Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith is trying to get thousands of dollars worth of his old University of Michigan shoes, sneakers and other memorabilia back after his old storage locker in Ann Arbor was sold at auction.
“Mazi Smith was completely unaware that his personal belongings had been sold until he was sent the TikTok video of the man who purchased the storage unit where his belongings were stored,” attorney Levi G. McCathern II said in an email to DailyMail.com.
Vincent Broadway, the winning bidder, did not mention Smith by name when he revealed the contents of the unit on TikTok on Thursday. However, Broadway did mention that the unit was owned by a former Michigan player who was picked in the first round of the 2023 draft. And a quick look at the first 31 picks of last year’s draft shows that there was only one Wolverine was taken: Smith.
McCathern has since confirmed the unit belonged to his client, adding that the 22-year-old hopes to get his belongings back. As for the warehouse’s back rent, McCathern said it simply “fell through the cracks” during his client’s transition to the NFL.
“It’s clear that Mazi has been constantly on the move since he was drafted last year,” McCathern continued. “In the process of moving and changing banks, payment for this unit somehow slipped through the cracks. Mazi obviously wants his assets back, and we will start working toward that goal immediately. We are hopeful that the person in possession of Mazi’s unique personal items will cooperate with us in their speedy return.”
The winning bidder discovered a gun safe and several pairs of game-worn cleats in the unit
Mazi Smith (pictured) recently completed his rookie year in Dallas after leaving Michigan
The device appears to be a major find for Broadway, who called it “one of the craziest storage units I’ve ever bought.”
“I guess I paid $1,880 for this storage unit because most people have seen this giant gun safe out front,” Broadway is seen pointing his camera at a large ProVault digital safe.
“But what I saw was a cleat in the back, and it’s a Michigan Jordan cleat,” he continued, holding the shoe up to the camera. “These are exclusive tweets for players and they sell for between six and seven hundred dollars, and that was just the tip of the iceberg for this device.”
“All the shoes here are essentially player-exclusive Michigan Wolverine Jordan shoes. Cleats, regular shoes exclusively for players, training shoes – it’s just crazy.’
The shoes include a pair of Travis Scott Jordan 1s, worth $800, and even a pair of Michigan Jordan Lows worth $1,000.
According to Broadway, the shoes are estimated to be worth $20,000.
Smith’s shoe collection is valued at around $20,000 thanks to the exclusive Jordan apparel for players
The apparent winning bidder, Vincent Broadway, regularly shares his storage unit’s findings on social media for his followers
Smith, a noted Lego enthusiast, also had boxes of toy blocks loaded into various containers, not to mention a $1,000 Louis Vuitton toiletry bag.
Memorabilia includes Michigan playbooks from the team’s John Harbaugh era before the title-winning coach left for the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this month, as well as several pairs of game-worn cleats.
Storage units are typically auctioned off when the tenant falls behind on payments, although it remains unclear whether Smith owes money and, if so, how much.
Smith is coming off his first season with the Cowboys, for whom he started three games in 2023. The Southfield, Michigan native had one sack in 17 appearances.
And for those concerned about a young man keeping a gun safely in a storage room, it’s worth noting that the University of Michigan bans firearms, so many hunting enthusiasts who attend the school are expected to carry guns store off campus.
However, Smith has been arrested for a gun-related offense.
In 2022, Ann Arbor police found a concealed weapon in his possession during a routine traffic stop, leading to a misdemeanor charge.
He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, explaining that he was in the process of applying for a concealed weapons permit in Michigan.