The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
Jarrett Bell has compiled a spectacularly researched article for USA Today about the pitfalls of early fame and fortune in the NFL.
As you might expect, the vast majority of players are ill-prepared for life after football. According to a Sports Illustrated report cited by Bell, 78 percent of NFL players will become bankrupt, divorced, or unemployed within two years of retirement. Talk about a late hit.
The average NFL career is less than four years, Bell points out.
After reading this article – twice – I’d like some help sorting out the villains and the victims. Owners? Uneducated, risk-taking athletes? Greedy, seedy hangers-on? Agents? Money managers? Baby mommas?
Maybe these guys don’t deserve our sympathy. Maybe the NFL simply reflects what a dynamic capitalist system is supposed to look like. Talent is rewarded, of course, but so is risk. Physical injury is always a tackle away, but the greater risk is the sacrifice required to make it. Inevitably, these are not well-rounded guys. They are fully invested in one thing – football success. If it goes bad, well, that’s what you get. After all: No risk, no reward. Whatever. It’s equal parts fascinating and depressing.
Consider the “money” quotes:
“… a pro football player’s earning power is backward, compared to the average American.” Former NFL standout Ken Reuttgers.
"After Uncle Sam comes first, your agent is going to get his cut," says [former NY Jet Keyshawn] Johnson. "Then there's your wife, girlfriend or baby's mama. You're going to hook up your family and homeboys, and get yourself some nice things, like jewelry or some sweet tire rims. By the time you've done all of that, you'd be lucky to have $320,000 left."
Ohhh, what I could do with $320,000. But I digress …
"There's no quicker way to siphon wealth than to pay child-support at $5,000 a month for three or four kids. That's almost $250,000 a year. I've seen it." - Bryan Cave attorney Roy Hadley, on the impact of lifestyle choices.
Deion Sanders, the former all-pro cornerback, offers this advice in the article: "Find someone to mentor you who doesn't have their hands in your pocket."
Hmm. And who’s that going to be? A volunteer from the church? Now that I think about it, I’d actually be willing to do it. But how am I gonna get in touch with these young draftees? E-mail? Do you think it will work?
Dear ______,
My name is Ursula. I’m a stay-at-home mom in Connecticut. I used to be a sportswriter. Would you like my free, no-strings-attached assistance in the financial planning of your gazillion-dollar contract? I want to help you out of the goodness of my heart. I hope you believe me.
Good luck,
Ursula Hennessey
P.S. If for some reason things don’t work out, I am also a former teacher/tutor. I could help you gain admission back into college and then we can do the coursework together! Fun, right? Okay, bye.
Photo of LaDainian Tomlinson by SD Dirk
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May '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
Many musicians, particularly rappers (who tend to be from poor inner city neighborhoods), have similarly gone from being millionaires to being bankrupt. As I recall, M.C. Hammer went bankrupt after having tried to hook up his homeboys by employing every one of them in his tours. He bought a mansion and many other things he couldn't afford when his income waned.
It's mainly human nature combined with poor education, I'd guess. A person suddenly becomes rich and thinks that his wealth negates the need to manage his budget. For a time, it's more money than he can figure out how to spend, so he gets into a habit of ignoring the future. And his managers don't remind him that the income will end eventually (perhaps just as suddenly).
So, yes, I agree that mentors are the answer. Ursula, you might try to summarize your advice into one brief letter. Email it to all your contacts and ask that they pass it on. That's not a full substitute for mentorship, but your help is likely to reach more athletes who need it that way.
May '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
There's a lot to be depressed about when it comes to the NFL.
To start with, one can begin with the San Diego Union-Tribune's database of NFL arrests.
And what about the untold tragedy of the NFL/NCAA partnership? The players whose dreams were dashed on draft day or the waning days of training camp? Many of these players, who were strongly depending on a big NFL payout, find themselves with degrees that the didn't quite earn or of questionable value. (So what do you do with that Degree in Kinesiology? Or how about one of those Big Ten Agricultural Journalism majors?)
Jun '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
For the whole twenty-five or thirty years of their lives, working harder at developing physical skills meant getting better, and getting better meant a big payday someday, and even bigger paydays following. Nothing prepares them for that day when all the hard work in the World will not make them better--it just makes them decline more slowly. That's if they're not already benched by injury. Adjusting means turning all of your experience on its head. Most people find that very hard, if not impossible.
Jul '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
You know, I'm having a hard time building up a laod of sympathy for the bad outcome of a person who was GIVEN four years of college free!
Okay, they had to play a game to get the free college, but they were there, and if they didn't take advantage of the time there to learn a little about economics and finances, which was most certainly available to them, then they just have to deal with the end result of some bad decisions.
I never had the physical build to play football, and I had to pay for my own college. I was one of those middle people who didn't have the family funds to qualify for loans, and wasn't poor enough to qualify for Government Assistance or Govt. guarenteed loans, so I had to work my way through.
And it wasn't playing a game.
Sorry folks, no sympathy here. If I'd had the head start they get, I'd have been much farther ahead than I am now.
May '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
I'm not terribly surprised. The system is rigged against lifelong success. The villain here isn't sport, or the owners, or the agents, or even the players. no one is looking more than four or five years down the road for these guys, not even they themselves.
Take football out of the equation. Imagine a young man pursuing excellence in any competitive area. In high school and college he is treated like a hero, allowed to cut corners lest his school lose face with people who follow that particular competition (and there is money to be made by the school. A lot of money). After college, where he's largely been accountable for nothing but making plays once a week, he is given millions of dollars to show up and compete. He's 21 years old, a millionaire, and he's done not a lick of honest hard work in his life. What young man that age, under those circumstances, would turn out well?
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
I totally agree, Jimmie. In fact, I was thinking that for many of these athletes, all they've known is a great, burning hunger to "make it." Once they do, it's sort of like those Survivor competitors who get, like, a big feast as a prize for winning some competition. Their bodies, after days/weeks of near starvation, would probably like/need a nice plate of lentils on rice. But what do they eat? Five bacon cheeseburgers, a milk shake, M&Ms, beer, etc. They gorge. I'd do the *exact* same thing, even though I know all there is to know about nutrition, what my body needs to operate at its strongest, etc. Who *wouldn't* do the same? So, even if they were schooled in finances, would that change things? I think I agree with Aaron that it's unfortunately human nature....
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
Jaydee_007: I'm having a hard time building up a laod of sympathy for the bad outcome of a person who was GIVEN four years of college free!
I was one of those .. people who didn't have the family funds to qualify for loans, and wasn't poor enough to qualify for Government Assistance or Govt. guarenteed loans, so I had to work my way through.
..If I'd had the head start they get, I'd have been much farther ahead than I am now. · Aug 1 at 11:25am
Jaydee, I was in the same boat. Well, I should say my parents were. Three kids and no assistance meant a 2nd then a 3rd mortgage to get us all through. My mom didn't buy new clothes for herself for about 15 years. However, most of us on Ricochet probably agree that when someone is given something for free, he/she rarely appreciates it. In fact, it's almost *impossible* to understand the value of something if it's given to you. So, in a way, I'm not sure I agree that you or I would have done more with that free education than they did...
Jul '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
The villain here is the Player's Association. They are the institutional guardians for the well being of the athletes, and they have done little to organize against the cycle of self destruction.
Jul '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
It seems similar to the fate of big lottery winners, who frequently find themselves in dire financial straits a few years down the road. Managing and thinking intelligently about money is a learned skill/attitude, and it is challenged considerably when a person suddenly gets a huge amount of money.
There but for the grace of cruel improbability go I.
May '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
Actually, the NFLPA has come a long way in holding seminars and licensing agents and financial managers. But, as Dorothy Parker once noted, you can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think.
Eventually it all comes down to individual responsibility. Fortunes are won and lost in business, entertainment and sports all the time. There are no villains. Just young kids who don't know what they're doing and can't say no.
May '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
And half the population is below the median IQ and probably incapable of learning those skills. Thus the welfare state....
Jun '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
Simple advice given to NFL players is largely ignored. Herman Edwards, advises NFL players to buy one of everything only. Meaning one house, one car, one piece of jewelry. The sad reality is that many of these players have a crew of family and friends that latch on and help drain their bank accounts. I am not sure this is the crowd that necessarily would go to a preseason training camp practice. However, it is an interesting microcosm. Stand in the parking lot very earlier in the first week and watch what kind of cars arrive. The players that roll up in simple trucks seem to have the right idea on ways to spend their money. There are a large majority of players who tend to be players who wont make it past the second cut, arriving in 75k cars. These players don't have the guaranteed contracts. They are the target profile of a four year career and bankrupt as soon as the door closes. The economics of life: 80% behavior 20% earning capacity.
May '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
Green Bay's (ugh, someone club Steven Hayes for me) Jerry Kramer got "rich" after retiring (during his career he made very little in the 1960's) and later went bankrupt from the usual causes (there was a divorce in there some place as well).
There are as many bad investment people around sports are there are everywhere else, just bigger dollars at stake; Bernie Madoff worked for relatively sophisticated people who still thought he could magically deliver far-above market returns.
A person with a stake can invest conservatively or can play venture capitalist. Most VCs don't hit on more than 30% or so, why are we surprised here? The way to survive fame is to set aside 75% of your after-tax (that part is important) cash, and after reasonable, sensible living expenses set by a solid budget, into diversified asset-allocated mutuals, and "gamble" only with the mad money part remaining. But so many don't want to be bothered.
For a good look at the older days of football players' off-field business ventures, you should all read George Plimpton's Mad Ducks and Bears. Informative and hilarious.
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
Duane Oyen: A person with a stake can invest conservatively or can play venture capitalist. Most VCs don't hit on more than 30% or so, why are we surprised here? The way to survive fame is to set aside 75% of your after-tax (that part is important) cash, and after reasonable, sensible living expenses set by a solid budget, into diversified asset-allocated mutuals, and "gamble" only with the mad money part remaining. But so many don't want to be bothered.
For a good look at the older days of football players' off-field business ventures, you should all read George Plimpton's Mad Ducks and Bears. Informative and hilarious. · Aug 2 at 7:31am
Duane, perhaps you will join me in my no-strings-attached, free consultation business for athletes? Maybe we could call ourselves "HO" (Hennessey/Oyen)... we might get a lot of initial attention with that moniker. Like, "Now, this is a good HO to have around, as opposed to the other kinds ..." Hmmm. I wonder if this will pass "RR" -- Ricochet Radar. We can talk more about it at the Flyover Country Ricochet Shindig.
May '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
If you reversed it, it would become "Oh oh..."
Your way probably attracts the clientele that most needs counseling! At least the free service gives them their money's worth. :-)
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
Well put. I see the same effects here in Hollywood, Ursula. You haven't seen spending until you've seen an actor go through money. They don't so much spend it as fling it in all directions. And, like pro athletes, the careers tend to be pretty short.
Writers out here face the same issues. You've got about a 15-year window (maybe a little more) to make some real money, before it all starts to slow to a trickle. The smart move is to be careful, live modestly, and think twice about the BMW.
Those are hard lessons to learn. Impossible to learn, really, when you're young and someone is sending you fat checks every week.
May '10
Re: The Pocket Collapses for ex-NFL Stars
The world wants to know how Rob handled his Cheers stash....