Former NFL wide receiver Alshon Jeffery caught three passes for 73 yards in Super Bowl LII and scored the first touchdown of the game. With that, he helped the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the New England Patriots 41-33 to secure the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy. Now, eight years later, his name is back in the headlines, but this time for insurance fraud.

Authorities in California arrested Jeffery, 36, on April 15, 2026, on a felony charge of insurance fraud and a separate charge of concealing or failing to disclose insurance benefits or payments. He was booked at approximately 8 a.m. Under California law, the insurance fraud charge carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of double the amount he has been charged for.

Authorities have not made the specifics of the allegations public. Multiple outlets have also reached out to Jeffery for comments, but to no avail. He has been released since he was booked in jail, and no arraignment date has been publicly confirmed at the time of publication.

This is not Alshon Jeffery’s first off-field issue. Back in November 2016, the NFL had handed him a four-game suspension for violating its performance-enhancing drug policy. At the time, Jeffery had defended himself, saying he’d taken a “recommended supplement” to treat inflammation.

Jeffery isn’t the only former NFL star who’s had a brush with healthcare laws, though. Back in 2019, the DOJ charged 10 ex-players with wire fraud conspiracy for submitting nearly $4 million in false claims to the NFL’s retired players’ health care fund. Former NFL running back Clinton Portis was among those who later pleaded guilty. Several others were convicted at trial and sentenced to federal prison, with former linebacker Robert McCune getting a five-year sentence in 2022.

As for Jeffery, he spent his final years in Philly as a cautionary tale about guaranteed money and declining production. It’s worth remembering, though, what he actually was before the contract became a punchline.

Alshon Jeffery’s uphill climb

Jeffery came out of South Carolina as a second-round pick (45th overall) in the 2012 NFL draft, selected by the Chicago Bears. In South Carolina, he put up 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns in 2010 alone, earned All-American honors, and had his number retired by the program in 2023.

His 2013 sophomore season with Chicago truly put him on the map, as he exploded for 1,421 yards (second most in franchise history) and made the Pro Bowl, earning the title of Most Improved Player after breaking the Bears’ single-game receiving record twice that year.

When he came to Philly in 2017, the Eagles handed him a one-year, $14 million deal. The Eagles went 13-3, and Jeffery delivered in January when it mattered: five catches, 85 yards, and two touchdowns in the NFC Championship against the Minnesota Vikings. Even before that Super Bowl LII touchdown happened, the Eagles had given him a four-year, $52 million extension with $27 million guaranteed. At the time, the move made sense.

What Philly didn’t fully account for was that Jeffery was in decline. He hadn’t posted a 1,000-plus-yard season since 2014 with the Bears. After his very first season with the Eagles, Jeffery had to undergo rotator cuff surgery, missing the first three weeks of the 2018 season. 

2019 was perhaps the hardest. He injured his calf in Week 2, his hip in Week 9, and a foot injury ultimately ended his season in December after just 10 games. The Eagles had reportedly started trying to trade him beginning that October itself, just one month after restructuring his contract and guaranteeing his 2020 salary. But no one took the deal, and the injuries only kept making things worse.

By 2020, he was playing through the final year of a contract the team had long soured on. 7 games, two starts, 115 yards, and just a single touchdown later, Philly had seen enough. They designated him a post-June 1 cut, saved $2.1 million in cap space, and cut him in March 2021.

The injury narrative is real, but incomplete. In 2019, the Eagles were also dealing with reports that Jeffery was the source behind anonymous comments about the franchise shared with the media. Jeffery’s contract locked the Eagles into a difficult relationship, and by the time both sides wanted a split, the deal was too expensive for the team to break.

Alshon Jeffery’s last NFL touchdown came against the New Orleans Saints in Week 14 of the 2020 season. He didn’t drop a retirement announcement or get a send-off. A nine-season-long football journey ended with a roster move in March.

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