Its March Madness folks, and I think this week we’ll go with a sports theme. I feel that it is only appropriate to start off with a little knowledge from the NBA Players Association: roughly 60% of players go bankrupt within 5 years of retirement.
Keep in mind that the MINIMUM salary for a first year player this year is over 450k!
One might wonder how individuals so wealthy end up filing for bankruptcy.
Jason Caffey, a two time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls, went bankrupt by fathering ten children with eight women and not paying child support. This seems to be common problem among many NBA players, who appear to be among the most cavalier and reckless when it comes to fathering bastard children. Frankly, it’s nothing less than shocking. They are an embarrassment to themselves, their families, and their sport.
Latrell Sprewell did it by turning down a $21 million dollar contract with the words “I’ve got to feed my family,” right before having one of his worst seasons ever. Keep in mind that this is the player that was suspended for 82 games for choking his own coach and threatening a teammate with a 2×4.
All joking aside, the truth is, some people spend three to six years in school to get a degree in Accounting and Financial Management! Sometimes talented people make bad decisions, like the ones above, and sometimes people just get unlucky. Either way, navigating a Washington bankruptcy is difficult work, and I would never go at it alone.
In today’s economy, many of our friends and neighbors here in Washington State are having trouble paying their bills and staying current on their mortgage. Given the current state of our economy and the local housing market, this isn’t a big surprise since most of us don’t make anything close to what NBA players make every year.
If you or someone you know is struggling every month just to pay their monthly bills, and seem to be getting further and further behind, no matter how hard they try, it might be time to consider a fresh start. If you are considering such an option, might we recommend Washington bankruptcy lawyer David M. Lux. David is an experienced WA State bankruptcy attorney and can assist you in understanding your legal rights and options.