The Vince Young Saga

[Gianna1025]

This was just brought up here in Philadelphia on 97.5 the Fanatic. A local radio host Mikey Miss was talking to Charles Barkley about similar situations around professional sports. Barkley claims to have never lent any of his friends money or had them on the payroll. Found this on USA Today website...... Sports Illustrated estimated in 2009 that 78 percent of NFL players are bankrupt or facing serious financial stress within two years of ending their playing careers and that 60percent of NBA players are broke within five years of retiring from the game. So many of these guys feel the need to "employ" friends and family just to have them on the payroll. They get cleaned out by people borrowing money and once you say yes, it's hard to draw the line.

 

[JTnumbers]

It's sad that I used to be a fan of VY and his ability. I think he could've made it given the right system. He was never accepted in Tennessee, by Fisher, Norm Chow or the fans. And by the time he wanted to kill himself, nobody wanted to take a chance on his ability because of his mental weaknesses. Poor guy. I hope he is able to get on his feet.

 

[Puttin4Bird]

Interesting fact. There was a guy I did some work with that was a pretty big deal in the NFL. Not only did he have his "crew" of friends that he went out with every night, he had 3 guys on "payroll" that were paid a yearly salary for doing nothing. They were salaried under his "foundation" and all they did was drink and play video games all day. And this guy was considered a "good guy" by the fans.

I have a couple guys on my payroll for that too.

I do not feel a bit sorry for Young or any of the other morons who made millions in pro sports only to piss it all away. I laugh at this really, I'd like to know how many of these players are living check to check making that kind of cash.


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[MWard]

Interesting fact. There was a guy I did some work with that was a pretty big deal in the NFL. Not only did he have his "crew" of friends that he went out with every night, he had 3 guys on "payroll" that were paid a yearly salary for doing nothing. They were salaried under his "foundation" and all they did was drink and play video games all day. And this guy was considered a "good guy" by the fans.

That's just awful. Makes you wonder if they're aware of it and do it because those people will tell them what they want and they don't mind paying to keep them happy? Or if they really think those kinds of people are their friends?

 

[treyking507]

I live in Nashville and I'm not sure that is exactly true. People loved Vince but he had accountability issues. I will agree that Fisher was never completely sold on him but people still call into radio shows here everyday griping about how good he was. Chow was a college guy with no clue about how different the NFL was from the college game.

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[War Eagle]

Wow. Unfortunately this is only one story of many. I have been curious for a while now about how J. Russell fell from riches to rags, and what happened with the money he was guaranteed and received. Being that he is from, and now back in my hometown, I have to wonder where it went.

Crazy that V. Young, a two-time pro-bowler who seemingly had the NFL at his fingertips fell this far.

 

[lambro2]

This story just makes me sad. It's the American dream meets our current reality. We've got to be accountable and we can't spend what we don't have or can't sustain, regardless of its it 26k or 26mil.

 

[Canio]

Wow, just wow. Most of us could live comfortably for the rest of our lives off of his $1.9m loan. It sounds like he was blowing that in less than a year. Amazing how far out of touch most of these athletes are. I saw a stat where a significant percentage of pro athletes are in bankruptcy within 3 years of retirement. I find is surprising that they dont put 25% of their money in short mid and long term investments, knowing that most pro sports careers last less than 10 years and lots are significantly shorter than that.

The NFL just MUST do more to educate these players when they first come into the league. Basically, the NFL thinks of players as just meat that they grind up and toss away when they're done with them. There's NO reason that NFL couldn't require a standard clause in the rookie contract that would require some sort of trust be established where the player couldn't touch the trust until a certain amount of time had passed.

"According the the NFL Players Association, the average career of an NFL player is 3.3 years. The players left the NFL for a variety of reasons. These include injury, retirement and being cut by their team.
The shortest careers among NFL players tends to be those who hit and get hit the most during games and practice. Running backs have the shortest average careers of just 2.57 years. Wide receivers have average careers of 2.81 years. The average career for cornerbacks is 2.94 years.

The longest careers among NFL players tends to be those who are hit the least. Kickers and punters have the longest careers, averaging 4.87 years. Quarterbacks are next with an average career of 4.44 years."


Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/15527-long-average-career-nfl-player/#ixzz271SOfKOY

That being said, Andrew Young spent a fortune, and now must face what many people are facing. Unemployment with bills to pay.

 

[JeffReedMO]

This stuff just blows my mind. Who was the NBA rookie a few years back, that was caught applying for part time jobs while he was playing in the NBA? I can't remember for the life of me who it was, but I remember them saying he was hired for a part time job working at Circuit City, until CC put two and two together and figured out it was this hot shot NBA player with a pretty crazy schedule they would be unable to work around. I couldn't help but laugh when I read that a few years ago, but man, it's just nuts how irresponsible these guys are, and how vulnerable they make themselves, rolling with these huge posses and pissing through money like it grows on trees.


EDIT - Looked it up, it was Ron Artest when he was playing for the Bulls in his rookie year. He wanted to take advantage of the 15% employee discount, for car audio equipment and even listed Bulls Prez. Jerry Krause as a reference.

 

[Gummi Bear]

It's mind boggling for sure how anyone can blow that kind of money and have nothing to show for it.

I really can't bring myself to feel sorry for him, or any other bananahead that does the same thing.


Shiftless, swimmy-headed, and unpredictable. - Jefferson Davis Hogg