Why Many Athletes go Broke After Their Retirement

According to Sports Illustrated, 60 percent of former NBA players went broke within five years of retiring. That’s more than half of the players earning millions of dollars in the average span of 8 to 14 years. Unfortunately, bankruptcy isn’t uncommon among former professional athletes.

So, why, with all their money, do these people file for bankruptcy so quickly? Here are the most common reasons behind this problem.

Image source: complex.com

Lifestyle: If you’re earning millions of dollars a year, there’s no limit to what you can buy, and these players have some of the most expensive lifestyles in the world. To give you some perspective, Scottie Pippen once bought a jet for $4 million that didn’t even fly.

Lack of financial literacy: Most professional athletes weren’t born wealthy. These people, who have suddenly come into a great deal of wealth, do not have enough knowledge when it comes to investing their money. Maybe they know they need to, but they don’t actually have an idea where to invest. So, they just hire investment professionals to make the investments for them.

Image source : dailymail.co.uk

The entourage: Finally, and probably the biggest reason for bankruptcy, is the entourage. Allen Iverson is known to surround himself with 60 bodyguards. A professional athlete surrounds himself with different people to help him take care of his financial interests, safety, and time management. Employing these people are expensive, that’s why when the paychecks stop coming in, you will be left with no savings but only dues.

Hi, my name is James DeVellis, and I’m a college student from Arizona majoring in sports administration. Check out my LinkedIn profile to know more about me.

Us Open: For Sports Or For Business?

New York City is a tennis favorite, thanks to its unusual impoliteness compared to other cities where Grand Slams are held. The fans here are noisier and are more free and players know that. With the Grand Slam’s glee over Maria Sharapova’s return to the tour, some players may have been a little annoyed.

Maria Sharapova is a timeless tennis champion, yet her involvement in doping got her off the rankings for 15 months, following the decision of the Women’s Tennis Association to suspend her. As almost everybody in the sporting loop knows the name Maria Sharapova, she proved that her existence is not defined by suspension, nor her peers’ comments and backlashes. Nike and Head didn’t cut their support for Maria as she remains to be the top face of women’s tennis.

Image source: indianexpress.com

Between US Open and Roland Garros, it was the US Open that granted Maria a wild-card entry. Dismayed with the Slam’s decision, some WTA players expressed their thoughts on Maria’s entry, and how the tournament could have picked a better deserving player for the slot. Some players are in support of Sharapova said that the tournament respects the sport and the Association’s decision as Maria had already served her time off-court. Although she had been playing since April this year, Roland Garros skipped her, and she missed Wimbledon because of a thigh injury.

Image source: celebmafia.com

Tennis fans are rejoicing over the return of Maria, and so are her sponsors. For the US Open alone, she debuted an all-black Nike outfit that would sure shoot up the sales of Nike’s tennis gear. There was a slight increase in the ticket sales as fans would like to see Maria play again after a long time. Coming back stronger than ever, her peers believe it’s because of business why she was granted the wild-card entry. She ranks lower than everyone in the draw, yet she gets to play in Arthur Ashe.

Hi there! James DeVellis here. I’m a college student majoring in sports management. While I’m studying, I write blogs to hone my skills as a sports writer. Follow me on Twitter for quick updates.