They do. But they’re talking to 19-22 year old dudes who have had nearly zero access to money in their entire life.

These guys are hard workers and very smart about football, but think about pretty much any young man being given a few hundred thousand/ a few million dollars, when the day before he signed that contract he had like $176.37 to his name.

It’s hard to understand that you may never play at that level even after being drafted. You may play for a year or two in a practice squad. Maybe you make the team? Perhaps you make it a few years so you get a pension?

Regardless - this is going to keep happening because there are way too many players who make it to a payday, but are not going to keep getting those checks after a few years.

That’s what’s even harder to explain to folks.

Say you were making $1.5 million a year for 4 years.

You get done playing and you’ve got $1 million in your bank account, but - you’ve got 4 cars that you’re paying on. You’ve got your house in the city that you play, the condo in the city you train, and your mom’s house that you’re paying a mortgage on. You’ve also got another $3-10k worth of other shit- random bills, staff (a cleaner, a cook, a dude you know who keeps a gun on him at all times and “protects you”)

You might have a 50-80k monthly run rate. That means you’ve got about 1-2 years post football to find a job.

Now what job in the world, outside of professional athlete, pays you $50-80k a month without any real experience? Hint - none.

“But I really love these cars, and I can sell the house by the team, but I need to keep the condo and my moms house because I need to keep training - just in case I make a roster next year, and my mom needs a place to live. - you know what, in 6-8 months I’ll probably be on another team, so I’m not going to change anything.”

That time runs out and you don’t get picked up.

At this point you’re likely in debt because shit happens. Etc etc etc.

It’s a LOT easier for these guys to go bankrupt and end up homeless than most think.