DALLAS, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Former Chicago Bears receiver Sam Hurd was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a federal judge Wednesday for his role in a drug distribution scheme.
Hurd, 28, who faced a minimum of 10 years after pleading guilty to charges of conspiring to distribute marijuana and cocaine, was handed the sentence in a Dallas federal court, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Hurd, who released by the Bears after his December 2011 arrest, made the guilty plea in April the day before his trial in Dallas was set to begin.
Prosecutors said he negotiated with an undercover officer at a Chicago restaurant to buy up to five kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week for distribution in the Chicago area.
After they finished negotiating, prosecutors said, the undercover agent gave Hurd a kilogram of cocaine, which he accepted. Hurd left the restaurant with the bag of cocaine and was arrested shortly thereafter in the parking lot.
Hurd told Sports Illustrated in a story published Wednesday he smoked marijuana every day during while with the Bears and often supplied it to teammates.
