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| SOURCE: www.atheistsoundingboard.com |
Professional athletes make a lot of money. Multimillion dollar contracts, big name sponsorships, and advertising opportunities, are just some of the ways athletes can gain a huge salary. With so much money, it would seem highly unlikely that athletes would run out of it. But unfortunately, going broke seems to be a common trend in the sports world. It has been for a long time. Johnny Unitas, one of the most prolific quarterbacks from the 50s and 60s, struggled gaining financial stability. More recently, Vince Young, the quarterback who signed a 26 million dollar contract in 2006 with the Tennessee Titans, filed for bankruptcy just last year. Not every player goes broke, but the number is quite alarming considering the huge salaries these players receive. According to an article in the Washington Post, found on the ProQuest database, “shortly after they retire, four of five NFL players are bankrupt or under financial stress” and in the NBA “nearly two of three players are broke within five years.” Why are some athletes prosperous while others end up broke? A lack of schooling, a lack of financial guidance, and the overall briefness of an athlete's career result in this financial distress.
School is important. It’s very hard to argue against this because there are almost no downsides to going to school. The one exception to this is an athlete. There are arguments for and against athletes getting a college degree. The article, “College Vs. Pros: Should be Allowed to Leave School Early”, examines the advantages and disadvantages of skipping out on college. Athletes As stated before, education is important, but going into the draft ensures that athletes get working with professionals as soon as they can to be the best player they can be. But in the end, a college athlete is a student athlete. Student comes before athlete. An education is way more important that a collegiate activity. Sure, the sport will send an athlete into the pros, but an education will provide one with a great foundation for an financially sound future. When athletes do not get adequate schooling, often times their decision making, especially financially, is not great. They never learn discipline and how to manage their resources if they skip out on school, and many athletes do skip out, which is why so many athletes lose their money.
Receiving a big contract is very deceiving. With so much money, so many things can be bought, right? Wrong. Athletes will always look at the huge sum of money on their contract and blow it on expensive houses, cars, and lifestyles in general. Athletes have agents which will help them receive the best deal from offering teams, but once the agent gets the athlete the money, there is no guidance beyond that. Athletes, on top of not having a solid education, often times do not have financial advisors to aid them in budgeting their money. With a lack of guidance, athletes find themselves all alone with their money. And what do they do with it? Spend it.
The typical working class citizen works for about 40 years of their lives, all the while gaining a steady income. the typical athlete only plays for around ten years, but gains a big sum of money. the two factors to point out are the time of play, and the size of salary. Once an athlete ends their 30s and maybe even their 40s, they find themselves with a lack of a job. Pair that with a lack of an education, and the future is looking pretty bleak. Many athlete’s can’t find a well paying job because of their inexperience and failure to complete schooling. Yet, one way for athletes to solve this problem is to get into franchising. Athletes can invest in companies, with the help of top performing investors, and secure a great financial future for themselves. The article “Why More Pro Athletes are Scoring Franchises after Sports Fame,” explains all of the benefits of franchising to a sports player, and lists many athletes who found success in franchising. This route after retirement is one of the safest and easiest ways for an athlete to find a steady income after playing sports. But the factor to talk about is the money. Many people think athletes are paid too much. I mean, if they end up wasting it all, why should they get paid so much. The article, “Two Sides to Every Coin: Are Professional Athletes Overpaid” explains both views on whether athletes earn too much money. Truth be told, athletes deserve the money. 1.) They are in a brutally selective field where only the best of the best make it big 2.) The medical expenses are huge and will continue on later in the athlete’s life 3.) Their salary comes from the fans, so the only one to blame for athletes getting too much money are the fans that support the athletes during games.
If athletes simply had more financial guidance and schooling, they would have a far lower chance of going broke. They have the money, they just need to protect it. A college degree, a financial guide, and a secure job after retirement, like franchising, are all an athlete needs to secure their financial stability. But until that changes, athletes will continually cause sports fans and economists alike to ask themselves “How the heck do they go broke?”
This blog post was very interesting, I never really realized that professional athletes sometimes go broke after they stop playing. I now understand why it could happen because of lack of schooling among other factors. Also this blog was written well because it isn't choppy and you incorporate the source evidence well.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post was very interesting, I never really realized that professional athletes sometimes go broke after they stop playing. I now understand why it could happen because of lack of schooling among other factors. Also this blog was written well because it isn't choppy and you incorporate the source evidence well.
ReplyDelete