Athletes and money

One of the saddest sights is to see a former athlete of renown suffer from financial ruin. It is still common for athletes who once made a decent income to take on more menial work just to get by. More so now with the pandemic, we see athletes trying online businesses or taking to the streets to find employment. It is a heartbreaking realization that heroes we once admired are financially fallible. Many idols we once applauded on television have faced the humbling realization that they are ill-equipped for life beyond sports.

This is not confined to the Philippines, not by a long stretch. A 2009 report by Sports Illustrated found that 78 percent of NFL players are either bankrupt or under financial stress within just two years of retirement. Meanwhile, 60 percent of NBA players file for bankruptcy five years after retirement. Given how much money they make, the common man would wonder how this could happen. Worse, we may in turn feel hopeless. If it could happen to them, what chance do I stand?

How do athletes (and many common people) end up in this predicament? What are the factors that keep them unaware of how difficult a life beyond the playing arena can be?

Diluted education. Sadly, all schools have the long-time welfare of their athletes in mind. Truth be told, some teachers look the other way and just let student-athletes pass courses without doing any real work. While on one hand, we understand that it’s exhausting to be a varsity player and student, the fact remains that they often do not receive the full benefit of their education. Many schools are concerned merely with what performance they can get from the athlete while he is around, while the athlete’s main concern is getting through the bother of college.

No financial education. Financial literacy is not taught in school. Investment is a foreign language to most athletes who, as previously stated, got only a fraction of the true value of their college courses. The Philippine educational system is still based on the Depression-era US model, which was designed to create more employees, not train entrepreneurs or business owners. That leaves a big void in knowledge, and that chasm makes all the difference.

Most athletes don’t make much. Even national athletes don’t really earn that much at the amateur level. For the most part, they have to send money home to the provinces, and take care of some of their own expensive dietary and training requirements. The windfalls only really come if they medal in competitions at the Southeast Asian, Asian, world and Olympic competitions, which are few and far between. Only a handful eventually reach a level where they can sustain themselves through private sponsorships.