USA Today has the nicely titled "Tough Losses" piece on former athletes that were also savvy business investors, but have nonetheless struggled in the recent economy.
You're probably familiar with the tales of athletes wasting their millions on lavish extravagances.
Jason over at Automatic Finances has a great post that pulls some practical advice from athletes tales of money mispent on bad investment and shady "financial managers." But what's scary are these stats:
78% of retired NFL players are bankrupt within 2 years.
For NBA players, 60% are broke within 5 years of retirement.
However, the athletes profiled by USA Today aren't in this mold. Take Hall of Fame defensive lineman Willie Davis. He played for Vince Lombardi in the days before million-dollar contracts.
The now-73-year-old man managed his money wisely - at one time, his banking investments were worth millions - has scene his fortune dwindle because of the housing bust.
Former New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister owned a Nissan dealership that ended up filing bankruptcy.
These tales are reminder that even smart investments can turn sour for even smart businessmen. Financial pitfalls could befall anyone, even if you've saved for a rainy day or watch your budget closely.
Just remember: If you find yourself in rocky financial waters, know that you do have options, and there is help available.
Tags: bankruptcy, personal finance
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under Bankruptcy News and Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.