More Than a Dozen Athletes Targeted in Pro Sports’ Robbery Epidemic

More than a dozen professional athletes have been targets of home burglaries over the fall and winter.

The Department of Justice and other federal and local agencies are running a multistate investigation into the incidents. On Feb. 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida unsealed a criminal complaint from Jan. 30 against seven men that formally charged them with burglarizing athletes’ homes, but the complaint doesn’t cover every major robbery that’s been reported in recent months. Many of the robberies are part of what the feds allege is a highly organized crime ring, but not every break-in tied to the ring was charged in the January complaint.

Understanding the scope of the home invasions and timeline of events has been challenging. Some of the break-ins have been reported in the press soon after they happen, while others were revealed through the criminal complaint.

Minnesota police have said that some evidence in their cases suggest a link to the broader ring charged in Florida, but those robberies were not mentioned in the feds’ January complaint.

The reported cases are largely in men’s pro sports, and the ring appears to have largely targeted NFL and NBA players. 

Here is the list of athletes currently known to have experienced home burglaries over the past several months, where and when the incidents occurred, how the information became public, and what they had to say about it.

This is an ongoing story, and the list will be updated as more information becomes available.

Sept. 13: Troy Hudson. The Minnesota home of the former Timberwolves player was burglarized with jewelry, a $3,500 handbag, and a handgun stolen, The Minnesota Star-Tribune reported. The break-in is not mentioned in the Florida complaint. Hudson last played in the NBA in the 2007–2008 season, but his home was hit this fall. 

More than a year before the break-in at Hudson’s home, Twins owner Jim Pohlad was robbed as part of a high-end home burglary spree around Minneapolis in October 2023.

Sept. 15: Mike Conley Jr. The Minnesota Timberwolves player experienced a home invasion while he was the guest of honor at a Vikings game. The incident is not a part of the criminal complaint unsealed in Florida.

Sept. 16: Karl-Anthony Towns. Two weeks before he was traded to New York, Towns lost jewelry and watches in a home break-in, police said.

Oct. 5: Patrick Mahomes. The quarterback’s Missouri residence was burglarized in the late hours of Oct. 5 and early hours of Oct. 6, two nights before the Chiefs had a home game on Oct. 7. “Obviously it’s frustrating, it’s disappointing, but I mean I can’t get into too many of the details because the investigation’s still ongoing, but obviously something that you don’t want to happen to really anybody but obviously yourself,” Mahomes said after TMZ broke news of the incident in November. This incident is listed in the Florida criminal complaint.

Oct. 7: Travis Kelce. The tight end’s Kansas home was hit during that Chiefs game against the Saints. Kelce’s girlfriend, superstar Taylor Swift, was at Arrowhead Stadium for the game. Police said Kelce lost $21,000, and $20,000 of that in cash. In November, police in Providence, R.I., said they found a watch that was taken from Kelce’s home. This burglary is listed in the criminal complaint.

Oct. 21: Unknown Tampa Bay Buccaneers player. This burglary happened during a home game against the Baltimore Ravens, and the incident wasn’t public until the criminal complaint was unsealed in Florida. The complaint says the burglars stole property worth about $167,000 including “multiple pieces of expensive jewelry, Rolex watches, a Louis Vuitton suitcase, and a firearm” from the player’s home in Tampa.

Nov. 2: Bobby Portis Jr. His Wisconsin home was hit during a Bucks game in Milwaukee against the Cavaliers. The criminal complaint says the burglars took a Louis Vuitton suitcase, designer bags, and a safe with watches, chains, jewelry, cash, and “personal items” totaling about $1,484,000, according to the complaint, which also includes a photo allegedly showing the burglars posing with Portis’s stolen items. The Milwaukee Buck—who the league announced Feb. 20 was suspended 25 games for violating its anti-drug policy—was immediately vocal on social media about the break-in at his home, posting security footage of the break-in, offering a $40,000 reward for any information that could help, and saying the burglars stole “most of my prized possessions.”

Nov. 18: Linval Joseph. The Cowboys defensive tackle kept his Minnesota home when he left the Vikings in 2020, and that property was burglarized the same day he had a game in Texas. The break-in is not mentioned in the unsealed criminal complaint in Florida.

Nov. 29: Tyler Seguin. The Texas home of the Dallas Stars player was burglarized while his team hosted the Avalanche. Local station WFAA reported that $500,000 in watches were taken from the first NHL target. The incident is not listed in the criminal complaint.

Dec. 9: Joe Burrow. The Ohio home of the Cincinnati Bengals star was hit during a Monday Night Football win over the Cowboys in Texas. Burglars took about $300,000 worth of luggage, glasses, watches, and jewelry, according to the criminal complaint. Unlike the cases of Mahomes and Kelce that flew under the radar for a month, the Burrow burglary was immediately reported in the news, and sparked tabloid fodder because model and influencer Olivia Ponton discovered the break-in. “I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one, and way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share,” Burrow said the Wednesday after the incident.

Dec. 15: Jaylen Brown’s mother. Burglars reportedly believed they were hitting the Celtics guard during an away game against the Wizards when they attempted to enter his mother’s Massachusetts home. People were home when it happened, and though a window was broken, nothing appeared to be taken, police said.

Dec 19: Ja Morant. The criminal complaint revealed a Memphis Grizzlies player had been targeted while playing a home game against the Warriors. Multiple outlets confirmed soon after the DOJ unsealing that the player in question was Morant. The complaint says burglars took about $1 million in jewelry, watches, and luxury bags from the player’s Tennessee home.

Dec. 27: Luka Dončić. The home of the former Dallas Maverick was allegedly robbed during a game in Phoenix, during which the now-Laker did not actually play due to injury. About $30,000 worth of jewelry was taken, police said. In other Dallas-area sports incidents shortly before and after the break-in, about $40,000 worth of items were stolen from the car of Dak Prescott’s fiancé during a workout class, and police responded to a false alarm at Dirk Nowitzki’s house. The break-in at Dončić’s home, located in the same neighborhood of Dallas as Seguin’s house, is not listed in the criminal complaint.

Jan. 11: Evgeni Malkin. The Pittsburgh Penguins star was sitting out a home game against the Ottawa Senators when his house was burglarized. Local news outlets reported that Malkin’s security system was down and the safe was left open, and police initially said all three of his Stanley Cup rings were stolen. Five days later, police announced the rings were found inside Malkin’s Pennsylvania home. The incident is not listed in the criminal complaint.

Feb. 5: Olivier Giroud. The legendary France international and former Arsenal striker, now playing for LAFC, was the first known soccer player targeted when his home was burglarized during a match against the Chicago Fire. He lost 10 watches and about $500,000 worth of jewelry, according to ESPN. The event happened after the criminal complaint was filed, and was also the first incident in California.

Feb. 16: Unknown New York Jets player. The player was robbed at gunpoint near his New Jersey home along with two others after driving back from what police believe to be a night out in Manhattan. ESPN reported that the group was followed home, and the incident happened to a certain extent because the victims had posted photos of the items on social media. This is the first incident where an athlete was followed or approached by thieves, and it happened after the filing of the criminal complaint.