A former NFL running back who once contended for the Heisman Trophy has been sentenced to five years in federal prison on dogfighting charges.LeShon Johnson, 55, was previously found guilty of six felonies, including three counts of possessing a dog for use in an animal fighting venture, two counts of selling a dog for use in an animal fighting venture, and one count of delivery of a dog for use in an animal fighting venture.Johnson was also given three years of supervised release and a $30,000 fine.’LeShon Johnson will face justice for building another particularly egregious and violent dog fighting scheme,’ associate attorney general Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said in a statement Thursday. ‘As Johnson was well aware, dog fighting is a felony in all 50 states. To anyone attempting to build violent and illicit business schemes: you can run, but you can’t hide from the Department of Justice.’He surrendered 190 dogs to the federal government following his 2025 conviction, according to the Department of Justice, which described it as the largest canine seizure to ever result from an individual federal dogfighting case.Federal prosecutors accused Johnson of breeding and trafficking pit bulls in Oklahoma through his ‘Mal Kant Kennels’ since at least 2007. He specifically picked out fighting traits in the dogs he chose to breed, according to prosecutors. Johnson’s best season came with Arizona in 1996, when he fan for 634 yards and three touchdowns on 141 carries as the Cardinals went 7-9 under head coach Vince Tobin A wounded dog is seen after being injured in a dog-fighting scheme orchestrated by Johnson One of the 190 dogs seized from Johnson’s Oklahoma kennel is pictured in the DOJ complaintWhat’s more, Johnson ‘marketed and sold stud rights and offspring from winning fighting dogs to other dog fighters looking to incorporate the Mal Kant Kennels ‘bloodline into their own dog fighting operations,’ according to the 2025 complaint.This was not the first time Johnson was charged with dogfighting.In 2004, he pleaded guilty to state dogfighting charges and received a five-year deferred sentence.Johnson’s attorney, Billy Coyle IV, requested probation for his client, the lawyer told ESPN.Coyle also told ESPN his client suffers from dementia and Parkinson’s disease due to suffering ‘multiple concussions and traumatic brain injuries from his football career.’ Johnson has required a daily caretaker for the last two years, Coyle told ESPN.Johnson made a name for himself at Northern Illinois, where he ran for a Division I-leading 1,975 yards and 12 touchdowns in 1993. He would finish sixth in the Heisman voting that season as Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward took home the honor. Michael Vick served 21 months in federal prison for his role in a dog fighting ring in 2007He would go on to be a third-round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers but failed to distinguish himself in the NFL. Johnson’s best season came with Arizona in 1996, when he ran for 634 yards and three touchdowns on 141 carries as the Cardinals went 7-9 under head coach Vince Tobin.Johnson is obviously not the first NFL player to be caught in a dogfighting scheme. The former first-overall pick of the 2001 NFL Draft, quarterback Michael Vick’s career with the Atlanta Falcons was derailed in 2007 when he was arrested for organizing an extensive dogfighting ring out of his Virginia mansion. He later served 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to participating in dogfighting in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina.He returned to the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009.