NFL cornerback Antonio Cromartie received a $500,000 advance from his new team, the New York Jets, this week to help him pay off his past-due child support. Cromartie was traded earlier this month to the Jets from the San Diego Chargers. He faced a court date next week in San Diego for somewhere between $25,000 and $50,000 in past due child support.

Cromartie, who is 25 years old, has seven children by six different women in five different states. He has reportedly been the target of five different paternity suits over the last three years.

Next week’s court date, now canceled, was for a judgment debtor’s exam. In such a proceeding, a debtor is summoned to court and questioned under oath about his finances – how much he makes, where his bank accounts are held, what investments and other property he has. It is an effort to locate means to pay a judgment by garnishment or attachment if it is not being voluntarily paid.

After being drafted by the Chargers out of Florida State in 2006, Cromartie signed a five-year, $12.5 million contract – so he’s been making about $2 million a year since leaving college.

His prolific paternity bumps him up in the ranks of pro athletes with the most illegitimate children, alongside the likes of Shawn Kemp and Travis Henry. Cromartie’s seven kids doesn’t quite reach the heights of Calvin Murphy (14 kids) or Travis Henry (9 kids) – but he’s still only 25!

Library Topics: child support enforcement, paternity

Also See:

• Paternity Suits and Pro Athletes: The List