Walter Payton memorabilia theft: Indiana man who managed storage facility sentenced

Suburban Chicago storage manager pleads guilty in theft of Walter Payton sports memorabilia

A suburban Chicago storage manager admitted stealing and selling Walter Payton memorabilia worth over $1M for just $75K. Here's what we know.

CHICAGO - A 55-year-old Indiana man has been sentenced to a year in prison after prosecutors say he stole and sold sports memorabilia belonging to the estate of Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton.

The backstory:

Heath Matlock, who managed a self-storage facility in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, pleaded guilty earlier this year to transporting stolen memorabilia across state lines and selling it to a pawn shop in Hammond, Indiana, in 2021, according to a plea agreement.

Court records show the Payton estate’s memorabilia had been stored at the facility since at least January 2020, when Matlock was working as the property manager and had access to the units.

Prosecutors said Matlock took several items around May 2021, including the 1978 Pro Bowl Outstanding Player trophy, the 1987 Tom Landry Award, and a Madden Team Award trophy. He later contacted the pawn shop in Hammond to sell the items.

Authorities have since recovered all the stolen items and are working to return them to Payton’s family.

According to prosecutors, Matlock sold the memorabilia for about $75,000 after falsely claiming it was his. The items were later appraised at roughly $1.08 million.

Matlock used part of the money to buy a 2017 Infiniti QX60.