• edric@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    44
    ·
    edit-2
    18 days ago

    It’s actually discussed a lot in sports. There are many stories of athletes who earned millions and were broke just a couple of years after retirement because they didn’t have the right people around to help them prepare.

    I’m a basketball fan, so here’s an example: https://fadeawayworld.net/20-nba-players-who-went-broke-and-lost-millions-of-dollars

    In a 2009 report published by Sports Illustrated, it was estimated that 60% of NBA players will go broke within 5 years of retiring.

    • reallykindasorta@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      18 days ago

      I have a theory about that that I’ll now subject lemmy to! Professional sportsers are often heavily managed from a very young age (practice schedules, diet monitoring, weightlifting regime, traveling). Even in college they often have to sign up for special versions of classes to fit with their schedules (on top of the diet/exercise/practice/travel) making fewer of their own day to day decisions than their peers. When they leave the sport they don’t have all these other people dictating their lives anymore but they haven’t had enough experience living on their own or room to make certain mistakes they would have learned from if they’d been in charge of more of their time and decisions.

      • magnetosphere@fedia.io
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        18 days ago

        From what I’ve heard, you’re right. While athletes are pulling in money for the people upstairs, people take care of them. Once they retire, they become worthless to management/ownership, so they’re thrown to the wolves. With no money management skills of their own, a lot of them go broke.

    • bizarroland@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      18 days ago

      Yeah recently heard a sports announcer saying that it was amazing that a 31-year-old was playing at the level that they were.

      I was like, bro, he’s 31. What the fuck.