Sauce Gardner Sues Contractor For $1.4M, You Screwed Me!

Sauce Gardner is calling an audible after he says he dropped nearly a million-and-a-half bucks on a real estate deal gone bad in Detroit ... claiming the contractors misled and then ghosted him.

The All-Pro CB, repped by Ben Levine of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, filed a bombshell lawsuit against a Michigan construction company and its CEO, accusing them of luring him into a $935K property deal based on false promises, then refusing to return a massive $500K deposit meant for renovations.

According to the complaint filed on Monday in Wayne County, Gardner and Nicholas Sanborn of Sanborn Construction met on social media in March ... and the conversation soon turned to a historic apartment building that was for sale in the Motor City.

Sauce thought it was a good opportunity -- especially after he was allegedly told an adjacent property was also for sale (he says it actually wasn't) -- so he bit, buying the 102-year-old building in May for over $900K.

Shortly after closing, he hired Sanborn as the general contractor to revamp the spot.

Gardner says he wired SB over a $500K for the first phase of work -- windows, roofing, doors, and framing -- and he was assured the whole project would be wrapped up in a matter of months.

But the NFL star says instead of hammers and nails, he got radio silence. No calls. No progress photos.

To add insult to injury, Gardner says after he cut the check, Sanborn posted a YouTube video titled “COMPLETELY RESTORING An Abandoned 102 Year Old Historic Apartment Building With Sauce Gardner” ... using the Pro Bowler's name to promote themselves without his permission.

By the time July rolled around, Sauce apparently had enough ... and he ordered Sanborn to cease all work and return his $500K.

However, he says they kept on spending, ultimately dropping $160K on materials at Home Depot 16 days later.

Sauce is suing for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent inducement, fraudulent concealment, and negligent misrepresentation.

He's demanding all his money back, plus additional damages stemming from the failed deal.