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Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,774,074 times
Reputation: 7185
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Motion
Didn't realize how much a problem this was. What are these athletes majoring in during college?
I don't think it should be a big surprise that a lot of these kids, which is what most of them are, get handed large checks and make bad decisions with their money or, worse, pay someone else to make bad decisions for them.
That 80% number is probably not that far off from how many people in the general population are living paycheck-to-paycheck and are an illness or major injury away from financial ruin and/or the percentage of the population that would blow through $1MM in a year or two if it landed in their laps. In other words, there probably isn't anything special about football players that makes them particularly bad with money.
A former college teammate who had a 12 year "journeyman" career in the NFL as a non-star but quality player (chronic league minimum guy) has always paid himself $120K salary out of his contract money and banked the rest. He owns a 1,200 acre ranch in his home state. Paid cash for it. Now his pension and his salary as a high school head coach give him income in excess of $150,000/year and he's sitting pretty. He says that Chris Simms used to call him "the Penny-Pincher" - Sounds pretty reasonable to me, though.
***EDIT*** After thinking about it, I'll bet it is pretty hard to resist the temptation to "keep up with the jones" in an NFL locker room.
You have to perform to get paid in any league or have a job at all?
Player turnover is actually higher in the NBA and MLB where trades are far more prevalent.
Yeah, but a backup guard in the NFL will be lucky to make $400,000 a year while his equivilant in the MLB (say... crappy middle relief pitcher) or NBA (token white backup center) can make millions per year.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,774,074 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by dubyanumberone
Yeah, but a backup guard in the NFL will be lucky to make $400,000 a year while his equivilant in the MLB (say... crappy middle relief pitcher) or NBA (token white backup center) can make millions per year.
Not necessarily true. The more games you have played in and the more time you have in the league, the more your salary minimum is. League minimum for a 5 year veteran is not the same as league minimum for a rookie. Don't forget, it's a union job and there are all sorts of quirks and perks that are sensitive to time in.
That said, if you can't perform at a level that is essentially the same as the guy ahead of you (maybe he has a slight edge in strength or he's a slightly better pass-blocker in a pass first offense) you are not going to make it in the NFL for two years.
A lot of athletes seem to come from lower middle class to poor backgrounds and probably don't have a lot of financial education. They make it to the pros and think they could never possibly spend all of the money they're given and live like kings. Unfortunately most NFL careers are very short as it's a violent game so the paychecks stop.
NFL money is not like NBA or MLB money at all. You have to perform to get paid in the league and they pass players around so much that they can never get paid until the end.
On top of that most of money players earn comes in the form of signing bonuses. A lot of the big money contracts particularly for players in their 30's never get paid in full. Players are often released especially if their performance declines or they fail to renegotiate or restucture their contracts when approached by the team.
I don't think it should be a big surprise that a lot of these kids, which is what most of them are, get handed large checks and make bad decisions with their money or, worse, pay someone else to make bad decisions for them.
That 80% number is probably not that far off from how many people in the general population are living paycheck-to-paycheck and are an illness or major injury away from financial ruin and/or the percentage of the population that would blow through $1MM in a year or two if it landed in their laps. In other words, there probably isn't anything special about football players that makes them particularly bad with money.
A former college teammate who had a 12 year "journeyman" career in the NFL as a non-star but quality player (chronic league minimum guy) has always paid himself $120K salary out of his contract money and banked the rest. He owns a 1,200 acre ranch in his home state. Paid cash for it. Now his pension and his salary as a high school head coach give him income in excess of $150,000/year and he's sitting pretty. He says that Chris Simms used to call him "the Penny-Pincher" - Sounds pretty reasonable to me, though.
***EDIT*** After thinking about it, I'll bet it is pretty hard to resist the temptation to "keep up with the jones" in an NFL locker room.
I always said if I ever had a chance to make that money (missed my only half chance), I would live on $75K a year and put about 65% of the rest in very conservative investments, 25% in more risky (but far from speculative) investments, and leave the rest for speculation. I would have one car, not extravagant by any means, and one house, also not extravagant. No kids, no string of chicks, nothing else. I would make sure I'd have been set for life.
Lookig at lootery winners that said the same ;it seems you never know until you get to practice what you preach as they say.
Nah. One thing I can say about myself is that I can plan and stick to my plan, no matter who or what tries to keep me from doing so. I'd be fine.
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