Why do so many NFL players go bankrupt?

[Uncle Leo]

Why do so many NFL players go bankrupt?

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_...?urn=nfl,190555

[hurricanesfans27]

because all their friends and family see them as a meal ticket

[concerned]

Because they live like they are going to keep getting those huge checks the rest of their lives.

 

It's fine if they can afford that $4 million mansion while playing, but they better make enough money to pay the $70,000+ in taxes a year after they are done in the league.

[Uncle Leo]

It's similar to the lottery syndrome. Suddenly being thrust into a large amount of money... with no clue or training on how to handle it... often results in financial disaster.

 

Being financially unsophisticated is one thing, but the ones who baffle me are the ones who appoint their brother or their cousin or their friend as financial adviser... when that person is just as clueless and unsophisticated as they are.

[sfbehr]

It's similar to the lottery syndrome. Suddenly being thrust into a large amount of money... with no clue or training on how to handle it... often results in financial disaster.

 

Being financially unsophisticated is one thing, but the ones who baffle me are the ones who appoint their brother or their cousin or their friend as financial adviser... when that person is just as clueless and unsophisticated as they are.

 

I was thinking much the same thing. When I saw the headline, my immediate thought was of the guy in West Virginia who won Powerball and blew through all of it.

[centex]

In many instances, the players have no real clue what is going on. There are some real effing salamanders that get hired as 'financial managers.' And the latest trend has been to hire hangers-on as 'agents' who really don't know how to negotiate a contract.

 

But it is also quite common for the cockroaches of the family to come out of the woodwork. When Vince was finished at UT and pending a draft, we had a flurry of letters from a family member that was serving time and wanted us to do advance work on the case "because Vince was about to be drafted and would more than compensate us for our time." We declined and suggested that if VY was willing to commit to the fee, that he (or his agent) should contact the office directly...we never heard from them.

[cljohnr]

Because they live like they are going to keep getting those huge checks the rest of their lives.

 

It's fine if they can afford that $4 million mansion while playing, but they better make enough money to pay the $70,000+ in taxes a year after they are done in the league.

I agree with this. Their income is somewhat unique. Generally speaking, a college grad doing something outside of football can expect their salary to increase for 30-40 years. If anyone received 75% of their lifetime income in the first three years out of school, they probably wouldn't do much better.

 

Related to that, I'd also guess that part of it is just the personality type that you might see among the players. If they make it to the NFL, they've probably been elite athletes since elementary school teams. They're super competitive and have always been successful. As such, even if they understand and accept that the average NFL career is 3 seasons, none of them would consider themselves average.