Riches to Rags: Penniless Professional Athletes

Professional athletes are role models all around the world. They are seen as heroes and superiors to everyone around them. Why not? They make millions of dollars, they are constantly in the press and always on television. They are stars. The main focus here, however is the obscene amount of money that professional athletes make. They are able to “work” for 10 years, retire and then able to live their lavish lifestyles for the rest of their lives, right? Not all of the time, as investments can go bad or divorces occur, but most of the time, when an athlete goes broke, it’s a blatant example of money mismanagement. Here’s a few of the significant examples:

Allen Iverson:

Allen Iverson played 15 seasons in the NBA and acquired over $150 Million in salary alone.  No endorsements, no bonuses, just straight up earnings. Recently, he was in the press for being unable to pay a jeweler over $800,000 for an unpaid tab, and a judge recently ordered that his earnings be garnished to cover the debt. Iverson was a notorious gambler throughout his NBA career. He has been banned from casinos in Detroit as well as Atlantic City. However, an article from SLAM Online reports that Iverson has an account valued at $32 Million, in which he can’t touch until he is 55 years old.  However he can draw $1 Million annually from the account. Also once he turns 45, he is able to start drawing on his NBA pension, which he can take a lump sum of about $1.5 Million. Iverson, 36, now is searching for another chance to play professional basketball, and rumor has it that he may travel to Puerto Rico for that chance. Whether Iverson is really broke or not, it’s a predicament that a professional athlete should never be involved in.

Antoine Walker:

Another example from the NBA is Antoine Walker. Walker, who made over $110 Million in salary and was featured on the cover of ‘NBA Live 99’, owes creditors over $4 Million and also faced felony check fraud charges in 2009. Another sad example of money mismanagement, Walker was generous to friends and family and simply ran out of funds. Walker’s problems were reiterated when a few days ago, he sold his 2006 NBA Championship ring as a part of a bankruptcy settlement.

Terrell Owens:

Terrell Owens played 15 years in the NFL and made over $80 Million in NFL salary, recently signed with the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League, where he is partial owner of the team. Although he is not “broke” he is very short on cash as the excessive spending and the $40,000/month child support payments have finally caught up to him. After tearing an ACL before the 2011 season, Owens attempted an NFL comeback to no avail, and subsequently joined the Allen Wranglers, where he is contractually obligated to appear in home games only. His contract also states that he may play in away games, if the opposing team gives him a monetary bonus.

After learning of all of these players’ misfortunes, it sickens me. As much as it hurts me to admit it, Iverson was the smartest one out of the three. That account that he set up was the smartest thing he could have done. In my opinion, I think it should be a requirement for a professional athlete to put 25 – 35% of their salary into some sort of account that cannot be accessed until after the player has retired. That way, a player will be in the press for something that they contributed to their respective sport instead of another bankruptcy announcement.

Should professional athletes be required to protect themselves from themselves?  Do you sympathize with these millionaires who have been taken advantage of? LET US KNOW BELOW.