The news that former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis sold a Super Bowl ring for $50,000 was a hot topic around Baltimore after the story broke a couple weeks ago.
The franchise's all-time rushing leader and Ring of Honor member sold the Super Bowl XLVII ring that he received as a gift from Owner Steve Bisciotti after the 2012 championship season. Lewis also has a ring from his playing days as a key member of the Super Bowl XXXV championship team.
Bisciotti and team President Dick Cass explained during Tuesday's press conference that Lewis had to sell the ring as part of his filing for bankruptcy three years ago.
"He sold it a long time ago, probably not long after we gave it to him," Bisciotti said. "It was part of his bankruptcy [filing], and so they weren't going to allow him to keep assets."
Lewis had to file for bankruptcy after his trucking and real estate business were hit hard in the 2008 recession.
"He, like a lot of other business people, got caught up in the recession. He got over-extended," Cass said. "He was invested in a business – a serious business – I think signed some loans, personally guaranteed some debt of a company, and he got over-extended, and like a lot of companies in the recession, couldn't pay off the loans and had to declare bankruptcy. I think that letting go of the ring was really part of the bankruptcy process."
