Not All Athletes Are Broke.
By Sarah Omar. June 12th
Raise your hand if you know someone who at some point said they wanted to be a pro athlete. You can’t see me, but I’m raising both of my hands well above my head. I know I’m not alone in this. I’ve worked with kids and have gotten to know so many children that I can confidently say that alongside being a doctor or a firefighter, being a basketball player or a star goalkeeper is a common aspiration. According to a 2015 Forbes article, when it came to kids, one of their top dream careers centered on being a professional athlete.
This isn’t a bad thing. I’ll never discourage a kid from chasing after their dreams and kids are super impressionable. Of course, they want to be athletes! If you look at social media or turn on the TV — it’d be hard to not dream of such a glamorous life. Plus, the games are fun to watch and (if you have a modicum of athleticism in you) play. What isn’t often advertised is the fact that financial challenges are rampant among pro athletes. In Broke, an ESPN documentary examining the presented problem — namely, that athletes are prone to going broke — reported results were pretty bleak. According to the film, “60 percent of former NBA players are broke within five years of retirement”. That number rose to 78% when talking about retired NFL players. There are a number of reasons as to why that might be, but the main one is pretty clear — these athletes lack financial literacy. It’s not just athletes who struggle with basic financial literacy, though. PossibleFinance purports that 4 in 7 Americans are financially illiterate.
Now, if you have a young one in your life who dreams of being an athlete, the best thing you can do is set them up for success as early as possible (note — this still applies even if your kid doesn’t want to be a pro athlete. Financial illiteracy is a problem most people face within their lifetime). Establish a healthy relationship between them and money while they’re young so that when they inevitably win the Super Bowl (I believe in your kid), they’ll know what to do with their prize money. And when they retire, they won’t have to worry about how to keep their lights on, they’ll be buying you the Tesla you deserve for setting them up for success.
The task is daunting, but we’ve made it simple. Here’s a link to our book where we break down sports and money talk for young kids, our sport-related stocks — this provides you with the perfect opportunity to help your kid build wealth by investing in their interests! (Click here to learn more). Present that special kid in your life with a gift that keeps on giving while also letting them know that making money doesn’t have to be hard.
About Author
Sarah Omar is a Stuff&Stock intern, a current college student, and a proficient writer. At age 14 Sarah developed her own website to write reviews on books she fell in love with. Now, she pours her years of lived experience and passion for writing into building up the Stuff&Stock brand. Comment or share if you think she is as amazing as we do!!