Paul Pierce’s Lawyer Claims Former NBA Star Is ‘Tapped Out’ and ‘Drowning Financially’

October 27, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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Former pro basketball player Paul Pierce claims he is facing financial hardship.

A lawyer for Pierce, 49 — who spent the majority of his NBA career playing for the Boston Celtics — claimed the athlete is “drowning financially” and is having trouble keeping up with his finances, according to court documents obtained Tuesday, October 27, by TMZ.

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Following Pierce’s time in the NBA, he joined ESPN as a studio analyst in 2017. However, he was allegedly fired by the company in 2021 after he posted a racy Instagram Live, according to CNN. Pierce joined Fox Sports 1 as a basketball analyst in 2024, but according to TMZ, he is no longer receiving income from the company.

Per the court docs, Paul claimed he received his last Fox Sports paycheck in August after bringing in an average monthly income of $119,000. Last month, he reportedly earned $23,000 from partnership interests in other business ventures.

However, he allegedly must pay approximately $28,000 in child support as well as $20,000 in spousal support per month. TMZ reported in September that Pierce — who shares son King Rafael with Princess Santiago — was ordered to pay Santiago $8,508 per month in temporary child support for their son as well as $100,000 in legal fees.

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Per People, Pierce also shares three children with his ex-wife, Julie Landrum.

Paul is requesting to not pay Santiago’s request for $40,000 in legal fees as well as $10,000 for a forensic accountant, per TMZ. Santiago reportedly wanted an expert to review Paul’s finances (he was said to be earning $200 million during his NBA career).

The former basketball player claimed, per TMZ, that he only has $300,000 in the bank in addition to $3 million in property.

As for his bills, he allegedly spends around $48,000 per month. That includes $8,000 in childcare, $7,000 on eating out, $5,000 in groceries, $3,500 on entertainment, $3,200 on utilities and $1,000 on clothes, among other things.

Per TMZ, Paul’s lawyer claimed the former Los Angeles Clippers player is having “great difficulty” paying the aforementioned fees and is “tapped out” financially.

It appears that Paul has yet to publicly address the financial hardships.