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You can have jobs without a degree. Important and fullfilling jobs too. Those bankruptcy statistics might be biased given how poorly paid athletes are, thus tg

You can have jobs without a degree. Important and fullfilling jobs too. Those bankruptcy statistics might be biased given how poorly paid athletes are, thus tgey might be a consequence of their past and not their present. They aren't fools, they pursue their dreams. Less foolish than some of us.

throwaway2037 2y ago
> given how poorly paid athletes are To be clear, in the US, when people say pro-athlete, they mostly means NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB. (Yes, tennis counts also, but leave that aside for a moment.) I Googled for minimum contracts in those four leagues: NBA: 1.1m USD NFL: 660k USD NHL: 750k USD MLB: 60k USD MLB is shockingly low, but it might be explained by the farm leagues. (I don't know more details.) I doubt anyone who sees regular play in the MLB is making so little.
- brokenmachine 2y ago
  You're talking about maybe the top 1500 sportspeople in the country. The rest are poorly paid.
- bruceb 2y ago
  If you play in the major league baseball you min is $740k not $60k. https://apnews.com/major-league-baseball-labor-agreement-details-732f25c0ec1bc69dcc2ebf903bcdb43b https://apnews.com/major-league-baseball-labor-agreement-det...
oreally 2y ago
> Those bankruptcy statistics might be biased given how poorly paid athletes are, thus tgey might be a consequence of their past and not their present. You're generalizing quite a bit here. The other common story for those in the team sports I've heard is that a ton of them have poor financial education and got fleeced by money managers. Combo that with poor job prospects and injuries from the sport itself that you've to pay to treat...
m463 2y ago
I know someone who went through this. dreams followed. Pursued a sport through college, didn't quite make pro. afterwards life languished and didn't quite amount to much. I think people might need to have a plan b, but honestly I don't know very many people who do. People are good at doing what defines them, not hedging.
The_Colonel 2y ago
> You can have jobs without a degree. Important and fullfilling jobs too. For sure, I'm someone like that. But I started at 20 to get into my field. My first job was laughably badly paid, but I got a foot in the door. These athletes usually end their career at around 35. An age where you already have a family or plan to get it soon, meaning you have financial obligations, and it's not easy to completely switch the career tracks. Many will manage to do it, but many will rather choose the safe way of staying in the sport, where they already have a resume, knowledge, customer base.

throwaway2037 2y ago

> given how poorly paid athletes are To be clear, in the US, when people say pro-athlete, they mostly means NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB. (Yes, tennis counts also, but leave that aside for a moment.) I Googled for minimum contracts in those four leagues: NBA: 1.1m USD NFL: 660k USD NHL: 750k USD MLB: 60k USD MLB is shockingly low, but it might be explained by the farm leagues. (I don't know more details.) I doubt anyone who sees regular play in the MLB is making so little.

brokenmachine 2y ago
You're talking about maybe the top 1500 sportspeople in the country. The rest are poorly paid.
bruceb 2y ago
If you play in the major league baseball you min is $740k not $60k. https://apnews.com/major-league-baseball-labor-agreement-details-732f25c0ec1bc69dcc2ebf903bcdb43b https://apnews.com/major-league-baseball-labor-agreement-det...

oreally 2y ago

> Those bankruptcy statistics might be biased given how poorly paid athletes are, thus tgey might be a consequence of their past and not their present. You're generalizing quite a bit here. The other common story for those in the team sports I've heard is that a ton of them have poor financial education and got fleeced by money managers. Combo that with poor job prospects and injuries from the sport itself that you've to pay to treat...

m463 2y ago

I know someone who went through this. dreams followed. Pursued a sport through college, didn't quite make pro. afterwards life languished and didn't quite amount to much. I think people might need to have a plan b, but honestly I don't know very many people who do. People are good at doing what defines them, not hedging.

The_Colonel 2y ago

> You can have jobs without a degree. Important and fullfilling jobs too. For sure, I'm someone like that. But I started at 20 to get into my field. My first job was laughably badly paid, but I got a foot in the door. These athletes usually end their career at around 35. An age where you already have a family or plan to get it soon, meaning you have financial obligations, and it's not easy to completely switch the career tracks. Many will manage to do it, but many will rather choose the safe way of staying in the sport, where they already have a resume, knowledge, customer base.