Ken Lanier, who started in three Super Bowls in his 13 years as a Denver Broncos tackle, has joined the swelling ranks of Coloradans declaring bankruptcy.

Lanier and his Aurora business KWL & Associates filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Tuesday, listing three rings he earned for the Super Bowl visits among his assets.

"You've just got to keep your head up and keep going," Lanier said in a phone interview Wednesday. "This is one place I didn't want to be, but it happens."

Lanier, who was drafted by the Broncos in 1981 and spent all but one year in Denver before retiring in 1994, said he was stuck with debts tied to a Pak Mail shipping and packaging store he once owned and was left with no choice other than bankruptcy.

Some may assume that former athletes like Lanier who enjoyed long careers in professional sports would be set for life, but the next chapter can be challenging. Lanier, 49, made good money in his day, his annual salary peaking at $735,000. But he played before pay packages grew to even more eye-popping proportions.

Lanier finds himself in the same position as countless others. He's putting three children through college while working as a broker selling cars for Automotive Search in Denver.

The former Broncos player cited the problems rippling throughout the U.S. economy.

"It's like a domino effect," said Lanier, who was a 6-foot-3, 290-pound rock on the team's offensive line and earned a spot in the record books with one of the longest tenures on the Broncos.

"The world is in a bad place right now economically," he said.

Nearly 21,000 bankruptcies were filed in Colorado last year, a 37 percent increase from the previous year, according to statistics on the court's Web site. Lanier's case was one of 75 that hit the court Tuesday, but his high-profile name stands out in the pile.

Lanier has had other jobs in recent years, including a position as a manager for Artifex Enterprises, a company that installed plumbing products sold by Home Depot.

Lanier's lawyer, David Furtado, declined to comment.

Lanier's filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court listed assets of about $593,000 and debts of roughly $810,000.

patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2544