OTL: Antoine Walker

blows my mind. The way is see it, an nba millionaire should do this:

buy a house
buy 2-3 cars max
help out only their closest of family members
set aside enough money to have all the fun you want in a reaosnable matter
then put the rest into savings for the future

No reason anyone pulling millions couldn’t do all of the above to various degrees depending on how much they make.

what players should not do:

buy numerous houses/cars that are unneccasary
spend millions on clothes or jewelry
hook every friend or family member up like you owe them all something
NOT have a savings account that is off limits.
spend any money on investments unless you consider that money expendable. Like gambling, investments should be treated like extra cash, not cash that you rely heavily on.

I knew it was bad, but it really breaks my heart to see such a great player wittle down so much money due to recklessness. The greatest investment a young NBA star should make is a GOOD financial advisor.

he pawn his championship ring??? I didn’t watch….

not gambled all his money away in the past 2 years…..its easy to go broke gamblin with MJ….Mike probably blew just as much if not more gambling and he still has enough bread to buy a team lol…..

i always wondered why players would buy giant mansions or multiple cars when they barely have enough time to truly enjoy it all until they retire

They may be the beginning of the end. The next thing is I have no clue on how much taxes these guys pay from my understanding you could through it in a savings account and the taxes would well take care of any gains that you get. I am not a financial specialist give me some feedback on this…. The only way you can keep all that money is to invest in a business and continue working and live off of that and have the money as play uninvested in anything. There is a reason why all these guys go broke…..

And guess what critics Donald Trump went bankrupt 7 times….. so that tells you that this having money thing is not as easy as you think.

OrangeJuiceJones, the NBA provided Money Management classes to their rookies for many, many years. One thing you can’t overcome with those classes is stupidity.

I have no sympathy for Antoine Walker and guys like Latrell Sprewell, who is allegedly bankrupt. They made more money in only 10 games than my father did working in a factory all of his adult life.

If you’re earning around 8 million per year after taxes, you and your agent should do something like the following every year to preserve the core of your earnings.

Place 3 million in a savings/investment trust you cannot touch until you retire from the NBA.

Invest 2 million in stocks, real estate, etc.

Donate about $100,000 to charities and receive the tax write offs.

That leaves about 3 million dollars per year to give your agent his share, help out your family, and buy all of the fancy cars and homes you want. Do you know anyone who couldn’t live on $3 million per year after taxes?

With the strategy above, you would be investing $5 million annually while spending $3 million per year having the time of your life. After a 10 year career, those yearly $5 million investments would probably be worth somewhere between $70 and $80 million.

Many of these players come from poor backgrounds where when they get to the NBA they never imagined having all this money. Also, when coming from a poor background you’re more subject to hanging around people who aren’t of good character as well as not having the same education a person of middle-class would have to make good financial decisions. While, it does amaze me that Walker blew away all that money over such a short time (if you think about he lost $100 million over 10 years, that’s not that long), what he never realized is that he had a gambling problem and needed to seek help as well as trouble to stop giving money to people he barely new. The whole entourage thing could have been prevented if he simply said no that could have at least given him some money of his own to get rid of some debts. I wish Antoine all the best and hope he gets through this.

knicksfan7, please stop making excuses for Antoine Walker. There are a lot of guys in the NBA who come from poor backgrounds who don’t throw away $110 million. The NBA gives these guys financial counseling and they have agents whom they pay to set up investment plans.

If you’re earning $10 million per year, how hard is it to save and invest $2-$4 million per year? Then you can do whatever you want with the balance. Antoine Walker and guys like Latrell Sprewell, were given the opportunity of a lifetime and it looks as if they blew it big time. They have no one else to blame but themselves.

rule number 1, dnt gamble with MJ if u got bad cookies (aka short bread). dumba$$

these guys hafta realize that the money isn’t going to ALWAYZ roll in like that. their income stream is like 10-15 years. if you stop makin cash in ur mid 30’s and you live another 40 yrs…then what? at the level of cash they’re at they get hit for 45-50% in taxes right off the dome. so $10 mil drops to a lil more than 5. after that you got lawyers, agents and all that crap.

for athletes 3 cars, and 2 cribs should be enuff. after that take care of ur CLOSEST people and stockpile the rest away for when your old…ya know, bout 40 yrs old.

and to the guy that said donald trump went bankrupt 7 times. there’s a big diff between filing for bankruptcy PROTECTION and just flat out losing your money and being damn near a$$-out broke. didn’t the donald file for bankruptcy a few years ago, while STILL be worth bout $2bil?

You guys don’t have to talk about me like I’m not here… Come on…

I knew you were going to eventually post. If you’re up to it butidonthavemoney, can you please tell the board your story from riches to how you got your current username. If you don’t want to for emotional reasons, I understand. I think it would enlighten people on the board.