fnordcircle

It's old but with the indignant posts cropping up RE: Welker I figure it's a good time for what I assume is a repost here (saw it on Reddit)

Recession or no recession, many NFL, NBA and Major League - 03.23.09 - SI Vault

Give it a read and think about this the next time you want to get self-righteous about a player trying to maximize their earnings. Only a fool wouldn't consider that they themselves could fall prey to this were the situations reversed.

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CheeseMonkeys

Doesn't Welker make 9 million off the franchise tag? That's a ton of cash and he'll be jeopardizing his chances at making the hall of fame by passing up the opportunity to catch 120 passes from TFB and contribute to a SB win.

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“These players, a lot of other people didn't believe in them, but they believe in themselves. And that is all that matters.” - Bill Belichick

TyronePoole

If he gets hurt on that contract after taxes, agent fees etc. That's about $5 million for the rest of his life. that's not bad money but it's not a ton of money, certainly a lot less than you'd expect for an elite athlete in the most popular sport in The United States.

TyronePoole

btw I'm sure the medical bills a lot of these guys have to deal with are staggering

Armchair Quarterback

I won't get self righteous about maximizing earnings but I will get self righteous about going broke after being given a $20,000,000 head start.

I have little sympathy for someone who squanders a fortune on investing in every dumb idea they're told about, having someone unqualified handle your money, spending money on cars, rims, aquariums, exotic pets, entourages, 500 pair of shoes or having a dozen children each with a different baby mama.

And don't even get me started on the stupid ******* jewelry they spend their money on. Watching the draft I noticed they pretty much all had spent money they haven't even made yet on those hideous looking watches the size of a laptop, it's like they can't wait to piss it away fast enough.

Armchair Quarterback

Case in point, a man should never where a watch like this. And he hasn't even made dollar one yet. Mike Pouncey from 2011 draft.

VrabelJr

Here's to hoping Brandon Jacobs ends up in that 78%

TruthSeeker

This has very little to do with maximizing earnings and a whole lot to do with preservation of capital.

TheBeers

ahahahahaha lololololol

supafly

That's pretty much the solution that many of the players dismiss.

Just the interest alone off of some of those signing bonuses would allow a person to live a somewhat lavish lifestyle, without tapping into their capital too much (should they choose, obviously).

I think the bottom line is that when they do walk away from the game, they likely have a good chunk of money that they earned. The ability to slow down their spending at that point, and cherish the material possessions that they already have such as cars, houses, etc should be common sense.

I have no sympathy whatsoever for someone who's dumb enough to spend tens of millions of dollars and allow themselves to become dead broke.

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Patiently waiting to defend the next "bubble" player in this summer's training camp.....