeur’s brother and Deion’s son, Shilo, will face a much different kind of test: a bankruptcy trial.The trial, which stems from an incident 11 years ago, is unusual if only because bankruptcy cases rarely go to trial, but the Sanders family has taken the process all the way to court, to the point that Deion could take the stand to testify.Here’s what you need to know about Shilo Sanders’ bankruptcy case.MORE:Ranking every college football team from 1-138Shilo Sanders bankruptcy trial, explainedSanders faced a civil trial in 2022 after being sued by a security guard at his high school. When he didn’t show up for that trial, Sanders was hit with an $11.89 million default judgement, leading him to file for bankruptcy in 2023 to try to get that debt erased.The case originates from 2015, when security guard John Darjean alleges Sanders elbowed and punched him when he tried to take the then-teenager’s phone away. Darjean claimed Sanders caused permanent injury to his spine and sued in 2016, though the case didn’t go to trial until 2022 after years of legal battles.Sanders didn’t show up for the 2022 trial, later claiming that he was unaware the trial was taking place after firing his attorneys. The judge in the case issued an $11.89 million default judgement against Sanders, ruling in favor of Darjean because Sanders did not show up or respond to notices about the trial.Sanders filed for bankruptcy in response and is going to trial to try to get that debt erased. Darjean, meanwhile, is still looking to collect the full amount. In a pretrial statement, Sanders’ attorneys claim that their client’s “actions were justified in that any force used by (Sanders) was reasonable and immediately necessary to protect himself against (Darjean’s) own use or attempted use of improper force,” indicating that Sanders is looking to claim he was defending himself.The trial will not be presented to a jury, so a decision will come down to the judge alone.MORE: Ranking all 138 FBS head coaches for 2026How much money does Shilo Sanders owe?Sanders owes Darjean $11.89 million as a result of a default judgement resulting from the civil trial he did not attend in 2022.Darjean moved to collect that money in 2023, and Sanders subsequently filed for bankruptcy. Now, a trial will determine whether Sanders still owes the massive payment.Who is John Darjean?Darjean was working as a security guard at Trinity Christian in Texas when he claims he was punched and elbowed in the chest by Shilo Sanders after attempting to