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It's also worth remembering that a pro athlete if he's lucky has a career that lasts 15 years, tops. Most play significantly less. Contrast that with the avera
by jfruh 15y ago
It's also worth remembering that a pro athlete if he's lucky has a career that lasts 15 years, tops. Most play significantly less. Contrast that with the average person's working life, which usually lasts 40-50 years. So sure they make a lot per year but once they're done, they're done, since they tend not have much by way of marketable skills. Saving and investment is the smart thing to do, but it's also a difficult thing to tell a 21-year-old who suddenly has more money than he's ever seen in his life.
- xentronium 15y ago> So sure they make a lot per year but once they're done, they're done, since they tend not have much by way of marketable skills More often than not, players become coaches or bureaucrats in the corresponding sports organizations.
- bmm6o 15y agoI think "More often than not" vastly overstates it. It's much more common in baseball, with its extensive farm system, or football with the large number of position coaches, but even there it's the exception rather than the rule.
- prawn 15y agoCan only speak for basketball (my brother plays in our NBL and I run hoops.com.au) but I'd say you're correct. Some go in to coaching or admin roles, but not many and, at least in Australia, many of those positions are not particularly well paid.
- aklein 15y agoAlso, earning $10 million over 15 years is far less tax efficient than earning that same amount over 50 years: you keep less of your income by a few marginal tax brackets.
- hristov 15y agoIt is much worse than that. The average NBA player's career is very short. About 4 years, last time I checked. And if you remove the stars that can last 15-20 years, you get a lot of people that play for 2 years and are dropped due to injury or just not panning out. And after a player is dropped from the NBA you get someone that has devoted their entire life to playing in the NBA and does not have any other job training. There are other leagues in other countries but they are few, have limited spots for foreigners and usually and do not pay very well.