Why Athletes Go Broke—and What the Rest of Us Can Learn From Them

Pro athletes often come under fire for making too much money. Yet a surprising number are far from the top of their game when it comes to managing their wealth. A 2009 Sports Illustrated report estimated that 78% of National Football League (NFL) players file for bankruptcy or are experiencing financial stress only two years after retiring, and 60% of National Basketball Association (NBA) players suffer the same fate after five years of retirement.

Why have so many pro athletes who were once wealthy later found themselves broke? More importantly, what can we learn from their financial stumbles?

Famous Athletes Who Went Broke

Here are just a few of the high-profile pro athletes who have gone broke.

• Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who was once worth up to about $400 million, spent most of that fortune and declared bankruptcy in 2003 even before he retired.
• Olympic and World Championship figure skater Dorothy Hamill turned pro soon after her 1976 gold medal win. She earned millions skating in professional shows like the Ice Capades, and eventually purchased the show. Yet by 1996, "America's sweetheart" had declared bankruptcy.
• Basketball superstar Allen Iverson earned over $150 million in the NBA, and even more through sponsorship deals. But in 2012, Iverson's financial straits were revealed when a judge ordered him to pay a jeweler $860,000, and he said he couldn't pay.
  

Reasons Athletes Go Broke

Pro athletes who get into financial trouble have a few things in common when it comes to how they lost their fortunes, including having a small earnings window, a lack of financial knowledge, and overspending.

A Small Earnings Window

Pro athletes face the challenge of a very short career. Though more traditional careers may allow a person to work for 30 to 50 years, a professional athlete will work only a fraction of that time—often fewer than five years. This leaves the retired athlete with the job of managing what they have earned to last for the rest of their life.

Two of the authors of a 2015 National Bureau of Economic Research study on the topic, Annamaria Lusardi and Colin Camerer, suggest that ideally, there should be a compensation system that offers players the option of a series of payments over a long period of time, providing a stable standard of living.

Some players wisely set up their own systems to manage their earnings spike over the long term. Take Detroit Lions player Glover Quin, who earned some $33 million over his 10-year NFL career. He decided early on that he and his family would live on 30% of his take-home pay, saving and investing the remaining 70%, mainly in well-known publicly traded companies.

Most of us don't have such a small earnings window (or large paycheck), but the lesson to learn here is that our income is never guaranteed. The coronavirus pandemic unexpectedly disrupted many financial lives. And a 2018 data analysis by ProPublica and the Urban Institute found that more than half of older U.S. workers were pushed out of previously stable longtime jobs before they chose to retire. Setting aside an emergency fund and planning for the unexpected is always a wise idea.

Lack of Financial Knowledge

Young athletes who are drafted onto a pro team are suddenly wealthy at a very young age. It's a rare 20-something who's prepared for that. They often lack the financial knowledge to manage the large sums of money they're earning, Sports Illustrated noted. And they're mostly focused on getting on the field and scoring points. Contrast that with someone who builds a career or their own business over decades. They have time to learn about managing that money and often a network of long-standing, trusted, and knowledgeable connections to help them.

Tyson and Iverson are among many athletes who didn't plan ahead and budget for the funds they would need later in life but instead lived a lifestyle based on their peak earnings. Iverson is now waiting to cash in on a $32 million rainy-day trust fund sponsored by Reebok as part of a previous deal he made with the brand. But he can't access the trust fund until 2030.

Comprehensive money-management training programs for players could offer them information that goes beyond simple recommendations for investments or rookie camp workshops, according to Lusardi and Camerer. Their suggestions for players—figuring out how far into the future their money can last and how to build a budget that allows them to achieve their objectives—are good advice for anyone, though.

Regardless of your net worth, you have to play an active role in the management of your financial affairs. Even the best money manager won't care about your money as much as you do and, for that reason, you have to be the final and most important decision maker. And those decisions have to be grounded in financial knowledge.

If you know very little about managing money, it's never too late to change that. Financial literacy and money management education can help you understand everything from the rewards of compound interest to how financial markets work and develop healthy financial habits.  

Overspending

Many of the athletes who find themselves broke are big spenders. They make the mistake of matching their spending level to what their peak earnings allow (or beyond). When those earnings end, the payments due on houses, cars, and a lavish lifestyle continue—and the athletes fall off a financial cliff.

Good, long-term money management is contrary to the accumulation of "stuff." Billionaire Warren Buffett may be as famous for his modest lifestyle as he is for his wealth. NFL player Glover Quin drove the same SUV for years. "I never had a Bentley. I never had a Maserati," he told NBCSports. "My wife and I lived well. We just didn’t live extravagantly."

Athletes' spending isn't all on material luxuries, of course. It's also easy for players to become cash machines for family and friends who need support or are hopeful entrepreneurs. "There's a pressure that comes with being the African-American success story," wealth manager Humble Lukanga told The Washington Post. (Lukanga manages some $500 million for mostly Black clients in sports and entertainment.) "You are some community's pride and joy. And that community has protected you. That community has given you free haircuts when you couldn't afford it. That community has sponsored your football teams, your basketball team."

Even a multimillion-dollar salary only goes so far, though. Armed with sound financial knowledge, young athletes can budget for being generous with their community without putting themselves at financial risk.

Regardless of your income level, it's smart to live a lifestyle that doesn't stretch your budget. Not only will it set you up for financial freedom, but it's far easier to sleep at night when you're not worried about the next paycheck.

The Bottom Line

Take a cue from the many athletes who have found themselves broke later in life. Spending so much today that you can't save anything or invest for a secure future is a losing proposition regardless of how much money you make. If you don't consider yourself a good money manager, ask for help.