We Can All Learn a Financial Lesson From NFL Players

Debt Can Affect People of All Income Levels

It doesn’t matter how much money you make, you can still struggle with debt. Almost all of us have had experiences where we spent unwisely or realized after the fact that we could’ve budgeted our money better.

In fact, money can serve as an even greater temptation and risk when you have a lot of it. Sometimes at that level, people make unwise investments without thinking. And if you come into fame and success young, it’s an even bigger trap: some people make so much money early in their lives that they never learn to budget well.

This is all to say there’s no shame in struggling with your finances, especially when you’re younger and make money for the first time. It’s a common problem, and even the most successful professional athletes find themselves in the headlines every now and then for filing bankruptcy.

This article discusses four NFL players who lost their fortunes:

Dan Marino

Marino is an All-American guy whose made bundles of money throughout his career as one of the best NFL quarterbacks to play the game and as a TV analyst. However, Marino made a bad investment, buying over 1.5 million shares in a company that went bankrupt. Marino, 51 years old, reportedly lost $14 million in the deal.

Vince Young

Young played six seasons in the NFL, accumulating a total of about $26 million. However, Young claims his financial planner caused him to lose $5.5 million and he took out a $1.9 million loan currently in default. However, reports also claim Young, in his early years, spent $5,000 A WEEK at the Cheesecake Factory.

Luther Elliss

Elliss accumulated nearly $11.6 million in the NFL, but now relies on churches and friends to pay his bills. Elliss also made bad investments, like Marino, and fell behind on his mortgage payments, owing $37,500 in delinquent state and local taxes.

Travis Henry

Henry was an NFL Pro-Bowler who racked up big contract after big contract. However, Henry couldn’t manage his finances – specifically paying child support for his nine children. Due to bad spending, Henry couldn’t afford the estimated $170,000 a year he owed his children, ultimately leading to his incarceration for falling $16,600 behind on child support payments.

Financial Lessons from the World’s Best Athletes

So, what lessons can we learn from these players?

Be careful with your investments.

No matter how much money you make, a bad investment is a bad investment. These decisions shouldn’t be taken lightly, but should be heavily considered in a collaborative effort with an experienced investment professional.

Choose your financial planners wisely.

You don’t want to give a sketchy person control of your money. Hire someone with a history of success – someone you can trust.

Make saving your priority.

Whether you make a lot of money or not, spending ridiculous amounts on going out to eat or entertaining your friends has a tendency to not be financially sustainable. Save first, pay your bills and then entertain yourself with spending if you must do so, but not before saving.

Don’t wait to deal with debt.

If you fall behind on bills or support, don’t wait until it’s too out of hand to confront your problem. Instead, once you fall behind, take care of the debt as quickly as possible.

By filing for bankruptcy, you can discharge your debt through a Chapter 7, or lump all of your debt into an affordable 3-5 year repayment plan through a Chapter 13. Then, once the bankruptcy is complete, you have a clean slate and a fresh start towards financial independence.

This clean slate will also serve as a great opportunity to re-establish and rebuild your credit the right way.

When filing for bankruptcy, you need an attorney you can trust – one who’ll walk and talk you through the process. Darrell Castle & Associates has received multiple Client Distinction Awards from Martindale-Hubbell for client satisfaction, so you’re in good hands here.

If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy or if you have any questions, give me a call at (901) 327-2100 to schedule a free consultation, or fill out the contact form on this page.