http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.c...64/1/index.htm
A very interesting and eye opening article by Sports Illustrated.
I knew this stuff happened, but I didn't realize it was to such a high degree.
Discuss.
Well my personal opinion on the matter is that about 80% of these athletes are African American, and since they have never been accustomed to seeing money, they just go out and spend it on everything and anything. Take for example 200k earrings, really, do you need that? Etc.
Yet most of baseball players aren't black, and the problem still persists in that realm as well. The article does seem to point out that the problem is universal, and not relegated to a specific race.
Let's face it, virtually anyone of any race isn't accustomed to the amount of money that these athletes make.
Ok so, athletes spend their money on everything an anything because they are... black??
Old proverb about a fool and his money.
true that. i don't like that comment above yours at all by that other poster. seems a bit... you guessed it.
Exactly. And though the league supposedly has a rookie program to help them with money management, etc, it's reportedly not done very well. They all go through the rookie orientation program in the summer for the basics, but then a rep from the league is supposed to check with them weekly (or every other week) to help them with an issues they are having. I remember in one of those round table discussions a few years back, Darius Miles said no one contacted him all year.
instead of a league rep, the UNION should do it. The union actually cares about the players after they retire, unlike the league. So, the union should pay some guys to do more serious work on this issue. 60% bankruptcy is both shocking and sad.
its not hard to leave ur money in a bank and worry about spending or meeting ends meet, when those millions earn can easily earn you a millioin in interest payments.....
unless you deposited money into one of them banks that went broke a few months ago.....
Several factors seem to be at play here...
1) The age of the athletes when they start making money. They start at an early age (early 20s), which isn't exactly the epitome of maturity for anyone. Much like a rock star or hollywood level entertainer.
2) Longevity of career: Unlike rock star or hollywood entertainer, the athletes earning longevity is very short. The average career lifespan for an NFL player is something like 3 years. At the best, most of these athletes are "retired" by their mid 30s!
3) Inability to say "no". Especially when it comes to friends and family.
4) Pressure to live a certain lifestyle. I remember an exception to the rule, in James Worthy. Back in the late 80s, they were profiling Worthy and his lifestyle. Unlike his other teammates who went home to LA manions, Worthy lived in a simple two bedroom house. Very modest lifestyle. Most of these athletes will not do that, however, and are pressured to live in a certain way (the bling factor)
5) I think a lot of them truly don't understand that although they are rich, they are not WEALTHY. A friend of mine on the west coast works for some insurance type company, that has a lot of celebrities as clients. Low level clients in their portfolio would include individuals like Brad Pitt. High level clients would be CEO's of companies and private equity moguls, who have hundreds of millions and even billions, at their disposal.
Look at some of the net worth of the athletes mentioned in the article. A lot, topping off at "only" 30 million or so (which ends up being a lot less, after taxes)
Its a combination of not being able to manage your money and not living within your means. I got this feeling that these athletes continue trying to live the high life years after they have already retired. Where is the money coming from to continue at such a high standard of living? Unless they have made sound investments with their money or have something else that will make up for the "quick cash" they were getting as a paid athlete; the thing they must do is bring down their standards of living. That might be the hardest thing for people who are use to being in the spotlight to do.
On another note:
Not trying to be racist but I do think mrfanatic has some what of a point. I think some of these athletes come from a background where they have a lot of pressure to impress their peers. In doing so they squander away alot of their money. Alot of these same people come from having nothing and all the sudden are loaded. That transition might be disasterous if not watched over carefully.
This is an issue that would be better served if taken on by the players union. The challenges these guys face are large and beyond their scope to deal with typically.
They have been give a gift, the talent to play their sport, that enable them to have access to amounts of money most people in this world can only dream of. With that, comes all sorts of risks, hangers on, gold diggers, temptations, peer pressure, etc....
I'm not sure if the current rep is actually from the league or from the player's union. The rookie orientation program that they go through is run by both. My point was really that in many cases they aren't getting mentored well after that initial week-long program and that in order for them to deal with all the challenges, they need more support and guidance along the way.
^reminds me of the Chris Rock bit:5) I think a lot of them truly don't understand that although they are rich, they are not WEALTHY. A friend of mine on the west coast works for some insurance type company, that has a lot of celebrities as clients. Low level clients in their portfolio would include individuals like Brad Pitt. High level clients would be CEO's of companies and private equity moguls, who have hundreds of millions and even billions, at their disposal.
Look at some of the net worth of the athletes mentioned in the article. A lot, topping off at "only" 30 million or so (which ends up being a lot less, after taxes)
"Shaq is rich. The guy signing Shaq's paycheck is wealthy."
Tell that to the NFL old timers.
great read...thanks for the post
At least for Shaq, it is safe to say he is wealthy. I don' know how long it will last but right now he worth a LOT of money.
But we tend to think about Shaq when a lot of player will just have a rookie contract or something slightly better. Moreover players making 4 millions a year don't have any endorsment and don't have any "NBA related" incomes once they retired.
Divorce!!!!!
go take your racist opinions elsewhere, dumb .
The problem is that spending money requires no discipline until its gone and a rich man knows that to stay rich you have to make your money work for you. Sudden rapid wealth with no understanding of it goes to our easiest needs and desires. Booze and hookers for everyone!
A fool and his money is soon parted and a man who spends his principle will lose far far more many times over
hookers are expensive that's why
I think that is pretty weak. No one should have to check on anyone. Once these people graduate, and make millions they are adults. When I graduated from college there was no one checking in on me on a weekly basis to make sure I was making good financial decisions.
There are plenty of tools out there available to help those who give a damn. Not to mention, the phone works both ways. The players could call the reps themselves if they had any questions.
WTF.
Problems can also happens at the end of their career, not especially when they're very young.
Not all players have made 20 M/year contract. not all of them have big endorsement, even few atfer they retired.
Very few have the ability, talent to make another job (TV or any media consultant or anything else).
so, basically, most of them have big house, big cars and very big and luxurious level of life and they can realize after they retire that they don't have the money anymore to assume this level of life.
Smartest anticipate that, some others could be a little bit surprised and face some problems.
In one word, being rich is expensive.
There's a big difference between you getting $30K (or whatever) and players becoming instant millionaires overnight.
And graduate from what? Most players aren't college graduates.
Just FYI, the rookie orientation/mentoring program isn't just for finances .. it's for everything.
i dunno man, some of these athletes do have a degree or attended college, shouldve taken finance lessons or some .....
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