Scrapbook Item 5: An Athlete Going Under too Soon

Link to this article: http://ideas.time.com/2011/11/15/what-separates-an-athlete-from-his-money/

In class on October 20, 2011, we talked about sports and the economy and who benefits from sports the most. Although athletes are the ones that benefit the most from sports due to salaries, endorsements, appearance fees, etc., they are also the ones that end up spending the most as well. Many players end up going bankrupt soon after their career is over because they are not making as much money as they need to support their high lifestyle that they are used to when the money is flowing in at high speeds. Take for example, Michael Vick, he was making so much money when playing for the Atlanta Falcons and even though his trial fees cost way too much to even consider, he still should have had some money to support his family. Soon after the trials and his career was supposedly over, he filed for bankruptcy but his $100 million dollar contract from the Eagles currently might end up helping him a smidge.

In Coakley's text on pages 380-386, it talks about the legal status and incomes of athletes in commercial sports and how much freedom the professional athletes have with the differences in being on a team sport and being involved in individual sports. Athletes have a lot of freedom now a days when it comes to who they play for and how their money is earned and spent. Back before the the mid-1970s, athletes had to play for their team that drafted them and that was it. The reserve system was the key component giving the owners all of the control to do have their athletes be little puppets to what they say. Although this is still not in place anymore, the athletes and their unions have to worry about all they labor laws when renewing their CBAs with their individual leagues. It is simply easier to be an athlete of individual sport because their legal status changes from sport to sport and even each individual athlete as well.

Athletes are making huge amounts of money every time they step out on to the field or they endorse a certain product to the media, that there is really no reason for an athlete that makes huge amounts of money like Michael Vick to file for bankruptcy. Just because an athlete is in the media does not give them any reason to blow money faster than any other normal US citizen. There are consequences when going bankrupt and it sickening to see an athlete go through it, when it is clearly known that they make large amounts of money. I think they need to have more common sense to watch what they spend their money on and remember that they are every day citizens like the ones around them, they just have lots of money that can be used sparingly instead of all at once.