NBA players’ financial security no slam dunk
Dave Feschuk
thestar.com
Reported 1/31/08
“Sixty per cent is a ballpark. But we’ve seen a lot of guys who’ve really come into hard times five years after they leave the league,” said Roy Hinson, the former NBA forward who’s a representative for the players’ association. “The problems are, for a lot of guys, they have a lot of cars, they have multiple houses, they’re taking care of their parents. They’re taking care of a whole host of issues. And the cheques aren’t coming in anymore.”
Experienced players like Kapono, who has played on four different teams in his five-year tenure, were not surprised by the number.
“You see how guys live,” said Kapono. “A lot of players get in trouble because they want everyone around them to lead the same lifestyle. So you fall into a hole. You buy this big house now for those people, and they no longer want to drive the low-end car to go with the big house. So the big house leads to the big car, to the better clothes, to the better restaurants and stuff. It’s a snowball effect. That’s why the stat isn’t as shocking, because I’ve witnessed it.”
It’s not just the spending, it’s the scamming. Hinson – who, as it happens, said he knows of a current NBA player who owns 15 cars – said unwitting athletes have been charged as much as $5,000 a month for bill-paying services and as much as a $100,000 to have their taxes prepared by unscrupulous agents and business managers.
“If you never check up on someone,” said Raptors guard Darrick Martin, “you become a target.”
Public stories of NBAers in financial trouble occasionally make headlines. Back in October, Jason Caffey, who made an estimated $29 million during his eight-year NBA career, was in bankruptcy court seeking protection from his creditors, among them the seven women with whom he fathered eight children. And late last year Latrell Sprewell, who famously turned up his nose at a $21 million contract offer – “I’ve got to feed my family,” was the money quote – had a yacht worth more than $1 million repossessed. (more…)
H/T: Mediatakeout.com
Sphere: Related Content
