Pro Athletes in Need of Wealth Management

Highly-publicized sports figures like Evander Holyfield andAntoine Walker aren’t the only athletes to face bankruptcy after their careershave ended.  About 60% of athletes end upin bad shape after retirement.

The main reason athletes face money issues isn’t that all of themare blowing their money on an extravagant lifestyle, but instead it’s that the average procareer is only four to five years long.  Forall the big name players with lengthy careers, there are hundreds of athletesthat effectively retire at age 25 or 26. This means a majority of players, usually starting with zero net worth,have to make their retirement savings last six or seven decades to support alifestyle they’ve gotten used to while young. And their youth only compounds the problem.  Many of these 20-somethings are busy figuring out their new life and less concerned with planning for retirement.  For many wealth advisors, the main goal should be keeping their clients frugal and making sound investments.

See Scott Martin, Wealth Advisors Can Make the DifferenceKeeping Pro Athletes from Wasting their Fortunes, The Trust Advisor, June4, 2013.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.