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PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For 12 years, Evan Mathis put on his shoulder pads and helmet, and played one of the most thankless positions in the NFL. Over the course of 12 seasons, he did his job as an All-Pro offensive lineman, protecting his players behind the line of scrimmage. Now, he looks to take steps in a different direction with the launch of his new business venture.
Despite being one of the best players in his position while in the NFL — he was considered the best guard in the league for three of the four years he spent in Philadelphia from 2011-2014 — Mathis has always had interests outside the game of football.
“My gambling history is a huge part of my story,” Mathis said in the premiere episode of “unCovering the Birds” a new podcast hosted by Philadelphia Inquirer’s Eagles beat reporter, Jeff McLane, and produced by the Inquirer, Audacy and KYW Newsradio. “There were times when I went to practice the next day not having slept because I was playing online poker all night.”
For better or worse, Mathis has always loved gambling and everything it entails. The former pancake professional has loved taking risks since he was young, and he hasn’t stopped since.
In one gambling spree in Connecticut, he attempted to win $300,000 to “buy a condo.” After visiting several casinos in the state, losing $100,000 at one and $150,000 at another, Mathis found himself deep in a hole with no way out.
“When it was all said and done, I owed all these different casinos $500,000 total. And I had no liquid money,” Mathis recalled. “There was actually absolutely no way I could pay these at that point in time. I spent the whole year paying off casino markers.”
Having been out of the league since 2016, Mathis’ love for gambling has cost him much of the millions in career earnings he made in the NFL. In fact, he says that since his retirement he’s lost 60% of his net worth on high stakes poker games.
How could a millionaire who once ran $50,000 dice games in the Eagles locker room find himself in a spot with little-to-no options? Hear about his escape and his new venture where he’s hoping to cash out in the very first episode of “unCovering the Birds”:
New episodes of “unCovering the Birds” drop every Friday. Listen in the Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts. “unCovering the Birds” is sponsored by Wawa.