Once the Cheering stops: The life of a retired pro-athlete

After doing some research and hearing stories, the life of a retired athlete is dull and boring. All the parties, ladies constant money flow, making it "snow" at clubs begins to die, and many of these athletes are left with nothing. Many of the men who spoke about their first check and the things they bought, it was sad to hear them say it was a show but not for the fans and groupies but for the teammates. It was a challenge to have the new hot thing before anyone else has it. To buy mom and dad a nicer house that they can grow old in, and for some to get their families out of the hood, but they fail to realize that once that money stops flowing in like that, how are they going to afford the house payments and the car payments? Who is going to share that huge 20 bedroom mansion with you when the money stops. The tailored suits stop coming in and all the taxes, paying your managers, etc you are left with half of the money you were expecting. Many athletes do not plan to save money for the long run, they think hey I will have this money coming in weekly, so hey let's just blow money. These athletes were not prepared for the after life of being a pro athlete. They are living for the moment, and not for the future. I would tell them to be realistic, yes the designer gear and watches being all "blinged out" does sound great and makes you feel good knowing you have the money, but when the other teammates who were competing and end up with nothing to show for it on the end, then you are screwed and thinking dang that was not worth it. Buy a simple house with a yard, rooms for every kid to have their own space, bathroom and bedroom, a yard for the kids and the dog, one car for you, one car for the wife and than the family outing car. Three cars max, you don't need six to eight cars for one house hold and you really do not need a huge mansion with bowling alleys, and all this space when it is just for you and you have no one to share it with. These people end of being the loneliest and unhappy. Personally I believe athletes are paid way too much money when we have soldiers who return home and still have to find work to support their families and get paid about $35,000 a year. We make a big deal out of the treatment of athletes but we have men who are putting their lives on the line for this country and there is no big deal made out of these men having to work min wage jobs and not being able to relax after serving their time. I think the priorities of the American culture is backwards and needs to change. The fact athletes go broke after the league does not surprise me. They need to pay better attention to their money and only buy things that are realistic and can live off of that money after retirement.