Ex-Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks pled guilty to insider trading Thursday and now faces up to 25 years in prison.
Kendricks -- who was cut by the Browns last week after he was indicted -- appeared in a federal courtroom in Philadelphia on Thursday where he owned up to his crime when questioned by the judge.
"Because I know I was wrong," Kendricks said ... "I know that I made the decision to accept information, secret information, and it wasn't the right thing to do."
Kendricks plied a Goldman Sachs analyst with kickbacks (including cash and NFL tickets) -- and in exchange got private info that allowed him to make roughly $1.2 million in profit.
By the way, Kendricks has more than $20 MILLION in NFL contract money during his career.
Not worth it.
Kendricks' sentencing is set for December. Clearly, he's hoping owning up to the crime will buy him some leniency from the judge.