It’s inconceivable to the average fan how an athlete who has made millions of dollars over his career can be broke just a few years out of the game. But former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister — after 10 years in the NFL and seven years since he signed a $55 million contract — claims he is broke, according to court documents filed in a child support case, TMZ has reported.
McAlister wants to lower his $11,000 monthly child support payments, and, according to the report, states he has been living in his parents’ home and that he has “been unemployed since 2009” and has no income.
Ironically, one thing that both rich and famous athletes and sports fans can share is the concept of being broke — remarkable considering the chasm between what many athletes earn and what sports fans bring home to survive their daily lives.
Some, like Michael Vick, wind up broke because of choices they make that wind up sending them to jail. Some, like former Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell, go bankrupt because of poor business decisions.
Vick’s money woes took place while he was still young enough to come out of federal prison for his role in a dog-fighting ring and, with his new contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, still have the ability to pay his creditors and climb out of debt.
Brunell is still playing as well. He’s the backup quarterback for the New York Jets. But at 41 and making backup quarterback money, he has a long way to go to climb out of the nearly $25 million hole of debt he finds himself in because of bad business decisions.
Many athletes, though, don’t find themselves broke and bankrupt until after their playing days are over and don’t have the ability to earn the kind of money it takes to recover. Some, foolishly, turn away a chance perhaps to do so.
Latrell Sprewell stopped playing in the NBA after he declared a three-year, $21 million contract offer from the Minnesota Timberwolves insulting and that it would not be enough to feed his children.
Now, after a 13-year career where he earned $97 million, Sprewell is reportedly broke, facing home foreclosures and is the top delinquent taxpayer in the state of Wisconsin, owing $3.5 million in back income taxes.
Three years ago, the NBA players association claimed that 60 percent of pro basketball players go broke within five years of retirement. That means among the group of NBA players who met in Las Vegas last week and declared their solidarity in light of the league labor lockout, six of every 10 will be broke five years after they are done playing.
Their creditors won’t be too interested in hearing union solidarity speeches in court.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
