I think high school should institute such classes for everybody. It's amazing that we require kids to study the French revolution, but nobody ever sits them down in a class and tells them what craptastic deals things like payday loans or adjustable rate home mortgages are.
A thing I think the NBAPA should negotiate for in the next CBA is something akin to a required 401(k) plan. A percentage (maybe 5-10%?) of the player's salary each year goes into an escrow fund and is matched by the team. This fund is attached to the player, like a standard 401(k), and goes with the player. Once he's retired, it's distributed back to him over a number of years like a pension. Since this would cost teams some money, it might be something the owners give in return for the more restrictive salary structure they want. It would also stand the players in better stead long-term, given these statistics.
The salary cap is a fiction, anyway. Veteran minimums only count for so much, as an example, and the cap doesn't take into account insurance money that covers the teams' payments. If a standard deferment were to seriously be considered, I'm not sure the salary cap would be a reason it couldn't happen. The thing is that everyone (both money-wise and money-foolish) wants their money NOW. Purposefully delaying a payday "for my own good" just isn't something that I'd be interested in, and it would have to be imposed on the NBA players... and saving the players from themselves is not really a battle worth fighting for NBA owners. It'd be like the players fighting the owners to put a hard cap in place, in some respects. Ed O.
Not hard at all if I were living a reasonable lifestyle to begin with. All the average player has to do is invest a percentage of his money every paycheck and he's set for life. Not a chance. I put 50% of my paycheck into a savings account every paycheck, and invest a significant portion of the rest. I know other people who do the same thing. This idea that all of us would throw away our money if we were rich is nonsense.
You may be right in some cases. It makes sense for your franchise players, since you expect to have them around for a decade or more. Seems like most NBA players only last 2-3 years on any given franchise, so they aren't really long-term investments. If you are flipping employees around that often, does it make much sense to invest in their long-term well-being?
This would help keep players from starving, but it wouldn't save them from bankruptcy. If players overextend their credit (houses, cars, babies, etc.) a nest egg that pays out like a pension is most likely going to be a drop in the bucket. If players are RESPONSIBLE with their income, they'd probably be better off having it up front. Ed O.
If it were only a requirement, I agree. That's why my suggestion involves NBA matching...so yes, there's a restriction, but also a monetary gain. I think overall it makes it a plus for players, and therefore worth players advocating for it for their own sake.
True story, about 5 years ago we were about to head out on a 10 day road trip back east....... when we are about to leave, they hand out the envelopes with per dium. ZBO and Miles are sitting right behind me when they passed 'em out. Darius says and I quote, "What is this shit man!? What am I supposed to do with $1,500!? This ain't shit!"
Can't just pin this on the "dumb athlete". . . you hear about lottery winners blowing all their money as well. Common story for many to blow their fortune. But on the flip side, 40% are not broke after 5 years meaning many are doing it the right way or at least not the broke in 5 years way.
Shit, 100% of you guys would be broke too! You'd waste it on video games, StarTrek conventions, comic books, blow up sheep and a new captain's chair for your mom's basemen......... errrrrrrr......... your "apartment". The funny thing is, this actually does apply to about 75 of you out there! I love being right!.................................. NERDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It won't save them from bankruptcy, but being able to survive, having something to live on after a bankruptcy is valuable.
That is true. I guess I don't know if 60% of players being "broke" means unable to have a roof over their head or just can't stay out of court due to missed payments on things. Ed O.
I didn't say *everyone* lives check to check... but the US citizen's savings rate is currenly about 0%... so your frugal and admirable efforts appear to be statistically... a drop in the bucket. Seriously though... I do applaud your savings and hope your bank isn't the Bank of Nikolai: [video=youtube;0o8XMlL8rqY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o8XMlL8rqY[/video]
Wow! How in the hell do you do that? Props to you, wish I could do the same. 2 car payments,mortgage,$950 a month for health insurance.......... there is no way I could even think of trying to do this!
I wouldn't do it, even if I could. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow, and why would I want to have lived through my prime years acting like a miser? Ed O.
A good point, but I still think it's smart business. In an industry where there's so little differentiation, creating an attitude of caring about a player's well-being off the court may get you an extra free agent or two when the same money is offered.
Gee I wonder if all this financial illiteracy is an accident. Also I highly doubt kids learn anything like simple history of other nations in school anymore. You think Boomers and Gen-X/Y are provincialists wait until the Millenials grow up.
I have no car payment, for one thing. Paid it off almost a year ago. I also avoid just "buying" stuff for the heck of it. I only buy what I need. The beauty of putting your money in the bank is not the satisfaction of being a "miser," but the knowledge that you have something for a rainy day. I love the fact that if I lost my job tomorrow, I could live a couple of years just off my savings. That's a very nice feeling.
Really? Amazing to have the ability to pay your bills and save or invest so much. It must be nice. I live below my means but what you suggest is mathematically impossible. Just curious are you in the market or generally speaking how are you investing? Many people I know got annihilated in 2008 and since. I've done fairly well but by no means feel set for life.
