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View Full Version : Troy Polamalu achieving financial success (espn magazine)



Carolina Steelers
06-15-2013, 08:04 PM
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9357761/how-pittsburgh-steelers-troy-polamalu-achieved-financial-success-espn-magazine

Craic
06-16-2013, 12:03 AM
I'm split on that, in some ways, I think it is a brilliant thing. In others, I'm always nervous about people touching my money.

Chidi29
06-16-2013, 01:42 AM
I'm with Preacher in that there is a risk to it, but let's be honest, the current system that exists in the NFL (and all the major sports) is a farce. The article pointed out a couple of the obvious issues....

1. Agents want to be liked by the players so they sign....so they'll tell them and give them whatever they want (loans) to get them to sign. And then start recouping that money wants the player signs a contract

2. You have young adults with way more money than they've ever seen. Rich, poor homelife it doesn't really matter. These kids have never seen millions of dollars in their bank account and don't know what to do with it. They think money is infinite so they spend lavishly when they got their signing bonus (usually in one lump sum though not always, deferred payments are becoming more common today but still in the minority). They buy instead of rent, trick out their car (if Troy buys a 100K Range Rover, what do you think of the less level-headed players get??), and all the jewelry they could ever want (or need).

3. NFL careers are short. What is the stat, an average of three years? That's one contract. The money isn't infinite and once it's gone, it's gone. Not enough players have a backup plan or other marketable skills. Some don't even have their degrees (the ones that declared early. Ben just got his I think two years ago). Football is a job. Not a career.

4. It's less money than you think over a limited amount of time. Not that these players will ever starve but taxes can take out as much as 50% of every game check. With game checks, you ony get paid during the season. So only 17 weeks of the year are you receiving a check. Rest of the year is dry save for a little bit of money made in minicamps (minuscule in comparison, unless you're heavy in workout bonuses)


This isn't just an NFLPA or league issue. Everyone can improve. Maybe the NFLPA can have every player assigned to an independent financial adviser to get rid of the conflict of interest with agents. And maybe the NFL could make the signing bonuses always be deferred over time to help break up the large sums of cash.

And then it ultimately comes down to teaching players how to make smart decisions in the league. And no, a speaker at the rookie symposium does not count. I'm sure half the players tune that out anyway because every 23 year old who has been a star all his life thinks he's invincible. It needs to be beaten into his head his first two or so years in the league.

We need to be more proactive or we're going to hear a lot more sob stories.

- - - Updated - - -

Jack Bechta, agent of over 25 years, has written a bunch of articles on the subject for National Football Post. Some really good reads.