Former NFL receiver Sam Hurd gets 15 years in prison

Former Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears receiver Sam Hurd was sentenced by a federal judge to 15 years in prison on a drug trafficking conviction.

Hurd admitted to buying and distributing marijuana but denied any trafficking of cocaine.

“I am very sorry. I am very remorseful for what I did,” Hurd said.

U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis could have sentenced Hurd to anywhere from 10 years to life in prison.

“It’s a tragedy,” Solis told Hurd before issuing the 15-year sentence. “You had everything going for you. You had no reason to get involved in this activity.”

Hurd was arrested in December 2011 outside a Morton's steakhouse near Chicago after accepting a kilogram of cocaine from an undercover officer. Inside the restaurant, prosecutors alleged, Hurd told the officer and an informant that he wanted to buy 5 to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana weekly to distribute. Outside, he got into his vehicle and within moments police surrounded him. Authorities arrested Hurd, capping a more than year-long investigation.

Hurd told the judge that his marijuana addiction led him to make decisions.

Lately it seems like the addiction card is being thrown around lately. Marijuana didn't make Hurd want to be a distributor, Hurd made Hurd want to be a distributor. He made good enough money doing something lots of us will never be able to do in our wildest dreams but he had to screw it up. While 15 years might be a long time, the part of him dealing with cocaine probably got him more years than he might've deserved.

Hopefully professional athletes will take a look at Hurd and leave the street activity out of sports.