Remember back on December 1, 2006, when I discussed Ryan McNeil’s Overtime (OT) Magazine, and how he should get credit for his success off the field (he never made it in the NFL)? Even if you were a reader of SportsAgentBlog.com back then, I doubt you remember the post. So let me remind you about a few things I said:
OT Magazine claims to be the first and only magazine specifically geared towards athletes. The magazine hopes to focus on the important business and lifestyle interests of past, present and future professional athletes. Non-athletes can subscribe to the magazine for $29.95 per year.
”What you are doing is very important,” retired football player Mike Siani recently wrote in a letter to OT Magazine, “because many of us former athletes flounder once our athletic careers are over.”
Well it looks like McNeil’s OT Magazine is floundering itself. Instead of being concerned about athletes and their ability to manage the millions of dollars that they make as professionals, he should have been worried about the solvency of his own company. According to MediaBistro.com via Deadspin,
[McNeil’s] company owes considerably more than $100,000 to former magazine staff, freelancers and vendors. [$100,000] wouldn’t even cover the loans [McNeil’s] taken out.
Quite an example that McNeil is displaying for the athletes that read his magazine (if the allegations are true). Lawsuits are flying all over the place, but according to McNeil, OT will continue to publish on a bimonthly schedule. After taking a glimpse at their bustling blog, I cannot imagine much is going on behind the scenes.