How do athletes lose it all?

SOURCE: thumbs.dreamstime.com

When you hear stories about former star athletes going bankrupt, you start to think “How did this happen?” In articles from Investopedia, Forbes and The Guardian they regard the issue of athletes going broke. These are all reliable and well-established sources that have writers who know a thing or two about money. Most of these money issues stem from athletes thinking that the money won’t run out, others abusing your kindness, and wanting to flaunt what they’ve gained.

A large percentage of athletes usually think that their money won’t run out and eventually go broke as a result. This is proven in an article from Theguardian,”Around 78% of NFL players and 60% of NBA players go broke within five years of leaving the field, according to a Sports Illustrated estimate made in 2009.” This percentage was actually surprisingly more than what I originally thought it was going to be. An example of this is Vince Young,”Young opened the Vince Young Steakhouse restaurant in Austin, Texas, and it still operates today. Some of his not-so-smart money moves, however, included $600 shots of Louis XIII at Morton's after home games, spending $5,000 per week at the Cheesecake Factory and purchasing 120 of 130 seats on a commercial airline flight in 2007.” This unnecessary spending is really disappointing and makes you wonder what these athletes were thinking. But it is understandable that when a top prospect gets an expensive contract they are tempted to spend the money because they believe that it will always be there.

Athletes can go broke due to family and friends asking for help because they are rich as well. In an Forbes article, Robert Pagliarini interviews former NFL player Phillip Buchanon. During this interview Buchanon is asked about the difficulty of telling loved ones that you can’t help,”Despite wanting to help, you must guard against creating false expectations enabling financial dependency because some people will drive you off a financial cliff. It takes thick skin to build up enough courage to tell your loved ones no. Regrettably, it's necessary at times. I vividly recall an incident where my uncle threaten to rob me because I wouldn't give him ten thousand dollars.” As the saying goes,”Money makes the world go round.” This shows that even some family or friends would harm you for money if you turn them down.

Another thing that could make athletes go broke is buying multiple expensive items to show off what they’ve got. In the Forbes article, Buchanon also speaks about athletes “flexing” by buying expensive things and showing them off,”Some athletes like to show off their wealth and engage in conspicuous consumption because many of them, especially Blacks, grew up poor, and, now, they can show the world, the hood and the women ‘LOOK, I MADE IT!’” To me, this is honestly dumb to do because as a professional athlete, people already know that you have money, there is no need to flaunt what you have.

FUTURE RESEARCH QUESTION: (1) Should college athletes get paid? (2) How have some professional athletes successfully managed their money?