Almost 80% of NFL players are bankrupt after two years
Many people would look at that statistic and think there’s no way any person could blow through hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars in a matter of two years, yet professional athletes consistently fall victim to the same fate: bankruptcy. The actual percentage is 78% of NFL players will be broke after just two years out of the league.
It’s not just football players either, it’s all sports. Terrell Owens, Mike Tyson, Dorothy Hamill, and Allen Iverson have all went bankrupt after their stellar careers. 60% of NBA players have no money within five years of retirement and for some reason the trend is getting worse.
Why? There are several reasons. It’s unnatural to receive such large sums of money that professional athletes do in their early 20’s, and many never think of a time when the money will stop coming.
Unfortunately, many of them are ousted from the sports world much sooner than they expect. The average football career only lasts around three and a half years, and many of the huge signing incomes that are promised are not paid. Many players also feel they are entitled to everything.
After being held on a pedestal as near immortals, athletes face a harsh reality when they stop playing and realize they are subject to the same rules as everyone else. Many also develop gambling, alcohol, or drug addictions because they have so much money and end up flat broke in their mid-20’s!
This is a horrible statistic, but it is the truth. We deal with NFL players daiky as well as future players, and we hope that will change in the future. We need to teach these young adults, they are our future.
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com