The string of pro-athlete burglaries continues.
In recent years, there have been a number of professionals across the NFL and NBA have their houses broken into while they are on the road for away games. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had his home broken into while he was competing last year in 2024. According to police reports, someone broke into Burrow’s home around 8 PM… right at the same time that the Bengals were taking on the Dallas Cowboys in Texas.
Luckily, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model was there at the Cincinnati QB’s residence to call the police shortly after the break in occurred (that’s a true story).
But other NFL players haven’t been so lucky as lucky. Early on in the 2024, Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce had their homes broken into, and only found out after they returned home. And most recently, Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was a victim of burglary while he made his NFL debut this past weekend, according to ProFootballTalk.
Talk about an up-and-down couple of days. I mean, you thought this would be the worst part of his week:
It’s believed that there’s an organized and skilled criminal group that is carrying out these calculated home invasions. Sources have even reported that the FBI is investigating the pattern of crime as international organized crime. Things become so concerning last season that the NFL sent out a security memo to all of its players, advising them to take precautions such as “not posting in real time on social media, installing security systems and keeping valuables out of plain sight.”
The problem really lies within the fact that it’s very well known when professional athletes are at their jobs, and thus, away from home. Turn on the TV on a Sunday and you are likely to see that plenty of NFL players aren’t at their domicile, and flipping through sports channels on the weekdays can let you know when NBA players are at home or out on the road.
These organized crime groups take these planned-out-schedules and game start times into account, and then strike when it’s known that the homeowner is busy… with no Kevin McCallister-type to guard the house. Sanders was making his NFL debut (after an injury to starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel) when his Cleveland home was reportedly broken into.
Now, instead of worrying about his performance – and potentially getting his first start next weekend – the son of Deion Sanders is having to get his house back in order, and is likely coming up with a security plan to employ from here on out.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took the NFL’s warning very seriously last year, and went ahead and hired security and installed a security system for when he’s not at home (and his family is). He disclosed that during time with the media, and that might be a smart thing for all famous professional athletes to do, right?
If there is a transnational crime ring stalking the home of pro athletes all across the country, they would at the very least benefit from saying that there are armed guards defending their homes while they are away.
