Allen Iverson now broke.

[kranky]

I thought I had read somewhere that all pro leagues have meetings with rookies to help them understand how to handle finances. I totally get that the average rookie isn't going to be a financial genius - but you'd think after the league shows you the stats of how many people have blown it all, tells you what steps to take to protect yourself, and some general guidance on money management that you'd see this less and less.

Of course, it's possible that most players simply don't care about being set for life, they just want to live large while the money is rolling in, and will live with the consequences.

 

[darkxshade]

I'm thinking so many go broke not only because they don't save or manage their money but also because a millionaire overspending by 1% will mess you up considerably more than regular folk.

 

[geecee]

When he came to denver all tv sport casters had a raging boner every time they got to mention his name while showing Nuggets highlights.

i dont follow the NBA so i never understood what the big deal was. I would compare the euphoria about Iverson becoming a denver nugget to Jesus Christ joining the team.

JC might be available for the Nuggets. After all, he played for the Broncos half the season this year. He might still be in town.

Sad story about Iverson. You'd think he'd just put like $5-10 million aside in some conservative investment and just live off that after his career was over. He can probably still pull a Marbury and play in China or somewhere else. Though he's not going to get NBA money, he can still probably make a pretty good living for a couple of years.

 

[darkxshade]

I thought I had read somewhere that all pro leagues have meetings with rookies to help them understand how to handle finances. I totally get that the average rookie isn't going to be a financial genius - but you'd think after the league shows you the stats of how many people have blown it all, tells you what steps to take to protect yourself, and some general guidance on money management that you'd see this less and less.

Of course, it's possible that most players simply don't care about being set for life, they just want to live large while the money is rolling in, and will live with the consequences.

I think sports league should maybe consider taking a % cut of salaries as part of an initiative and putting that into a trust fund for all athletes and pay out distributions after they retire.

 

[Anarchist420]

I read about this a few days ago and felt sorry for him. I really felt sorry for the tax payer though.

 

[Sinsear]

I'm shocked

 

[SP33Demon]

Jeremy Lin should start a financial consulting firm with his Harvard econ degree to help these poor bastards out.

 

[mvbighead]

I may be the only one, but I find it a bit curious that these guys don't see this coming. Coming up short on cash on a repetitive basis, and you didn't think to check your spending? Your accountant didn't think to check your spending?

Also, if you have 50 friends in the hood, and you want to help them out, buy them each a house, and move on. 200,000 x 50 = 10,000,000. That leaves you with 140,000,000 or better. No one can say anything about you "not helping them out."

Man these guys are just plain stupid. Most Americans who have to work for a living could be handed a "piddly" 1,000,000 bucks and make that last their life time. These guys often times get 100 times that and still manage to screw it up.

And to the comment about them making poor investment decisions... I've heard that before as well. Only issue I have with that is if they have any sort of an accountant, there ought to be at least 20% or more stored away for retirement. 20% of 150 million is 30 million, add interest from a low risk investment (something that earns 2-5%) and it'd be a handful (probably more than a handful) more than that.

 

[Chess]

I cant say I would know what to do with that much money...

I am sure AI has bought so much stupid shit while he was playing, that it makes sense why he is broke.

Alot of people arent smart about it, nor do they have common sense about it

 

[PingSpike]

Mo money mo jewelry.

 

[slightlyhuman]

lol, fuck him. don't feel sorry one bit.

 

[Anubis]

fucking idiot

 

[HardcoreRobot]

they live beyond their means like the rest of america, it's just more publicized

 

[unokitty]

With all of the money associated with professional sports, it seems incongruous that the sports industry can't find a way to at least provide medical benefits for former players.

Mike Ditka has been talking about this issue for some time...

Uno

 

[mikelish]

With all of the money associated with professional sports, it seems incongruous that the sports players can't find a way to at least provide medical benefits for themselves.

FTFY

 

[ch33zw1z]

With all of the money associated with professional sports, it seems incongruous that the sports industry can't find a way to at least provide medical benefits for former players.

Mike Ditka has been talking about this issue for some time...

Uno

Fuck 'em. You want to skip college and rely only on your physical abilities to get you by, that's fine. Don't complain when you blow all your cash and can't pay for your own medical. The rest of the people who went to college and can contribute to society after, probably aren't complaining...

The rest of us working slobs have to pony up the dough. For me, it's roughly $7500/year for a family of four. That's medical, dental, vision. and from I hear from other people, that's cheap.

 

[airdata]

60% of NBA players are broke within five years after they retire.

http://wisdomandfollyblog.com/2010/09/10/the-bankruptcy-plague-among-professional-athletes/

78% of NFL players...

You can take the kid out of the ghetto...

Those are staggering stats...

Perhaps some of them need to hire accountants.

 

[manimal]

money + stupid = broke eventually

 

[Tempered81]

When he came to denver all tv sport casters had a raging boner every time they got to mention his name while showing Nuggets highlights.

i dont follow the NBA so i never understood what the big deal was. I would compare the euphoria about Iverson becoming a denver nugget to Jesus Christ joining the team.

He ranks in the top all-time scoring basket ball players of all time with only 14 seasons. Few people averaged more points per year in their careers than AI. Abdul Jabar, Wilt, Jordan, Kobe , Karl Malone, Barkley, and Carter

AI is in the top ten points per year, and top 20 points all time.

 

[rudder]

Maybe he can do like Willie Nelson and go on tour.

 

[Wordplay]

I think sports league should maybe consider taking a % cut of salaries as part of an initiative and putting that into a trust fund for all athletes and pay out distributions after they retire.

I think the player unions would fight that to the bitter end.

Out of his $154M earning I wonder how much did he take home after taxes?

 

[Fausto]

I think the player unions would fight that to the bitter end.

Out of his $154M earning I wonder how much did he take home after taxes?

Even if we assume he only took home half, the total is such that he could comfortably live off the interest alone. If you bring almost a tenth of a billion home and manage to go broke, you're an idiot.

 

[crashtestdummy]

60% of NBA players are broke within five years after they retire.

http://wisdomandfollyblog.com/2010/09/10/the-bankruptcy-plague-among-professional-athletes/

78% of NFL players...

You can take the kid out of the ghetto...

I'm amused that the link you posted has a picture of Drew Bledsoe, who seems to be doing quite well making $80 bottles of wine.

Seriously, though, all Iverson had to do is set aside a few million that was untouchable and none of this would have happened.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I'm amused that the link you posted has a picture of Drew Bledsoe, who seems to be doing quite well making $80 bottles of wine.

Seriously, though, all Iverson had to do is set aside a few million that was untouchable and none of this would have happened.

Apparently, that's what Charles Barkley has done.

Becoming a pro athlete is like winning the lottery. I think lottery winners wind up broke at least as often as athletes. One problem is the people who are smart enough to manage their money properly don't play the lottery.

A middle income worker in the US makes maybe a couple million bucks over the course of their career. A middle-of-the-road pro sports player (not a star) might make roughly the same amount of money, maybe a little more, but it's compressed into a few years early on. It's possible to retire and not have to work again, but you can't live large. And if you think about it, even a superstar that makes $100 million in a few years is only getting like 50x more money than a typical person, which is a lot, but not enough that you can buy new houses and Bentleys every day.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Apparently, that's what Charles Barkley has done.

Becoming a pro athlete is like winning the lottery. I think lottery winners wind up broke at least as often as athletes. One problem is the people who are smart enough to manage their money properly don't play the lottery.

A middle income worker in the US makes maybe a couple million bucks over the course of their career. A middle-of-the-road pro sports player (not a star) might make roughly the same amount of money, maybe a little more, but it's compressed into a few years early on. It's possible to retire and not have to work again, but you can't live large. And if you think about it, even a superstar that makes $100 million in a few years is only getting like 50x more money than a typical person, which is a lot, but not enough that you can buy new houses and Bentleys every day.

Too bad all those broke asses don't have you sitting next to them when they sign the contracts