[DemforBush]

Interesting article.

I'm a little bit surprised at the bankruptcy numbers in professional football and basketball. I knew it was still a problem, but I hadn't expected the percentages to be quite that high.

As for the list of athletes, the one that surprised me most was John Daly. I don't follow golf much at all, so I had no idea he had gambled away so much of his earnings.

Some of the others just made me shake my head. Maybe I'd look at things differently if I had hundreds of millions of dollars to spend, but I just can't wrap my frugal brain around some of the purchases. A 54,000 square foot mansion? Making monthly payments on 17 luxury cars at the same time? Whatever makes you happy, I guess, but it's no wonder these guys went broke!

[Gay State Conservative]

The same is true of lottery winners...many are in bankruptcy court within a few years of winning their 10/20/50 million dollars.

[Drea]

John Daly makes me crazy, yet I still root like hell for him.

[Yo-Yo]

They may be flirting with bankrupcy, but at least they have an episode on MTV's Cribs.

[MAexile]

Lenny Dykstra is jst more proof that one should never hire a member of the ‘86 Mets. Every last one is a scumbag.

[ken5050]

Daly’s a compusive gambler..the others are just plain stupid..

[FreePaul]

A lot of their “investments” just seem to go up in smoke. But then that’s what they intended, isn’t it?

[SnakeDoctor]

Athletes make a LOT of money fast — but their careers are typically short. So, when you’re making $5M a year and living like you make $5M a year ... its a big hit when your career ends at 35-years-old, and you live like you make $5M and actually make nothing.

If you make $5M, buy your house in cash, your car in cash, and live like you make $200K ... you can live comfortably for a very long time.

The most ridiculous story on that list is Jack Clark ... he had 70 car notes at the same time. When you have that much money ... why take out a car loan?

SnakeDoc

[Alberta's Child]

I've said for a long time that professional athletes usually end up exactly where they would have been in life if they had never had lucrative careers in the first place, and this article seems to support that.

I'm not surprised that most NFL players face financial difficulties after their careers are over. An average NFL career is a very short one, and pro football is a sport where the collective bargaining agreement is very one-sided in favor of the owners.

[packrat35]

Its not just sport’s stars either. Just look at all the high paid union workers making close to $100,000 year after year but go broke within a year of losing their job if the company goes bust.

How many times do you hear these high paid union stooges cry when they lose their gold mine?

[dleach]

David Robinson is the exception. His parents started and investment firm to help invest his earnings. They also helped other athletes. David lives modestly and donates Millions to a local school he started called the Carver Academy.

Great guy!

[subterfuge]

I’m pretty sure Charles Barkley should be on the list, or near it. He’s a big gambler too.