Quote Originally Posted by Kirkland Laing View Post
He used to blow serious money in the casinos too. He was a serious gambler as well as all the marriages and all the kids he knocked out. Still an awful shame though.
the espn 30 for 30 documentary titled Broke went through athletes andhow they end up shall we say "short of funds" within a few years of their careers in most cases.

most athletes have a few things in common: 1-they think their careers will never end. American football players have an average career of a few years. NBA careers on average aren't long. Most boxers that reach the top don't stay there for very long. Your time is limited. 2-they don't understand the concept of living below your means. If an NFL player gets a signing bonus of 4 million, then he needs to pay the taxes, have a little fun, and then save a super high % of the remaining amount. If you are single you don't need a 2 million dollar home with 20 rooms. Hell, you don't need a million dollar home in most markets. Buy something very nice, but reasonable. Buy a nice car and a nice truck. Then STOP WITH THE VEHICLES. If you want some jewelry go blow a couple of thousand on jewelry, then STOP WITH THE JEWELRY.

One of the smartest athletes in recent memory is Bobby Bonilla. He agreed to restructure his big contract and he is getting paid 1 million a year from the NY mets for another 15 or more years. He had a big deal, Mets wanted to restructure so he deferred almost all of it and the mets would pay it out over many years. Super smart deal. Resist the temptation to get a big chunk of money now and possibly blow through some of it.

As for Holyfield, this has been the likely ending for the past 10 years.