The three-time Super Bowl winner who went from a million-dollar career to a fearsome international drug ring

NFL star Derek Loville had a tragic journey: from winning three Super Bowl rings, he eventually became part of an international drug ring.

The running back won one Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers and two more with the Denver Broncos in the mid to late 1990s.

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But after an NFL career marked by numerous injuries and concussions, Loville became addicted to painkillers and eventually devoted himself to a life of drugs and crime.

In July 2017, Loville was sentenced to 15 months in prison by former USC player Owen Hanson for his role in an international drug and gambling ring.

“I have lost a lot through all of this,” Loville said in court, according to the San Diego Union-Times.

According to a sentencing memo, Loville met Hanson through a mutual friend and spent weekends with him partying in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

The nine-year NFL veteran then began gambling and eventually owed Hanson thousands of dollars.

By this time, Loville had also already turned to drugs after suffering over 20 concussions, injuries and broken bones throughout his career.

Hanson began supplying Loville with oxycodone and ecstasy to help him manage his pain and improve his mental health, the memo said.

To repay Hanson, Loville distributed drugs in the Phoenix area from 2011 to 2015.

As part of an agreement, he confessed to the crime.

The drug ring was intercepted by authorities and Hanson was sentenced to 21 years in prison for his role in an international criminal organization that involved drugs, gambling and money laundering.

Hanson's scheme involved trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana in the United States and Australia, as well as trafficking steroids and human growth hormones to professional athletes.

The operation was named “ODOG Enterprise”.

Loville was one of 22 defendants arrested along with Hanson.

In the wake of Loville's decline, he parted with his three Super Bowl rings.

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Two were sold to pay off gambling debts, while the third was stolen.

Before his conviction, Loville maintained his innocence in an interview with the San Francisco Examiner in February 2016.

“I don't belong to any organization. I haven't worked for anyone,” Loville said.

“[Hanson] was a friend of mine. I know nothing about the accusations made against him…

“I live in Arizona. I don't travel much.”

Loville was then asked how he knew Hanson.

“He's a buddy of mine. We met in Vegas, hung out there a lot. It's guilt by association,” Loville says.

“I would tell people to go to him [gambling] Website, and that it is reputable, from Costa Rica. I don't know anything else.

“I wasn't part of his inner circle. I was a friend of his.

“If someone is my good friend, I will be there for them and show them support. That's what I did when he was incarcerated. [in September].”

He added: “You're making a lot out of it. It's all nonsense, all negativity.”