Monday, February 10, 2014
Once the cheering stops: The life of a retired pro-athlete
The life of a retired athlete seems to go down after the fame fades out. According to the 30 for 30 video only two years after being retired from the sport around 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress. Then, within five years of retirement, 60% of former NBA players are completely broke. When first reading these facts, I was completely shocked. I had no idea that it took such a short amount of time for a professional athlete to obtain financial struggles so soon after retirement. Tiki Barber even said "you've been replaced on the field and you've been replaces in people's minds. That's when you start getting depressed". Many of these professional players feel a reality shock when they realize the real world around them outside of the game. All they have ever known is playing as a professional, so when they have to flow back in with society, it's hard for them to get the rhythm of things again.
A few challenges that these retired athletes face are things like depression or trying to look for another job. It's hard for a lot of athletes to find suitable jobs for themselves because their main careers have always been in sports. They aren't used to working for businesses or don't have the proper education to work for large corporations. I think one of the greatest jobs a former player can obtain is either coaching or broad-casting. This way they can still feel involved with their passion and be a part of the "sports society" without working their body's too hard.
I have never really thought about an athletes life after the fame fades away. At least I didn't think that these professionals were going bankrupt any time soon. I think it has to do a lot with how much these athletes are spending when they get signed to new teams. It's wild to hear the things that these people are buying right when they start playing in the spot-light. If a player is smart with their money or has someone to manage it for them, then maybe this wouldn't happen so often.
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I agree with your points about the lack of education athletes are exposed to, I believe this is a key factor as to why they tend to be so unprepared for life after retirement. In a sense, I feel like athletes are often over constrained to the point where they aren't allowed to pursue an education due to the high rigor of their athlete position, it's ironic how after they retire, the same institution that over "protected" them, is the same one throwing them over the bus to make room for the new star. -Rosy Garcia
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