In respects to the recent NFL draft I wanted to talk about some the realities some of my close friends are about to face. With their new found success come new lifestyle expectations. I know this is an exciting time for them and their closest associates but the harsh realities of this life style are in full motion as well. I know we have all heard the wild stats about NFL careers and position they are left in after their playing days are over. USA today says that 78% of all NFL players are divorced, bankrupt or unemployed two years after leaving the game. I’m a believer that a lot of these stats are as circumstantial as an opinion. (I want to establish up front that what I’m presenting is also an opinion, a damn good one though, lol).
Any college player who was a part of a decent college football program has been told the daunting stats of what achieving NFL success will entail. Most of that knowledge goes in one ear and out of the other. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing though. Once you make it to the major college ranks it's impossible not to think that you have a chance. Quite honestly if you spend that much time and dedication with football, you should dream about playing it at its highest level. I think there are two issue that get guys in trouble.
#1 Career expectations.
I’m sure we all remember when we would tell our 1st grade teacher our career goals and the kid who said Pro athlete would always receive that look of apprehension. The proud few who did achieve those dreams can now say “I told yah so”. The only problem is that they should have had a two part answer. With the average NFL career being just 3 season’s these guys are left with a lot of life to live. The amount of confidence needed by an individual to make it to the pros is the same confidence that leads them to believe that they can play forever. I remember at the height of my NFL dreams (yeah I had them too, lol) my dad would always say, “look at it as a jump start to your life, not as your entire life.” What he meant by that was if the opportunity comes it will just be a jump start to your professional life, Instead of coming out of school making $60,000 you will come out making $330,000 for a few years. That thought process not only saves you from putting lifetime expectations on your pro earnings but also prepares you for the circumstance that you don’t make it. The sad truth is that 55% of NFL careers last < 3 years. So that’s 3 years of income. Sadly in a lot of cases guys will spend the next two years dwindling their savings training and preparing for another chance to get back into the league. I know most people are like “still Vince that’s $330,000 a year” and I agree that is a substantial amount of money, but the riches of the average NFL player are so misconstrued. That leads into what I think is the second issue that gets guys in trouble.
#2 Living up to lifestyle expectations.
The societal pressure for NFL players to live a certain lifestyle is astronomical (especially the African American ones). The biggest societal misconception is that everyone in an NFL jersey is a millionaire. That is far from the truth. The families of most of these NFL guys think that NFL contract is going to be able to buy momma a new house and rebuild the local church. The average player can’t dream of affording that, but they sure will pretend. When people see the fortunes of the top players they automatically apply that to the whole profession. While to most of society that $330,000 league minimum is an enormous figure, but when you’re living a million dollar lifestyle it doesn’t stretch that far. When you take a closer look at that salary the figure becomes even less impressive. First off that salary is made in an 18 week time scale compared to 52 weeks like most jobs. In some states that rookie salary is taxed like they earn 500,000 over the course of the year which takes off an even greater chunk of their money. It takes a tremendous amount of maturity and responsibility to ration that pay to last for the whole year. I can barely budget being paid once a month I couldn’t imagine stretching 18 weeks of pay to 52 weeks of living. My point is that the lifestyle pressures of these guys influence’s there budget more than anything and ultimately is a huge contributor to the daunting stat I mentioned up top.
With all that being said the point of this was to let all the gold diggers know, it would be wise for you all to just go get a job. It’s not worth the trouble, lol.
Just a thought
Maybe your post should be dedicated to the players instead of the gold diggers. Pretty sure when a gold digger realizes her rise to the top is slowly (or quickly) falling to the bottom, she'll find another.
ReplyDeleteHowever your football boy has nothing to fall back on except his financial insecurity and regret for not actually taking advantage of the other opportunities he had to create a plan b (aka college).