After the 2024 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers brass is focused on qualifying for and, ideally, winning the Super Bowl to cap off the 2025 season.
One of their former players, who played for the 49ers for six of his 16-year NFL career, is concentrating on something very different.
For those who watched the NFL in the 1990s, Bill Romanowski should be well-known. However, he has put himself in a difficult situation with his tax payments.
On Monday, the 1988 third-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers and his spouse declared bankruptcy.
Less than twenty-four hours before a planned hearing in the civil action that Department of Justice lawyers filed against the couple last summer, the Romanowskis filed for bankruptcy. This was a critical moment for them. The Romanowskis allegedly utilized a nutrition company they formed to evade paying taxes, and as a result, they now owe over $15.5 million in past taxes, according to U.S. lawyers.
The Romanowskis will automatically be granted a brief reprieve under federal law upon filing for bankruptcy, which will also automatically halt the Department of Justice’s attempts to collect the purported debt.
It is claimed that the former star of the San Francisco 49ers and his spouse, who won two Super Bowls with the team before winning two more with the Denver Broncos, utilized funds from their business accounts to purchase a range of tax-disguised personal goods and services.
Citing court papers, the story said that the pair paid for “over 170 visits to nail salons, hair salons, and day spas” in addition to rent, groceries, veterinary bills, and other expenses using funds from their Nutrition53 accounts.
Nutrition53 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August.
The DOJ’s pursuit of the Romanowskis’ purported debt is immediately put on hold as a result of the bankruptcy filing.
After Bill Romanowski left the San Francisco 49ers, his 16-year NFL career was marred by controversy.
From 1988 until 2003, Romanowski participated in 243 straight NFL games, setting a record that Chris Gardocki broke in 2006.
Romanowski’s career total was 265 (256 regular season games plus 9 postseason games). In addition to participating in five Super Bowls (Super Bowl XXIII, Super Bowl XXIV, Super Bowl XXXII, Super Bowl XXXIII, and Super Bowl XXXVII), he won four Super Bowl Championships. The lattermost was his only setback.
His outstanding rookie campaign with the San Francisco 49ers earned him a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie team.
Romanowski recorded 1,105 tackles, 39.5 sacks, 18 forced fumbles, and 18 interceptions in his 16-year career. He also returned those interceptions for 98 yards and one touchdown.
Romanowski was selected to the Pro Bowl twice while playing with the Denver Broncos, in 1996 and 1998.
Romanowski’s unsavory play and altercations during his NFL career will live on in legend.
Romanowski got into a lot of fights with opponents as well as teammates. He was fined $4,500 after being sent off from an Eagles game in 1995 for kicking Arizona Cardinals fullback Larry Centers in the head.
The former San Francisco 49ers bruiser was ranked fifth in professional sports history by ESPN.
He was involved in two further incidents while playing for the Broncos in 1997. In the first, he was fined $20,000 for hitting quarterback Kerry Collins of the Carolina Panthers helmet-to-helmet during a preseason game, breaking Collins’ jaw.
During a scrimmage in 2003, Romanowski assaulted tight end Marcus Williams, injuring him. Williams’ eye socket was crushed by Romanowski’s punch, forcing him to retire.
Williams filed a $3.4 million lawsuit, claiming that Romanowski was acting out of “roid rage” when he attacked him. A jury decided to give Williams $340,000 to cover his medical costs and missed income.
According to a citation, Williams and his attorneys “just wanted to prove what was right and wrong about football.”Williams’s lawyer expressed his satisfaction with the decision.
