Once the cheering stops: The life of a retired pro-athlete

We all like to think that after a pro athlete retires they live a glamorous and easy life. Not only do we LIKE to think this, but most of us really assume that somebody good enough to make it to the professional level will make the big bucks and live off their pro earnings the rest of their life. The reality is that most pro athletes are flat broke within 5 years of their retirement.
The life of most retired pro athletes isn't the prettiest. Many of them continue their high spending habits and risky financial investments. Many of them have trouble finding their niche and redefining themselves outside the context of football. And they have a greater chance of living in poverty than similarly aged, college-educated people.

Players face many challenges in their transition to the retired life. They are no longer bringing in big bucks so they have to think more long term about savings and about budgeting. Players think they are shoo-ins for TV and broadcasting jobs and don't realize the skill and training required to succeed in that job. Retired players don't always fully comprehend that they don't have access to their pensions until they're 45 and they can't touch their 401(k) until they're 59 and a half. They have a couple million in their bank following retirement and they don't see that the math doesn't work out when they're spending twenty or thirty or forty thousand dollars a month.

A big reason athletes struggle so much is that they are coddled and enabled by their peers and family all their life. They're told how great they are and they often don't have to deal with real world consequences because their privilege as a gifted athlete often precludes them from actual punishment or consequence. Because of this, and not really through the fault of the athlete, they attain a glorified and unrealistic image of themselves, and they view themselves as invincible. When they finally retire, all of that vanishes in an instant and they are suddenly smashed in the face with the realization that they were a commodity, used for their ability.

Various pro leagues have started to offer their current and former athletes programs and services aiming to improve their life after sport. The NFL has a player engagement division which tries to ease the transition for its players by holding boot camps and "mini-MBA" programs and advising them. The NBA assigns former players to each team as "ambassadors" to guide them in the pro and retired life. But either these programs are not utilized by enough players or they aren't of good enough quality because money is still a huge issue for players after retirement.

I remember hearing these types of stories many years ago because my father was a fan of the Intellectual Assassin, Ron Mix. Every kid player had dreams of becoming pro and most of us come to the realization eventually that we won't become pro and make millions; I distinctly remember feeling great comfort in the misfortunes of retired athletes: maybe it wouldn't have been worth it.