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Terrell Owens is a famous athlete who set National Football League records and is in the all time top five for several receiving categories, including yards and touchdowns. Now, the famous athlete has recently received news coverage for joining the Texas based team, the Allen Wranglers, of the indoor Football League, of which he is one of the owners.
The most recent news covering the flamboyant star’s life happened just today when Yahoo Sports published a piece about the athlete being desperately close to bankruptcy. According to the article and based on the Owens’ profile in the magazine, Gentlemen’s Quarterly, “at 38 and out of football, he’s lonelier than ever, and running out of money. Owens comes across as wounded, broke and desperate. When people text him to ask where he is, he replies back: I’m in hell.”
Owens story is not unique amongst those who are called a famous athlete despite his having earned over 80 million dollars in his professional career. Consider these professional sports statistics reported from numerous news sources:
- By the time NFL players have been retired for two years, 78% of the former players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.
- Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke.
- MLB franchises and its players have been riddled with bankruptcies throughout Major League Baseball’s illustrious history.
There has always been speculation as to why these high dollar franchises and athletes so often go belly up with their high dollar incomes, but for the most part, the players entering the draft get rich quick receiving more money than many of them have ever seen or even heard of in their lives. None are not born with the knowledge of economics, and many do not know how to handle such money. They and their parents often are dependent on total strangers to help them manage the money. Strangers often take full advantage of both athletes and parent’s vulnerability.
Owens shared with the news media the reason he lost all of his millions was because of bad financial advice and poor investments. He admits he was too trusting, and the wrong people he trusted failed in their promises to take care of him financially.
Mismanagement of funds or income is always one of the leading causes of bankruptcy. It doesn’t matter whether you make millions or live off a shoestring. If you cannot manage a budget, make relative safe investments through diversity, and discipline yourself to live within your means, you will eventually and most likely go bankrupt.
To my knowledge up to the date of this posting, Owens has not filed for bankruptcy protection. Instead, he has selected to invest his talents and time in a new business adventure with the Allen Wranglers. I offer Owens my best wishes for success in his new adventure.
All of us who work and seek the American Dream in the United States, in my opinion, have a Constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness as long as they are not breaking any laws.
You are no different than Owens or any other rich and famous person. It is your Constitutional right to file for bankruptcy protection when you go broke, but the knowledge of filing bankruptcy is no more born in us than knowing how to handle our economics. Therefore, you need the advice of a bankruptcy lawyer before you file.
by Chic Sales
Chic has been a content writer for the past two years after spending numerous years as an Educator, Christian Minister, Coach, and Business Entrepreneur. He is a specialist in contractual specifications and detail, writes fictional novels, religious works, short stories, and has been published in content writing for immigration law, traffic law, bankruptcy law, and divorce Law. He has also had religious works and short stories published. Chic is a native Texan and that has held numerous certifications and licenses from a wide variety of fields, including a Series 7 and Series 63, which entitles him to speak authoritatively in financial matters. He holds a BS Degree from Texas A&M in Canyon and an M-DIV from Southwestern in Ft. Worth.
