Pinky wrote:
Exactly. You also don't see professional triathletes on these lists.
On the other hand, is triathlon a ticket to wealth if you're really good at it? For avid amateurs it's certainly an enormous money pit, do most of the top ranked pros really do better than making a middle class income with the added perk of having their obsession/training paid for by their sponsors?
That's pretty much what they get out of it. A good living by any standards, plus a free lifestyle. Hell, they all live and train in some of the most beautiful places on earth.
Then they parlay that success into a training business when they retire from top level competition.
Not a bad life at all.
I don't have a lot of experience with vampires, but I have hunted werewolves. I shot one once, but by the time I got to it, it had turned back into my neighbor's dog.
Bob Wildes wrote:I don't think that the NFL players that played in the sixties and seventies went bankrupt at anywhere
near those current percentages. .
Larry Czonka owns several restaurants some fishing vessels and when he retired, I believe all players and coaches made $600 per game.
Pinky wrote:
Exactly. You also don't see professional triathletes on these lists.
On the other hand, is triathlon a ticket to wealth if you're really good at it? For avid amateurs it's certainly an enormous money pit, do most of the top ranked pros really do better than making a middle class income with the added perk of having their obsession/training paid for by their sponsors?
I think you're right. I was also underestimating how much hockey players make, by quite a lot.
"The biggest problems that we’re facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all."
Pinky wrote: I was also underestimating how much hockey players make, by quite a lot.
Entirely understandable.
It turns out that ice soccer pays a lot better than regular soccer. Who knew?
"The biggest problems that we’re facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all."
baffled wrote:
My college roommate was a huge hockey fan from Chicago and I remember a group of us talking about how it seemed like hockey players never showed up on those lists of athletes who'd gone bust.
While I'm sure it does happen part of the disparity may be because hockey isn't a ticket out of poverty. Getting drafted to the NHL represents fifteen years of significant time and financial investment on the part of the player's parents. As a result it's a sport for the children of middle class kids and higher. Parents have to have the resources and/or be able to make the sacrifices to foot the bill for so many years, so most players come from well-off families (in Mike Comrie's case, his dad is a billionaire).
So while it's certainly feasible for a 19 year old draft pick to become a multi-millionaire overnight and blow it, I'd expect that once the gravy train ended they'd have mom and dad to fall back on, and quite probably a family business to enter upon retirement from hockey.
Interesting.
My guess is that, as with baseball, the minor league/junior league experience and less pressure to maintain the lifestyle are factors. Also, the relative anonymity that players enjoy (compared to NFL and NBA players anyway) might be a factor as well.
"Liberalism is arbitrarily selective in its choice of whose dignity to champion." Adrian Vermeule
Supposedly, there is some mentoring that happens in hockey as well, where rookies and younger players live with the older players and their families. The older players set them on the straight-and-narrow early, keep them out of the clubs and home for home-cooked meals.
At least, this is what my boss would always say, even though I can't find any evidence in my cursory scan of google.
The only player I know of who did anything like that was Crosby living with Lemieux, and it seemed like the talking heads found it odd/funny/weird/nice/pretty strange/good idea.
DikTracy6000 wrote:Tony Dorsett of the Cowboys filed for bankruptcy within 2 years of retiring. Pro Boxers on the other hand usually retain most of their earnings.
Huh?
"Gentle in what you do, Firm in how you do it"
- Buck Brannaman
DikTracy6000 wrote:Tony Dorsett of the Cowboys filed for bankruptcy within 2 years of retiring. Pro Boxers on the other hand usually retain most of their earnings.
Yeah, stories of pro boxers......what?
WildGorillaMan wrote:Enthusiasm combined with no skill whatsoever can sometimes carry the day.
Count two-time Olympian and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade among those who believe NBA players should be paid for playing with Team USA in the London Olympics.
I just figured that Wade makes around $225,000 per game for the regular season.
I vote that we raise taxes to have him play for Team USA.
WildGorillaMan wrote:Enthusiasm combined with no skill whatsoever can sometimes carry the day.
I saw on ESPN a former coach who now runs a program for NFL rookies. He was practically begging these guys to only buy one car, buy one piece of jewelry, and one home. More poignant was his question; "how many of you grew up poor, and everyone you knew was poor?" Almost all raised their hands, and he replied "so why the hell would you give your money to your broke uncle or friend to manage it for you?"
DikTracy6000 wrote:Tony Dorsett of the Cowboys filed for bankruptcy within 2 years of retiring. Pro Boxers on the other hand usually retain most of their earnings.
Yeah, stories of pro boxers......what?
I'm fairly sure that was sarcasm.
Boxers are some of the worst athletes when it comes to money management and going broke. It's practically par for the course.
"Gentle in what you do, Firm in how you do it"
- Buck Brannaman
WildGorillaMan wrote:
While I'm sure it does happen part of the disparity may be because hockey isn't a ticket out of poverty. Getting drafted to the NHL represents fifteen years of significant time and financial investment on the part of the player's parents. As a result it's a sport for the children of middle class kids and higher. Parents have to have the resources and/or be able to make the sacrifices to foot the bill for so many years, so most players come from well-off families (in Mike Comrie's case, his dad is a billionaire).
So while it's certainly feasible for a 19 year old draft pick to become a multi-millionaire overnight and blow it, I'd expect that once the gravy train ended they'd have mom and dad to fall back on, and quite probably a family business to enter upon retirement from hockey.
that represents a huge shift in the background of hockey players from the days when they came from flin flon or sudbury and left home at 16 to live with a family in st catherine's or oshawa so they could play junior a. i' have my doubts that the nhl is now populated with upper middle class scions.
i've got no idea about the socio-economic status of the european guys in the league.
Really Big Strong Guy: There are a plethora of psychopaths among us.
WildGorillaMan wrote:
While I'm sure it does happen part of the disparity may be because hockey isn't a ticket out of poverty. Getting drafted to the NHL represents fifteen years of significant time and financial investment on the part of the player's parents. As a result it's a sport for the children of middle class kids and higher. Parents have to have the resources and/or be able to make the sacrifices to foot the bill for so many years, so most players come from well-off families (in Mike Comrie's case, his dad is a billionaire).
So while it's certainly feasible for a 19 year old draft pick to become a multi-millionaire overnight and blow it, I'd expect that once the gravy train ended they'd have mom and dad to fall back on, and quite probably a family business to enter upon retirement from hockey.
that represents a huge shift in the background of hockey players from the days when they came from flin flon or sudbury and left home at 16 to live with a family in st catherine's or oshawa so they could play junior a. i' have my doubts that the nhl is now populated with upper middle class scions.
i've got no idea about the socio-economic status of the european guys in the league.
Even if they're from Timmins or Moose Jaw mom and dad have to shell out a King's ransom in team fees, league fees, rink fees, equipment, gas for the Suburban to drive the kids to practice and games, and hell, even groceries to keep a growing future hockey superstar fed. It's not a cheap sport to put your kids in, and I know people who have two, three, and in one case four boys all going trough the ranks at different ages all at once.
