Robin Lehner makes headlines after filing for bankruptcy following purchase of $1 million exotic snake farm
Follow Us
Robin Lehner [Image Credit: Vegas Hockey Now]
In December 2022, Vegas Golden Knights netminder Robin Lehner filed for bankruptcy with his wife Donya in Nevada. What raised eyebrows on the internet was the goalie’s purchase of exotic snakes for his RL Exotic LLC, a reptile farm in Missouri.
According to public filings, Lehner’s assets are worth between, $1 million to $10 million. His liability with creditors lies between $10-50 million, as the 31-year-old has 2-years remaining on his contract. From his pen up with the Knights, he hits a cap hit of $5 million annually.
The whole incident dates back to 2017 when the goalie bought a collection of exotic snakes worth $1 million. He purchased them from a world-renowned reptile breeder Ben Renick. His contract was set up as $200,000 installments in a quarterly plan.
Related: Goalie Robin Lehner in high PINCH as Sweden native forced to declare BANKRUPTCY protection
Robin Lehner files for bankruptcy after exotic snake dealer gets murdered by wife
![Robin Lehner [Image Credit: Las Vegas Review]](https://firstsportz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_COM_20230116_2051_36_6042-1024x768.jpg)
The following year Robin Lehner reported that he stopped the rest of the payments for the purchase following Ben’s murder by his wife. A lawsuit was filed in 2018, according to Missouri news station KMIZ. Lehner’s lawyer countersued stating the snakes suddenly started breeding at an uncontrollable rate. This increased their maintenance cost while their value dropped heavily.
The suit was settled in 2019. Since then, the company RL Exotic LLC has been operating since then. During the ongoing battle, the company later claimed that Lehner “stole a collection of anacondas [from] Renick Reptiles’ place of business (as well as taking the collection of ball pythons that Lehner refused to pay for).”
Forces who are interested in Lehner’s bankruptcy case as of now include the National Hockey League (NHL), the Golden Knights [Lehner’s current team] with Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, and two more. Sure Sports has also been involved in other controversies, including Evander Kane’s bankruptcy file in 2021.
It’s an agency specializing in, “in low-interest, unsecured loans and contract advances to Professional Athletes in the NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, NHL, and MLS based on their player contracts.”
After undergoing surgery during the offseason, he is expected to be out of the NHL rink for the remainder of the 2022-23 NHL regular season. As of now, he has played 364 games with 152 wins and 141 losses. According to Spotrac, he made a contract of $25 million with the Knights for 5 years, while earning a base salary of $6.5 million in the 2022-23 season.
In case you missed:
WATCH: Brent Burns TERRIFIC faceoff win against ‘The Next One’ Sidney Crosby leaves NHL fans in awe
Stay Updated!
Kaushani Chatterjee
(2165 Articles Published)