Former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell was arrested Sunday in Canton, Ohio, in connection with a child support case, according to TMZ.
Bell, 34, was reportedly taken into custody on a warrant tied to unpaid child support out of Michigan. Though he lives in California, he had been in Canton for an autograph signing before the arrest. TMZ said Bell was scheduled to appear at Belden Village Mall for a meet-and-greet event.
Bell’s attorney, Thomas Shaffer, told TMZ that the arrest was related to “child support payments, or an alleged lack thereof.” Shaffer also said Bell has been “struggling to make support payments.”
TMZ later released Bell’s mugshot.
Bell last appeared in an NFL game in 2021, after a career that began with the Steelers in 2013. He spent five seasons in Pittsburgh and earned four All-Pro selections before sitting out the 2018 season after refusing to sign the franchise tag. He later played for the Jets, Chiefs, Ravens and Buccaneers, with his final time on Tampa Bay’s roster coming in 2021.
The child support case is separate from another legal matter involving Bell. In 2025, an Ohio jury found him liable for $25 million in a sexual abuse case brought by a female relative over events that allegedly happened when she was a minor.
His brother, La’Vonte, a co-defendant in that case, was ordered to pay $11 million. Per Fox 8, neither brother responded to Franklin County Court of Common Pleas summonses, which led to a default judgment.
Neither was criminally charged.
According to TMZ, Bell owes more than $50,000 in child support, and the case originated in Michigan, where the child lives. Fox 8 reported that Bell’s jail record shows he is being held on behalf of “another agency.”
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