The more we learn about Derrius Guice, the more we realize there was no way he would be able to keep his head in the game for the entire NFL season. The Washington Football Team’s decision to cut Guice this summer cost them a promising running back and likely saved owner Daniel Snyder from another headache.

Guice already faced criminal charges when the team formerly known as the Redskins released him. Now, it turns out that his dispute with a former agent may cost the running back $500,000.

The Washington Football Team waived Derrius Guice

Derrius Guice came to training camp as a candidate to pick up plenty of carries at running back for the Washington Football Team in 2020. That was despite two knee surgeries in two years after being drafted in the second round in 2018.

While Adrian Peterson was coming off a solid season at 4.3 yards a carry (his best since 2015), there was room to grow for third-round draft pick Antonio Gibson and Guice. That came crashing down on Aug. 8 when the team waived Guice after domestic violence charges were levied against him.

The New York Post reported that Guice turned himself in to police a day earlier and faced one count of felony strangulation, three counts of assault and battery, and destruction of property. That caused the media to start digging, leading to a report that the 23-year-old who had run for 2,638 yards over his final two seasons at LSU, had also been cited for reckless driving in June.

Additional serious allegations followed

USA Today reported on Aug. 19 that two former LSU students said Derrius Guice raped them when he was a freshman in 2016. The newspaper’s investigation determined that the women’s allegations were reported at the time and that athletic staff and a nurse were made aware of the incidents but that the school did not investigate.

Guice’s attorney, Peter Greenspun, denied the reports and said no allegations of physical or sexual assault were brought against the running back. He said that the timing of the revelations was suspect in light of the domestic abuse charges that had surfaced earlier in August.

“Such speculation and innuendo should not be the basis for Derrius to be required to make any comment at all,” Greenspun said. “But he wants to be absolutely clear. The allegations in this story are just that and have no basis in fact.” 

Derrius Guice is also embroiled in a financial dispute

A U.S. District Court judge ruled last week that a former agent for Derrius Guice will have to arbitrate his claims that the running back refused to pay back loans and commissions on sponsorship deals negotiated by the agent. The California federal judge ruled that Fadde Mikhail’s claims fall under provisions of his contract with Guice that call for settling disputes in arbitration.

Although that is a setback for Mikhail, it does not prevent him from pursuing Guice for what he says is $500,000 owed by the player. According to the Washington Times, Mikhail, who represented Guice for four months before the player switched to an agency run by entertainer Lil Wayne, claims to have made $191,000 in loans to Guice in 2018 before the running back signed his rookie contract with the Washington Football Team.

Mihail also wants 15% of Guice’s $260,000 contract with Nike, a $35,000 deal from Hyundai, and a $50,000 agreement with Leafs, a trading cards manufacturer. The former agent also cites a $600,000 arrangement for Guice to sign autographs and make appearances, although it is not clear whether that contract was signed.

According to a 2018 report by Sports Business Journal, Mikhail lost his agent certification after the players’ union established new testing standards.