Once the cheering stops: The life of a retired pro-athlete

Professional athletes are ill prepared to handle the responsibilities of money management during and after their careers. Being unaware of the temporality of their careers and paychecks, these individuals spend their earnings as quickly as they are made. In doing so, these athletes are financially compromised at the end of their career. This especially is true for NFL players, due to their relatively low earnings, short careers, and high medical costs in the late stages of their lives. These athletes typically they find themselves with minimal income and zero-savings.

            This poor money-management is mainly due to unawareness of taxation, belief that they can find work within the franchise after their athletic career, and unforeseen long-term expenses. This is especially true for athletes in the 80’s & 90’s, due to the rapid increase in player salaries. Because these paychecks were unheard of, the athletes had no financial examples (relatable to their situation) to guide them. I believe this poor money management is an issue left in the past. Many athletes are required, or strongly recommended to seek a financial advisor once they are signed. Furthermore, by witnessing these financial horror stories, athletes today will be happy to seek financial guidance and start considering their future and expenses after sport.