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CJ McCollum - Out of 450 players 150 are living paycheck to paycheck

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by ThatBoyNick, Apr 7, 2020.

  1. ThatBoyNick

    ThatBoyNick Member

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    This is a wild statement.



    I get that some min guys make 900k, after agent fees and taxes they probably end up with 400k... but that is still in the top 2% for salary in America. And that's just the worst of the worse for a small number of undrafted rookie players mostly.

    Living beyond one's means in the NBA (and all sports) needs to something that's stressed to all the players, because statements like this are sad.
     
  2. Gray_Jay

    Gray_Jay Member

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    "We might make a lot of money but, we also spend a lot of money." NBA players also often aren't supporting only themselves on that check. Lots of people helped them on their way to making it, and they expect some help back. Then there's child support, 'living the 'baller lifestyle', etc...

    They're just like most Americans. Isn't it something like 40 percent of Americans can't pay their bills if they were to miss two paychecks?
     
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  3. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
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    I guess a lot of players did not grow up in an environment where prudent financial management is a thing.
     
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  4. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
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    Most of those people make less than 10% of what the NBA players make.
     
  5. ThatBoyNick

    ThatBoyNick Member

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    Try half a percent lol.

    The average NBA contract is 7.7 million. 10% 770 thousand, 1% 70k, .05 % is 35k, half of the American workers make less than 30k per year.

    I understand the living expenses go up, I understand they end up supporting their family while living lavish lifestyles, my point in the original post was the NBA needs to stress to it's players to not live beyond their means. Guys making 5 mill per can't try to live like LBJ. All a single person needs to live comfortably is 70k after taxes. So theoretically even a rookie min deal could support 4 people comfortably and still have over 120k left over if they lived within their means.

    The average people making under 100k a year, I totally understand why this would bankrupt us and kiss us financially, but 33% of the NBA shouldn't be struggling, that's just sad.
     
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  6. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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    not that surprising. Considering a lot of guys make close to min or low end contracts, they have a lot that they typically cover for upon others on top of themselves
     
  7. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
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    Yeah, my mind was kind of on those min contract guys. You are right.

    The Players Association, if they really care about the wellness of the players, should find some ways to help them how to handle their money. Maybe they should have a mandate of locking up 80% of their salaries in an account until 5 years after retirement, a quasi-401k plan or something.
     
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  8. ThatBoyNick

    ThatBoyNick Member

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    Yeah, I'm not sure what they have, but either the player association or the teams should hire a group of financial consultants for all active players. A third of the league struggling already is embarrassing if true.
     
  9. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    They're demand side job creators doing their patriotic duty to spend.
     
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  10. sirjesse

    sirjesse The Udoker has spoken!
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    Mike Tyson went bankrupt after earning three hundred million. Part of that is players not knowing how to manage money. Part of it is these dang entourages that rob them blind. But........for anyone to say they are paycheck to paycheck earning a million or more......wow. Poor CJ must be having trouble making that 50g a month house note.
     
  11. Gray_Jay

    Gray_Jay Member

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    And? There's always another shelf to the toy store. Most of the 'most of those people' live lives of unimaginable luxury, if you're looking at them through the eyes of most of the world's people. And most of those people aren't responsible for supporting as many people as many of these NBA guys are.

    The point is, financial mismanagement can hit regardless of how much money's coming in. See, the Rockets owner... The problem isn't the amount of the money; it's adjusting one's view of one's 'needs' in light of the resources available. Most people, NBA players definitely included, are bad at that.
     
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  12. Gray_Jay

    Gray_Jay Member

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    Your main point is absolutely true. That said, in a salary distribution like the NBA's, isn't the median salary a better place for analysis than the average? Harden's supermax really distorts the average from the 1-2 million/year a lot of these guys make. Not that 1 million a year is chicken feed...
     
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  13. napalm06

    napalm06 Huge Flopping Fan

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    I think most leagues have some coaching/training for players coming into the league as rookies about money management.

    There's a 30 for 30 about it called "Broke". And it's completely relevant to this thread.
    http://www.espn.com/30for30/film/_/page/broke
     
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  14. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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    part of the draft process for incoming guys trying to get in the league, are informative financial seminars that are hosted by current/previous players and agents where they reach out and become available for all the guys if they choose.
     
    #14 YOLO, Apr 7, 2020
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2020
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  15. MONON

    MONON Member

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    [/QUOTE] I had an "econ" prof tell me that we have a tendency to spend what we make. We're all broke, it's just that some of us are broke on a higher level than others.
     
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  16. Cannonball

    Cannonball Contributing Member

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    Add in the fact that playing careers are relatively short. I might do a regular day job for 30-40 years and then I'm collecting Social Security or a pension. The average NBA career is about 5 years and they average player will make $25 million in that time.

    Forget not having to live paycheck to paycheck. Not knowing what comes for them after their playing career, they need to make that money last for decades.
     
  17. amaru

    amaru Member

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    Not surprising. How many "average" Americans are worried about having their lights turned off and being evicted after not working for 2 weeks. Some of these people have been working for 20+ years. Wealth isn't just about how much you make, it's about how much you save.
     
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  18. bleedroxred79

    bleedroxred79 Member

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    I would enforce a sum of some sort to be taken out of each paycheck. If they don't see they won't miss it.
     
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  19. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
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    I don't know. You can't expect a 20-year-old kid, especially those who come from poor backgrounds, to listen to those financial management seminars when they suddenly have millions of dollars to spend. You've got to force them to do something smart to save them from themselves.
     
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  20. napalm06

    napalm06 Huge Flopping Fan

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    Very wise are the people who realize this. Wealth is almost completely about how much you save. Otherwise it's just consumption.
     
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