60% of NBA players go broke, 5 years after retirement

I think thats part of the problem, sayings its a life worth of salary just cuz its from the NBA. A player absolutely COULD be set for life from an NBA contract. But they have to plan it right.

Most guys who stop working a job at age 32 keep seeking other work, other ways to make a living. They don't kick back for 5 years and live off their previous work's savings. When most the world starts working HARDER in their 30's, pro athletes STOP working.

Its a harsh existence being on top the world one moment, then next thing they're hauling boxes of freight down the assembly line like Joe Everyman. But thats just how life goes. If they DON'T want it to be like that, they should PLAN. Apparently making over $1 million makes the deafens the ears, maybe they should do a study on that.

 

He nailed it.

baseball and basketball players have guaranteed contracts so they make a little more than pro football players.

One of the things that always intrigues me is how many ex proffesional football players Ive worked with. Some of these guys are players that played for 5-7 years and long enough for me to know their name. Now they are just working stiffs like the rest of us. Granted, these guys might have a paid off house and nice cars and an NFL pension, but NFL and NBA money isn't enough to live off of for the rest of your life.

Once you subtract taxes, agent fees and other things, most players are probably only taking home about 50% of their salary. A million dollars might seem like a lot of take home money to most of us, but once you subtract an expensive house payment and other expensive things there isn't a whole lot there.....especially if you don't invest properly.

 

60% of these guys don't make that much money. it takes a damn good investment to make the money last. i remember the thread on Jameer nelson's father, and some guys in that thread were saying why is his father still working? I'm like damn, a jameer nelson doesn't make that much money. he has to think about life after basketball. 8 or nine years of making $600K to $1,000,000 won't set you for life now aday unless you live fairly conservatively.


We know not many of these guys have skills to make alot of money doing anything else.

 

Least likely Houston Rocket to go broke within 5 years of retirement:



The guy is a whole industry by himself-- and I think he drives a reasonable car (BMW?) rather than, say, a Bentley. Can't see him being loose with his money.


Most likely current Rocket to go broke?

Spoiler

Unfortunately, food cost alone might bring him down.

 

Aside from spending a lot for fancy items, families adn relatives are the ones sucking their money.

I have a friend who is thankful he's not playing for the rockets becuase he is from Houston and he doesn't want to stay close with his relatives because they frequently ask for money....

 

That was a great letter by Etan Thomas btw...

 

Rashard Lewis?

 

is he from Houston?

i'm not going to name names here... I'm sure they're all clutch fans..

 

60% was an educated guess somebody decided to use in the player's association meeting. Somebody should run some numbers and do some research to find the real rate and reasons (injury?). I find 60% hard to justify whether you've played for 2 seconds or 20 years, but until there are some real numbers there's no point.

 

My money is on the guy on the right. He has alot to spend, but I'm sure he can do it.

 

The NFL does this. I know a few people who taught the classes to the Saints.

 

What was great about it?

 

I believe just from a few articles threads in this forum that steve actually does pretty well with his money.

 

I don't feel sorry for them. If I would feel sorry it would be for people who never had a good chance to have a good life. When you are stupid, you pay for your own mistakes.

 

Exactly, can't be too hard for some of these players to get someone to manage their money. It just comes down to ignorance.

 

I suspect this isn't just a problem with athletes, but rather an overall problem with celebrities and others who receive immediate and immense wealth in a short burst. I think lottery winners, for example, experience similar problems

A big problem with celebrity generally is image. Shows like MTV Cribs perpetuate the stereotype that if you're a celebrity, you should be living large. That's fine while the income is coming in. However, I think it's hard for a lot of these guys to downgrade their lifestyle after the money stops flowing.

It's easy for us to sit on a high horse and criticize others for money mismanagement. But seriously, how many of us have had windfalls of millions of dollars in a short period of time in their early 20's? I can't imagine being that young with vultures surrounding you for a piece of the pie.