The lawyer for Aaron Hernandez has indicated that the former NFL player and convicted killer is running out of money due to all the legal costs of fighting his conviction.

According to Hernandez's attorney, John Fitzpatrick, in a plea to a judge in New Bedford last week, Hernandez only received one year of the salary from his $40 million contract with the New England Patriots, which was cancelled following his arrest.

Fitzpatrick told the judge: "Despite some pretty wild and baseless speculative allegations made about piles of money, there are no piles of money."

As well as his legal costs, Hernandez is also under pressure to help support his fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins and their 2-year-old daughter, according to the attorney.

Hernandez's life has been turned upside down by the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, which he was convicted of in May 2015.

Lloyd's family were left devastated by the murder, and his mother, Ursula Ward, has started legal proceedings against Hernandez and her attorneys are hunting down all of his assets to ascertain what she may be able to claim from him.

According to court records, she is hoping to receive a payment of more than $5 million for the murder of Odin.

Ward's attorney, Douglas Sheff, successfully gained a temporary restraining order against Hernandez, stopping him selling his car, which had been put up for sale in a car lot in Wrentham.

"If he has someone working on his behalf for a vehicle, imagine what he could be doing with millions of dollars. We really need to find out where things are now," Sheff said.