Yet another millionaire athlete files bankruptcy. I’m having a hard time feeling any sympathy for him. Hundreds of thousands in unpaid income tax? Did you not think that you’d owe a ton of tax on an NFL contract? Unpaid child support. Even if the judge screws you in the dollar amount, you still pay the support and continue to fight the amount as your income changes. 240 pairs of shoes? You need a new pair of shoes for almost every day of the year?
He’s obviously lying about losing the championship rings.
And why the hell is the NFL Network paying him $45,000 per month?
"Well Mom, remember my dream of owning a big house on a hill and how I used to wish for a living room with a plaster lion in it from Mexico and how I always wanted a large twenty four seat dining table in a dining room with original oil paintings by Michelangelo and Rembrandt
And remember how I always wanted a rotating bed with pink chiffon and zebra stripes?
And remember how I used to chit chat with Dad about always wanting a bathtub shaped like a clam and an office with orange and white stripes? And remember how much I wanted an all red billiard room with a giant stuffed camel?
Nobody should be surprised by this. It is very common. I read that something like 60% of the guys that make it into the NBA end up broke. I can’t site that but still . . .
There is something very basic about monetary wealth that the average person doesn’t understand. Sudden monetary wealth will solve a set of problems. But, it will bring on a different set of problems that the person who gets the money is oftentimes ill-equipped to deal with. That is why so many people that come from poverty and experience sudden wealth, whether they are athletes, musicians, actors or lottery winners end up broke. They can’t deal with the new set of problems which they know nothing about and therefore find a way to get themselves back to a status that they are much more familiar with. People like to live in their comfort zone.
Being wealthy is great but it is not necessarily easy. Given the choice I’d rather be rich than poor but rich and unhappy is no way to live if you can be poor and content.
Here is a Life of Reilly that says the Toronto Star originally posted the stat. I can’t, of course, comment on the accuracy of the stat.
You do have to take into account that not plenty of players will make a decent rookie contract but will soon find themselves out of the league. I’d assume the stat is similar to those that win the lottery and end up bankrupt. Haven’t done any real research on the matter, just seems logical is all.
As for Warren Sapp. I feel sorry that he clearly didn’t have anyone in his life that cared enough about him to pull him aside and read him the riot act when he started living life at an unsustainable rate.
That’s true. I would very much like to know what the actual relationship between a sports agent and his client (behind closed doors). I worked for a writers agent ages ago but the money is very different as are the clients.
Sapp isn’t necessarily a good example of this, but…
In the NFL, always remember that contracts are:
NOT guaranteed, and
Usually back-loaded.
So, when you read that a star football player signed a 6 year $150 million contract, it’s USUALLY a safe bet that MOST of the money is due to be paid in the 5th and 6th years of the deal, and that the team plans to cut him well before then.
That’s why signing bonuses are such a big deal in football- the signing bonus is money the player will DEFINITELY get. Most of that $150 million is purely hypothetical.
The article says he has 6.45 million and owes 6.7 million. And he’s making 45,000 a month. So he’s essentially short a few months earnings. That doesn’t really seem that broke.
A friend of mine played in the NFL which he told me stands for “Not For Long”.
As others have noted (more clearly than I could), many of these athletes
simply aren’t equipped to handle money.
What they really should do is this. Go to a big accounting firm, lets say PWC, and say: Manage my money. Take your cut but make sure I’m protected from the IRS and myself. A big five accounting firm will handle his money properly and ensure his retirement.
True but let’s give him a blanket $600,000 p/a he’s probably paying about a 40% blended rate (maybe less if he lives in FLor Texas) so that’s about $240,000 gone.
So he has about $360,000 net to live on and pay off the debt. Absolutely doable but will still require some discipline on his behalf. Discipline he has yet to display.
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