• edric@lemm.ee
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    6 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
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      6 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.

      • Thwompthwomp@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        I’ve actually found that college athletes (the ones I get to teach) are much better prepared (for “adulting”) than their peers at graduation. They have much better time management skills and tend to manage and navigate group dynamics better. I think some of what you are saying heavily depends on the sport or perhaps athletic level. I’m not teaching anyone near going pro, they just like their sport and enjoyed the scholarship.

        • jacksilver@lemmy.world
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          6 days ago

          Yeah, that’s cause there is a big difference between someone who is going to college and also playing sports vs someone at college to play sports.

          If your a student athlete that is never going pro, then you need good time management, keep up grades, etc. If your someone going pro things are a lot different.

      • magnetosphere@fedia.io
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        6 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
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      6 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.

    • NielsBohron@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      I’m going to make a generalization and say that someone in a PhD program (any PhD program) is more practical and better at handling financial planning than 95% of all professional athletes.