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I don’t know about Bonilla personally, but this payment structure is a good way to protect athletes from themselves. 70% of professional athletes in the US have

I don’t know about Bonilla personally, but this payment structure is a good way to protect athletes from themselves. 70% of professional athletes in the US have financial hardships shortly after they retire. (1) 70%!!! After making millions of dollars. The article goes into details but it’s basically because they go from lower class to elite class instantly and start spending it at an alarming rate without any education on good investment strategies. A good example of this structure actually working is Allen Iverson and his Reebok contract, which pays him $800k a year for 35 years. It’s the only money he has left after blowing through > $100M of his NBA earnings. (1) https://yourmoneyvehicle.com/mindset/why-pro-athletes-retire-broke/#:~:text=Yet%2C%20the%20documentary%20%E2%80%9CBroke%2C,hardships%20shortly%20after%20they%20retire https://yourmoneyvehicle.com/mindset/why-pro-athletes-retire.... (2) https://thelibertyline.com/2022/06/08/allen-iverson-reebok-trust-fund/#:~:text=Iverson%20would%20be%20paid%20%24800%2C000,the%20future%20at%20that%20point https://thelibertyline.com/2022/06/08/allen-iverson-reebok-t....

matwood 3y ago
It's always the entourages that get you. Gambling certainly doesn't help, but keeping 50ish people effectively staff is expensive.
paulcole 3y ago
> 70% of professional athletes in the US have financial hardships shortly after they retire. (1) 70%!!! The article’s way off. It’s somewhat correct for why rich superstar athletes go broke after retirement. But the reality is that this shouldn’t be surprising because at least 70% of professional athletes make almost no money, retire very young (not by their choice), and have few transferable skills. There’s 5,000 minor league baseball players alone who (except for a few) are essentially broke. And the average NFL career is over by the time the player is 25. For every Antoine Walker who blows through $50 million, there’s 1,000 27-year olds with chronic injuries, maybe an opiate addiction, and not much in the way of job prospects.
- goodgodamighty 3y ago
  Pretty stupid to think one should make NFL one’s career, then. Odds stacked against you 10000-to-1, with dire consequences for failure and, worse, CTE is virtually guaranteed if you succeed. It’s all-around stupid from every angle you look at it. Yet tens of thousands of children are being guided toward this “career” by their parents and guardians. It is disgusting.

matwood 3y ago

It's always the entourages that get you. Gambling certainly doesn't help, but keeping 50ish people effectively staff is expensive.

paulcole 3y ago

> 70% of professional athletes in the US have financial hardships shortly after they retire. (1) 70%!!! The article’s way off. It’s somewhat correct for why rich superstar athletes go broke after retirement. But the reality is that this shouldn’t be surprising because at least 70% of professional athletes make almost no money, retire very young (not by their choice), and have few transferable skills. There’s 5,000 minor league baseball players alone who (except for a few) are essentially broke. And the average NFL career is over by the time the player is 25. For every Antoine Walker who blows through $50 million, there’s 1,000 27-year olds with chronic injuries, maybe an opiate addiction, and not much in the way of job prospects.

goodgodamighty 3y ago
Pretty stupid to think one should make NFL one’s career, then. Odds stacked against you 10000-to-1, with dire consequences for failure and, worse, CTE is virtually guaranteed if you succeed. It’s all-around stupid from every angle you look at it. Yet tens of thousands of children are being guided toward this “career” by their parents and guardians. It is disgusting.