I'm really looking forward to this. I hope all the youth out there that think getting into pro sports is like getting a lottery ticket watch and see that coming into all that money can actually be a curse. And really, a lottery ticket itself is not so good because of all the horror stories you hear about that and how quick people go broke after getting one. Imagine if they had worked on this documentary a few months later so they could incorporate more of Vince Young's story (unless they were able to somehow make drastic changes at the last minute).
Coming into a lot of money is not a 'curse' unless the person who comes into that money allows it to be. I'd much rather come into a lot of money than not.
Exactly. Money is a tool. The tool itself doesn't corrupt you. You're usually corrupt beforehand, even subconsciously. Money has a way of magnifying your best (or worst) attributes. It's your job to refine your good attributes and make intelligent decisions. The main problem people run into with windfall money is the inability to say "no" to friends and family, and the inability to resist temptation and vices. They haven't developed those tolerances.
While they may not know, these guys (for the most part) are hiring reputable agents that do know what to do. Also, the NFL and NBA have orientation sessions describing the pitfalls they may run into. If they ignore all of the help and advice from reputable sources and continuing help that teams and leagues make available to them, they have no one to blame but themselves.
Speak for yourself! I'd love to get my hands on a "lottery ticket". Even if I blow it all away, that entire time i had t would be worth it.
no argument here, its just that people fail to understand that a lot of these guys come from poverty all around them. they have no ideal of how rich people get and stay rich, how middle class people survive on middle class paychecks, all they know is poverty and television's lifestyles of the rich and famous for example.
i agree. when money comes easy to you especially when you've never had it, you won't respect it. these players place too much value on buying "things" instead of preserving their money. they feel others will ridicule them unless they have the physical objects to show off their wealth. unfortunately, the NFL can't change their mindset with a half day seminar.
How does that make them incapable of figuring out basic math? If you only make $x but you spend > $x, or guarantee you can repay more than $x, you will go broke. even for rich people, it comes down to that. of course, i certainly understand basic math might not be their best skills at times.
there are millions of people who understand basic math but it doesn't make them good money managers. think of all of your smart friends and i bet 85% of them are in debt. i studied finance. by the time i was 5 years out of college i was $10 grand in debt and it wasn't from the cost of school. i was an idiot who bought everything on credit and paid the minimum balance because that's what i thought was good for me. i also had a car note. i had to learn to think and act differently with my money. it took me a couple of years to get out of the debt hell hole and i don't plan on ever going back. if you're lucky, someone will teach you how money works. otherwise, it's going to be one of life's most expensive lessons.
I think that goes for everyone but some don't know how to handle their excitement. Even still, getting to a point where you are famous to the degree where everyone knows you have money can make it a curse no matter who you are if for no other reason than it makes you an easier target for robbery/burglary, pressure to spend that money on the people around you and the fact that people will be jealous whether you try to rub it in or not. That not to mention you don't know for sure who your real friends are since some will want to be around you for your money/status and take advantage of you. Some of that still applies if you lose it all.
But not if you get into thousands/millions of dollars of debt or backtaxes. Anyways, if I had made it as an athlete, I would have used my name and clout to get people around me jobs so they wouldn't feel so desperate to ask for my cash though with some people the greed never ends and they still have their hand out trying to get the most. Regardless, you can at least tell them that you tried to help them out.
Does the NFL have some kind of money management class or anything for incoming rookies? I recall the NBA doing something like that to help these young guys out.
they have some kind of rookie symposium thing, have former players/coaches and what not speak. i guess they cover money management in it, but who knows how in depth that is and what exactly those rookies are taking in and actually applying with their money.
Something people also need to understand is that even those who aren't trying to live recklessly with their money still make bad investments. Even the best investors will make bad ones. It goes back to the leeches I indirectly mentioned, some people seem trustworthy but turn around and stab the player in the back. And then in some cases, you just strike out on what legitimately seemed like a good idea and wasn't a scam and because of that and perhaps a few other reasons end up broke.
