Mychal Kendricks has pleaded guilty to insider trading and now faces up to 25 years in prison.
Kendricks admitted to receiving stock tips from a Goldman Sachs analyst, who told the NFL linebacker about four companies that were about to be absorbed by larger companies and have their stock prices surge. Kendricks’ stock account went from about $80,000 to $1.2 million.
According to Philly.com, when asked about his guilty plea on Thursday, Kendricks told the judge it was “because I know I was wrong. I know that I made the decision to accept information, secret information, and it wasn’t the right thing to do.”
The analyst who provided the tips, Damilare Sonoiki, is also expected to plead guilty. He is said to have been paid cash and received Eagles tickets and VIP party promotions for his tips.
Kendricks, 27, was a 2nd-round pick of the Eagles in 2012. He was paid over $20 million during his six seasons with the team, which included a Super Bowl win. He signed a one-year, $500,000 contract with the Browns over the offseason but was released after news of the charges broke. The Browns say Kendricks misled them about the investigation.
