30 FOR 30: BROKE {VOLUME II PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of sports documentaries presented by ESPN about important figures and events in athletic history. This program explores the phenomenon of extremely wealthy professional athletes who lose their earnings during their careers or shortly after retirement.
Sixty percent of athletes are reportedly broke within five years of retiring, and several former players comment on their "splurging" habits after becoming suddenly rich. Sports teams' prices and players' salaries skyrocketed in the 1980s and 1990s, thanks to advertising costs, TV rights and others advances, and the players recall receiving their first huge paychecks, with Keith McCants signing a then-unprecedented contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1990. Some notable players, like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, also landed endorsement deals with popular brands and became "instant millionaires" like many young people in the technology industry of the '90s. Several financial experts comment on the "sudden wealth effect," in which young people spend recklessly upon coming into money. Mori Taheripour of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative notes that athletics is "a true meritocracy" in which skilled individuals, who often come from poverty, are quickly elevated to a high social and financial status.
The athletes comment on their habits of "displaying" their newfound wealth through flashy jewelry, attire, cars, and houses, as explored on the MTV series "Cribs." The lifestyle was reflected in pop culture, particularly in the money-focused aspirational messages of hip-hop music, and the players acknowledge that their "machismo" and naturally-competitive natures fueled their desires to outshine their peers with material possessions. Many lost millions through gambling, however, and taxes also put a severe dent in their bank accounts, as they were obligated to pay in every state and country in which they had played. Some, like baseball player Darryl Strawberry, even served jail time for tax evasion, and others encountered trouble with paying their sports agents. Another crucial factor was the fact that many had not budgeted for the six-month off-season in which they were technically unemployed, forcing them to live paycheck-to-paycheck. Many were upset when journalist Murray Chass wrote openly about their extreme salaries, worried that they would be robbed or swindled, and several players describe receiving various "investment" offers from so-called friends, many of a highly dubious nature. Sensible investment was not considered to be as "sexy" as purchasing a restaurant or nightclub, and many athletes found themselves in financial distress after making unwise choices.
Another problem was many athletes' habit of entrusting their money to their sports agents – or even family members – rather than to financial experts, leading to great losses due to theft, Ponzi schemes, and other unscrupulous behavior. Bernie Kosar recalls learning that his own father had a secret million-dollar contract with the Cleveland Browns, and McCants described being audited after unwisely trusting his agent to pay the appropriate taxes. Several players admit that they "couldn't say no," sometimes to extreme degrees, to friends and family members asking for financial help; others describe encountering trouble with gold-digging women who "targeted" them for their celebrity and wealth, leading to such memorable incidents as Andre Rison's breakup with singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes in which she set fire to his home. Many famous players became embroiled in public divorces, like Tiger Woods' infamous split from Elin Nordegren, as well as paternity suits and child-support feuds.
Yet another financial consideration is many athletes' significant medical bills: injuries, including serious, career-ending ones, are common particularly in football. McCants describes his descent into addiction as he began to self-medicate. America's financial "boom" of the '90s ended abruptly with the housing crisis of 2008, leading to losses for athletes with multiple houses, and many were forced into "retirement" in their late twenties and early thirties when they were released from their contracts, despite believing that they would play "forever." Some, like linebacker-turned-financial adviser Reggie Wilkes, quickly entered other fields and developed secondary careers, but many others found themselves without business skills and "real" job opportunities. Many high-profile athletes, including Lenny Dykstra, Mike Tyson, and Allen Iverson, made headlines with their dire financial situations, and others were forced to pawn their prized championship rings and request loans from their former teammates. Several financial experts comment on the unusual structure of athletes' sudden wealth and abrupt losses, very dissimilar from the average person's career arc. New York Times columnist Joe Nocera points out that universities should be obligated to teach their star athletes about smart financial planning before sending them into high-level careers. Free seminars are offered for athletes at which the experts stress the need for careful planning, wealth preservation, and purchasing only "one of everything." The film closes by describing the interviewees' varying post-career lives, revealing that some have flourished because of good advice, while others have fallen prey to bad habits and legal troubles. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ESPN
- DATE: October 2, 2012 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:20:43
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 114728
- GENRE: Sports
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Sports; Athletes; Finance
- SERIES RUN: ESPN - TV series, 2009-
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Bank of America
- TV - Commercials - Buick automobiles
CREDITS
- Bill Simmons … Executive Producer
- Connor Schell … Executive Producer
- John Dahl … Executive Producer
- Billy Corben … Producer, Director
- Alfred Spellman … Producer
- David Cypkin … Producer
- Evan Rosenfeld … Producer
- Deirdre Fenton … Producer
- Jenna Moshell … Line Producer
- Honor Roll … Music by
- Patrick Hart … Music by
- Bernie Kosar … Interviewee
- Andre Rison … Interviewee
- Keith McCants … Interviewee
- Mori Taheripour … Interviewee
- Murray Chass … Interviewee
- Reggie Wilkes … Interviewee
- Joe Nocera … Interviewee
- Lenny Dykstra
- Allen Iverson
- Earvin "Magic" Johnson
- Michael Jordan
- Lisa Lopes
- Elin Nordegren
- Darryl Strawberry
- Mike Tyson
- Tiger Woods