Professional Athletes With Inconsistent Income Stills Needs Consistent Planning

Professional sports players and Hollywood play-makers may be among those lucky few that receive hefty paychecks for their rare talents, but those checks may not always be consistent or the time-span of their careers are knowingly short-lived. Having the ability to plan for when those checks stop or are sparse is still highly important even when the numbers on those checks are significant.

Klay Thompson, the Golden Warriors star that is playing in his fourth finals appearance in a row, is well aware that his basketball career is finite. “I’m in my seventh year,” he said, “but I’ll be done in another seven years. I’ll have a whole life to live with this wealth.” The professional sports world is rife with stories of millionaire players filling for bankruptcy, including that of Antoine Walker who had to do it in 2010. Thompson understands enough of the dangers of undisciplined spending that he leaves money, planning, and financial decisions to that of his advisor. “I know basketball,” Mr. Thompson said. “I’m trying to learn more about the business world.”

See Paul Sullivan, Why Inconsistent Income Needs Consistent Planning, New York Times, June 1, 2018.

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