Handling your finances

The downfall of many athletes is when they sign their first professional contract they come to believe that they are officially rich and wealthy but that is just the beginning of handling your finances.  3 main issues that most athletes have to deal with are: families , friends,  and the price of being/becoming a celebrity.

In the 1900s to the 1980s, athletes' salaries were unknown to the public. Generally the athlete would be able to live a normal life if he chose to live that lifestyle or if his skills were not worldwide known. Players have their contract announced as soon as its inked to the paper as a celebration but makes them a target for the public to ask and demand. Families that have been around feel like that they are owed some monetary compensation because they loved and supported the player when they were young. Dallas Cowboys rookie player is currently dealing with this type of situation right now. His family has currently taken out if his bank account close to one million dollars.  He has filed a lawsuit against his mother.  Then you have family members that have not been around wanting to become attached to the name of the new superstar.  Shaquille O'Neal dealt with this situation when he was first drafted to the Orlando Magic.  His estranged father wanted a relationship with his now 20 plus year old son that he has has not seen or tries to contact since he was a child. These are just a few examples that players have to deal with it but yet athletes still cant say so no when they have to. Most athletes give their money away to their family members believing that there is more money coming later by signing a new contract.

Friends will always play a role in an athlete's finances. This is the time that an athlete must be able to determine who is a friend and who is a an associate and sometimes realize that the friend does not meet the lifestyle that the athlete has now obtained. Harsh words but this is very necessary to maintain a well balanced cash flow. Friends feel like since a 5 million contract has been signed that their lives have been changed as well. This is the time that most athletes see their so called friends true colors. These friends sometimes want to flaunt what you have the athlete has earned or use the athlete's name for recognition. This is detrimental to the athlete because they have tarnished their image which affects the cash flow. When the player's friends get in trouble,  the athlete does too because your friends have now become a representation of you.

The price of being/becoming a celebrity can really affect an athlete cash flow. The modern day athlete believes that 1one million dollar contract has made them into a  person that can buy and do anything that they have been dreaming of but it is far from the truth.  The athlete still needs to the pay the agent's contract, insurance, state and federal tax and other miscellaneous things that come with making a new tax bracket.  Some athletes don't know how to say no so when they see their fellow teammates or competitors' lifestyles they want to keep up with the spending.  This lands the athlete into a world of trouble. I had a friend that played for the L.A. Lakers and he would tell tell me that one of his teammates would be dropped off by his mother to practice because he spent so much money trying to keep up with Kobe and Shaq that he was basically broke by athletes' lifestyles.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/item_k4ekmtTUDutcLom5RFBbFP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JJrYnFJxqg