NFL veteran booked into Dallas County jail for thousands in unpaid child support

A retired NFL player was booked into the Dallas County jail Monday for failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in child and spousal support over the past two years.

Michael D. Johnson, who played roughly a decade for the Cincinnati Bengals, must spend 180 days in jail, Dallas County Judge Kimberly Brown ruled.

The 36-year-old Alabama native must also pay roughly $196,000 in attorney fees and child and spousal support to his wife, Dennice Johnson, with whom he shares a 4-year-old son and is divorcing. About $25,000 of the sum will come from garnished wages, according to court documents.

An attorney for Johnson did not respond to a request for comment.

Johnson has previously said he could not afford the payments, but his wife’s attorneys argued he had access to more than $10 million in various assets.

In a court filing, Dennice Johnson alleged her husband forged her name and illegally sold her car, a Rolls Royce. She also said he concealed money from her through a fraudulent trust and that he used their joint money to purchase a $60,000 engagement ring for his girlfriend, former WNBA player Porsha Phillips.

Johnson played football at Georgia Tech before joining the Cincinnati Bengals in 2009. In 2015, he signed a reported four-year, $20 million deal with the team and was nominated for the 2017 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. He retired in 2018.

A jury trial for custody of the Johnsons’ child and the fraud allegations is scheduled for August in Dallas County. The suit was filed in Dallas County, where Dennice Johnson lives.