Professional football player salaries

Just got thinking about this topic after thinking about the federal income tax issues we have discussed. If you consider these athletes get paid a lot of money in a short period of time, because careers are short, they shouldn't be paid all at once I think. So if they're going to make 4 million in 3 years for example, you would think they would be better off to somehow stretch their income over 40 years, but I don't think they do usually. I'm not sure whether the salary caps or agents prohibit these deals, but the players should consider it so their incomes are not hitting the high brackets as much over the years. You would think it would help them not go bankrupt and keep the child support lower and more reasonable. I think Bobby Bonilla had a deal like this and he might still be getting paid by the Mets. Seems like there could be a lot of people that would benefit from having employment income not being paid all at once now I think about it. Of course there is the fear that somehow the people will not be paid by whoever is the trustee, but there must be some way to reduce the risk.

Or for the young, enlisted military man. An 18-and-over casino built right off base could lead to some regret. I've wondered if they're given any options on how much they're paid and when.

A good friend from Hofstra is the money guy for a few NFL players and a bunch of ex pros. A fair number of veterans end up getting deferred income. Sometimes through the team's, sometimes he does it post tax.
The Mets famously did this, by working with Bernie Madoff. They deferred Bobby Bonilla's contract, which was about four million, in return for a million a year for 25 years, starting in five years, or something like that. They did smaller deals with a bunch of players. The plan was invest the money with Bernie and pay it off with the 18-25% returns.
Many young players aren't interested in the long run. The league's and clubs provide classes and seminars and lists of qualified financial agents but they all too often have an Uncle or family friend they trust until they don't.

Quote: RogerKint

Or for the young, enlisted military man. An 18-and-over casino built right off base could lead to some regret. I've wondered if they're given any options on how much they're paid and when.

Military gives it members a number of options. I'm not familiar with the current ones, but traditionally you could split your check so to send money to a spouse or partner, buy savings bonds , buy life insurance and I imagine there are a bunch of others I forget.
In an extreme, a base Commander can make a casino or bar or anything off limits.

Isn't that what their pensions and 401k's are for?

A stronger union would help. The problem that keeps the NFL union so much weaker than MLB or NBA is that so many of their members are short-timers who can't afford to miss time over labor negotiations. Because of that, management is going to beat them every time they have to bargain.

Quote: TomG

Isn't that what their pensions and 401k's are for?

A stronger union would help. The problem that keeps the NFL union so much weaker than MLB or NBA is that so many of their members are short-timers who can't afford to miss time over labor negotiations. Because of that, management is going to beat them every time they have to bargain.

Exactly. Thanks.