“Larry Bird remembers when players that later went bankrupt made fun of him for saving his money:”
"Even when I was at the top of my game, we didn't drive a Mercedes-Benz or live in million-dollar homes, things like that. When I first started playing, we bought a nice little house in the French Lick/West Baden area. It cost $125,000. We didn't run out and spend all our money because we knew there would be a time when it was over, and I wanted to have options on what we could do with our future. I never thought about retiring. I just assumed I would always work."
"Some of the guys who made far less than me bought the $700,000 homes, and the ROLEX watches, and the big luxury cars. I used to tell them, "You're crazy, you should be saving your money." They'd just laugh and make jokes about me stashing my money away. But I could see what they were doing. They were throwing away their future. So many of them were living for today and not even stopping for a minute to think about ten years down the road when their playing careers were over and the money stopped pouring in. And by the time they realized what I was telling them was true, it was too late.I can't tell you how many ex-teammates have asked me for money. It's heartbreaking for me to say no, but I do because I warned them. I told them to save."
Source: NBA Draft Central
No comments:
Post a Comment