NFL’s Reggie Bush Could Face Tax Probe

New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush could be forced to pay back taxes on an estimated $300,000 that he allegedly received while playing football for the University of Southern California.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association sanctioned USC earlier this month for paying Bush and other college athletes, putting the school on four years of probation and instituting a two-year ban on post-season football, in addition to sanctions involving the men’s basketball and women’s tennis programs at the university. The school also had to vacate all its wins in the seasons that Bush played for USC, including bowl games, and it was stripped of 10 football scholarships per year for the next three years.

Bush, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2005 as a college player, and his family allegedly received money and other benefits from the school in 2004 and 2005. Bush’s stepfather and his mother agreed to form a partnership with two individuals to form a sports agency, according to the NCAA. Shortly after the agreement was reached, he and his family began asking for financial and other assistance from the partners. During the course of this relationship, the agency partners gave him and his family several thousand dollars, an automobile, housing, a washer and dryer, air travel, hotel lodging, and transportation, among other benefits.

Bush could be forced to pay up to $150,000 in back taxes on the benefits, according to Fox News, although there is no evidence that either the IRS or the California Franchise Tax Board is investigating him at this time.

Earlier this month, Bush issued an apology, saying, “I have a great love for the University of Southern California and I very much regret the turn that this matter has taken, not only for USC, but for the fans and players. I am disappointed by today’s decision and disagree with the NCAA's findings. If the university decides to appeal, I will continue to cooperate with the NCAA and USC, as I did during the investigation.”

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