Opinion: Players Aren't Cyborgs

[Pancake]

After 3 years they qualify for a minimum of 21k annually. Which they can begin receiving at age of 55. That's the lowest tier.

 

[1maGoh]

Well, I really don't want to get into a budget debate...so I won't.

I dunno that it works to ignore averages and then over assume what players would be able to do with that over assumption.

Even with a decent paid for house, there are things like property tax and insurance that if one were to buy a $500k house in a nice neighborhood could equal a modest rent.

Also, many football players aren't small people, so the idea of them paying ONLY $200/mo even for a low mileage lease is crazy. You aren't going to fit an OL in a Honda Civic lease...for ONLY $189/mo!

Also, many of these young men don't have a healthy relationship with money. Many come from little or nothing and don't understand how it all works. It's why the Rams have for years now delayed signing players until AFTER the financial seminars and the "tell your family NO" speech. That's another discussion, but it does play into the categorization that players live these outsized lives. They don't.

Yes, the head start towards retirement is good. Moreover, I wasn't making an argument of the risk/reward ratio.

Rather, the point is that unless someone is miserly while playing, the average player is NOT living the life of Riley. After their 2-3 years of football, they're back to trying to find work as a regular person. Moreover, most players have been tunnel-visioned on football since maybe Middle School, so it's the rare player who pulls a John Urschel who's getting his PhD in Math at MIT... https://www.businessinsider.com/offensive-lineman-john-urschel-starting-phd-at-mit-2016-1/ or even a Chris Collinsworth who got his law degree after playing or Byron "Whizzer" White who became a Supreme Court Justice.

When one spends all of their available time trying to and succeeding at being good at one thing, life after that thing... be it sports or the military, for example, can seem like starting over in a way most others can't comprehend.

Yes, they get paid a lot in laymen's terms to play a game. Got it. Agree.

But to describe rooks and JAGs who are most of the NFL as living like they all got contracts like Aaron Rodgers just isn't accurate.

That's the full extent of what I was saying.

Is it theoretically possible to parlay a rookie contract into an easy living? Of course. Don't have a ton of kids, live in a modest house in the burbs or rural community near a hub city like Nashville, stick all your money in things like triple tax free munis to increase overall yield while having stability, only buy used vehicles with super high reliability ratings...etc... Yeah, it CAN happen.

My point was that it doesn't in most cases... for reasons that are really other discussions. The point is that the characterization is misplaced.

That was it.

Five days until the GoT finale...

So my point about the rent/mortgage and car payment was that I was intentionally low balling money they wouldn't have to pay for somewhere between 5 years and the rest of their lives.

Also the point that I, and I think others, was trying to make was not what usually happens but what could happen. The players at all salary levels in the NFL are given an opportunity that most of the rest of America would love.

I tried really hard to find the rookie minimum salary for 2019. All I could find was that they make upwards of $480k this year. I couldn't find something specific stating Mr. Irrelevant's salary, so $480k is the data I have to work with. If they love somewhere with investable taxes like California and immediately lose 50% of their paycheck because reasons, then lose another 20% to their agent... That still leaves them with (I hate math, damn you Mack!) $144k? In a year. Again, that's enough to live pretty much anywhere. If they live somewhere totally awesome like Texas, then they have... 80% of 480k.

Anyway, the point is they have a chance to do great things with that money. If they blow it because they're bad at money... IDK. I'm good (not great) at money because I grew up poor. I thought that was how that worked. You grow up poor, you don't spend money even if you have it because you never know what's going to happen. I see that the opposite could also be true, it just doesn't make sense to me.

So they usually don't do great things with their money. But they could. Let's not ignore the opportunity they have just because they don't take advantage often enough. Hopefully more teams can take steps like the Rams have to get more people to take that opportunity.

 

[12intheBox]

People brave enough to serve in the military know the risk - and we feel sorry for them and their families when they get hurt or worse.

Firefighters and police know the risk, and we feel sorry for them.

Why are we not supposed to feel sorry for NFL players again? Because they get paid more?

 

[bubbaramfan]

Comparing the game of football to serving in the military is absurd. One is a game that they choose to do knowing the risks to their bodies, but do it anyway for the money (or whatever). Serving in the military, most join because it's the only way to further their education. They sure as hell don't join to get rich.

If I could make the vet minimum, I'd be making 5 times what I get now after 14 years in the Army and 22 years hauling cars back and forth across the country.

Point being, I have no sympathy for any former NFL player crying about his broken body. Even if they played just a few games they are still making more than I ever did per year.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Congratulations.

Can they turn the money (generally less than $1 million, and accompanied by physical damage) into a lifetime of security? Yes, and many do.

Is it guaranteed? Far from it. They have spent years focusing on football. Some actually learn useful stuff in college. Others - like many non-football players - don't. All are pursued at some level by scammers and hangers on.

Even the reasonably bright ones start out their post college careers several years behind their classmates - and again, statistically they end up needing more time off because their bodies often ache after NFL retirement. This makes it tougher to be a success post NFL, though in many cases they can get their foot in the door partially because of their fame - but that only lasts if they can be successful.

Investing the money into their own business that they know how to run is one way to make it into a lifetime income. But most know football - that's it, really. If they are outgoing and good talkers, many go into sales, using their modest fame to get their feet in the door. Not all of them are good talkers, or even have modest fame.

Now, if they are good enough to last a few years with stability (not fighting for a job every offseason) it makes it much easier to get a little bit of savings, and to get connections for after they retire. Then - IF they are wise enough to save their money, and actually have some non-football skills, AND aren't too beat up after retiring - they can live a nice enough life. But that requires a lot to go right.

There are reasons that so many ex NFLers end up broke.

Nothing is guaranteed cause someone can chose to spend all their money in 1 day of they wanted to. My point was that 1 million can definitely give you the ability to live the rest of your life in total comfort and never have a financial worry again. To think otherwise is a joke

 

[Memento]

I feel for the players with permanent injuries. Given that my permanent injuries put me in a wheelchair for life, it would be hypocritical not to care. Plus I'm an empathic person. I don't like to see anyone hurt.

 

[12intheBox]

Comparing the game of football to serving in the military is absurd. One is a game that they choose to do knowing the risks to their bodies, but do it anyway for the money (or whatever). Serving in the military, most join because it's the only way to further their education. They sure as hell don't join to get rich.

If I could make the vet minimum, I'd be making 5 times what I get now after 14 years in the Army and 22 years hauling cars back and forth across the country.

Point being, I have no sympathy for any former NFL player crying about his broken body. Even if they played just a few games they are still making more than I ever did per year.

So, yes - it’s the money then. They are too well compensated for compassion. Gotcha.

Me, I’m glad they take the risk. I love football - and if there weren’t these guys willing to go out and risk their bodies, I wouldn’t have it. And like a boxer who can hardly speak, my heart breaks for them and their families when they have the bodies of old men in their 30s and 40s.

 

[1maGoh]

Further from 12/31/1999 to 12/31/2009 the S&P500 had an annualized return of -0.95% (Credit: Forbes).

That is one of the blatant examples of cherry picked stats I've seen in a while. First, in 2008 going through 2009 the was a huge market crash. Using that as the end point for long term returns data is a bad choice, particularly in light of...
Second, it's been a decade since then. What's the return on the market since then? How many years have had loses compared to how many with gains?
Third, look at the 40 or 50 year data and tell me if it still looks like a bad choice.

People invest in the stock market because it generates value over the long term.

 

[RamnSD]

If you think you can go a decade without spending a cent, they you're my hero. A lesser, normal person is going to need to pay rent or a mortgage, and buy groceries. This would force selling of stock during a market downturn. A more rational approach would be to have an asset allocation that included bonds and cash. Clearly the trade off of having to spend during a decade long flat to slightly down market is that this less stock position returns less than the stock market as a whole. You should also note that the current market has very high valuations. Further, a recent analysis shows that stock buybacks have driven stock prices 12% higher. Those conditions aren't going to last forever.

What is the mantra here? "Think before you post".

That is one of the blatant examples of cherry picked stats I've seen in a while.