At first look, the flash, high-incomes, and status that comes with being a sports superstar could easily make most people envious. According to a 2023 Gitnux article, the average salary for a professional athlete in the U.S. is $50,000 to $200,000 per year. On average, professional athletes make 4 to 6 times the amount of the median U.S. wage.
Wow - so, does this mean we should quit our jobs and turn pro? Should we be jealous of professional athletes?
Let’s pull the curtain back and see if being jealous even makes sense!
Downsides to a Professional Athlete’s Career
Short Career: The average player’s career is only 3 to 5 years long depending on the sport. (cbsnews)
Bankruptcy: 78% of professional athletes go broke after 3 years of retirement.(foxbusiness)
Reduced Take-home Pay: Professional athletes generally take home about 50% to 60% of their reported salaries after taxes and agent fees. (fool.com)
Taxes: The IRS only looks at what you make in a year. By the time a player receives $500k in one year, they will have been hit hard with taxes, unlike lower income earners who spread out taxes over many years. (signaturefd.com)
Stubbornness: Athletes view lower paying work as an insult and have stopped their job search, saying, “I will wait until someone realizes my value and pays me the $500k/year or more that I am worth.” And, they wait…and wait…and wait.(signaturefd.com)
Injury: Up to 68% of NFL players may be injured in a season. (wwltv). Costs of medical treatment after the career can last a lifetime.
Budgeting: Pro athletes can qualify for larger amounts of debt, which can become tough to manage when their income drops dramatically after a brief career.(signaturefd.com)
Pressure to Help Others: Pro athletes often look to help family members or others close to them as they grew up, instead of building their own financial position.(foxbusiness)
Keeping up with the Joneses: Some players will try to spend as much as the player next to them in the locker room who is making several millions more. (biggerpockets)
Flip the Script!
I’d argue that Athletes should instead be jealous of the business person and investor.
Shaquille O’Neal, for example, makes more money as a businessman than as a sports star. In fact, he makes 4x his NBA salary by owning business and building his personal brand. (essentiallysports.com) Another example is Dean Rogers who went from a 7-figure income in the NFL, to a $65,000 job after the NFL, to starting a $1M+ per year real estate investment business. (biggerpockets) The list goes on.
Takeaway
While the celebrity life may seem enviable at a quick glance, it can be worth it to ignore the hype and take a harder look. I think we all intuitively know this, but the reminder and perspective is helpful. Comparison is the thief of joy. If you’re doing better than you were yesterday, then you are doing great.
My favorite part of all of this is that anyone can take their income and use it to invest and own assets - just like the pros!