Craig Carton took aim at the Chiefs on Friday, and he didn’t stop at Rashee Rice’s financial mess. On “The Craig Carton Show,” he zeroed in on Kansas City’s stars - Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce among them - and questioned why no one in that locker room had stepped in to help Rice after the receiver filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
“I feel bad for Rashee Rice. I'm not one of these guys who gloats and likes watching the financial downfall of athletes. But it p*sses me off because he is surrounded by multimillionaires, guys we're constantly told are like family to him, that are brothers to him,” Carton said.
Rice filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, listing $3.45 million in debts and $677,054 in assets. The filing puts his finances in public view, and Carton said that kind of moment is brutal for any player to go through.
“And the thing that bothers me is that when you make the very tough decision to file for bankruptcy, it's humiliating. It's humbling,” he said.
He added that the filing exposes a player’s money problems to everyone and invites the usual criticism about athletes and their pay.
Carton’s frustration wasn’t just about the bankruptcy itself. He pointed back to September 2025, when Kelce, Tyquan Thornton and Hollywood Brown wore “Free 4” shirts with Rice’s image before a home game against Philadelphia while Rice was serving a six-game suspension. In October, Mahomes posted Rice’s “#EGE” catchphrase on X.
“There's so much about him from two years ago, when he had that ludicrous car accident. But where were you then?
Now, I want to be very clear about this. It's not their responsibility to bail him out financially.
I'm not saying it is. But it's what a friend would do.
And I'm trying to figure out, among the 53 men in the Chiefs' locker room, how come none of them love him enough to do anything but wear a T-shirt in his honor?”
Carton said he wasn’t arguing that anyone in Kansas City owed Rice a check. His point, he said, was about what real loyalty looks like when things get ugly.
“And the thing that bothers me is that when you make the very tough decision to file for bankruptcy, it's humiliating. It's humbling,” he said.
He also said the process puts a player’s finances on display and turns him into a target for people who already believe athletes are overpaid.
Rice, 26, is in the final year of his four-year, $6.5 million rookie contract. His filing says he takes home $32,640 a month and spends $29,030, leaving about $3,610. His largest creditor is Kathryn Kuykendall, who was injured in the March 30, 2024 crash on U.S. 75 in Dallas; the filing lists an unpaid balance of $979,837 from a $1 million settlement.
Rice pleaded guilty in July 2025 to two third-degree felonies tied to the six-vehicle wreck, which involved him driving a Lamborghini Urus at 119 mph. He received five years’ probation and 30 days in jail.
The filing also lists his Super Bowl LVIII ring, valued at $160,000, as collateral for $185,226.45 owed to attorney Thomas McMurray. Another claim in the case is a disputed $200,000 from Dacoda Jones, an ex-girlfriend who sued Rice this year alleging assault; Rice has denied that claim through his attorney.
Carton kept circling back to the ring.
“Think about how humbling it is to have to put your Super Bowl ring up, or the $160,000, so you can afford to pay your lawyer. And not a single player in that locker room said, ‘Don't do that. I got you.’”
The Chiefs, Mahomes and Kelce had not publicly responded to Carton’s comments by Friday. Kansas City hosts the New York Jets this weekend, and Rice was a full participant in Thursday’s practice after missing two games with a hamstring injury.
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