Retirement options for athletes
AFEW weeks ago, I explored some of the difficulties typically faced by athletes post-retirement and promised to look at some career options for after the stadium lights go dim.
Yes, athletes are among the highest-paid people on the planet, but the reality of retirement some 30 years before the rest of us mere mortals makes forward-planning essential.
Now, I’ve never heard of an athlete who earned so much in their playing days that they can just rest easy and sit back for the rest of their lives and live off their game-day salaries. Most will have to secure other means of employment or lucrative investments to multiply their earnings, maintain their lifestyles, or keep them occupied.
Michael Jordan is the world’s richest athlete ever, and while his net worth is over US$1 billion, much of that was earned when he made a lucrative investment into the Charlotte Bobcats basketball franchise after retirement. That franchise is now worth an estimated US$800 million.
But Jordan is an exception. Sports Illustrated released a study years ago that revealed that 60 per cent of NBA players go broke within five years of retiring. Former NBA player Allen Iverson, who earned some US$200 million from salaries and endorsements, squandered it all on his huge entourage. He eventually filed for bankruptcy.
Boxing great Mike Tyson is reportedly the 14th-highest-paid boxer in history with a whopping US$700 million. Tyson spent lavishly on clothes, jewellery, mansions, motor vehicles, and even Siberian tigers because, as he famously said, he didn’t think he would survive his 30s. He’s now 52 years old with reportedly US$3 million remaining.
LUCRATIVE DEALS
But sensational stories aside, financial prudence is essential for all athletes. It is crucial for players to earn as much as possible during their active years and to cash in on endorsement deals while their marketability is at an all-time high. I am in favour of athletes having as many deals as possible without fear of overexposure as the earning window is so narrow. Usain Bolt had over 10 endorsement deals during his athletic career and remains a golden example of how highly marketable athletes can earn 30 times more in endorsements.
Athletes with an established brand that generates excitement can pull locals and visitors to their restaurants. International cricketers Chris Gayle and Andre Russell are still playing but have opened sports restaurants in Jamaica already! Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has a cafe at one of our universities, and it caters to their large student body, with another location to come.
Real estate is also an option, provided athletes aren’t saddled with housing every unemployed aunt, uncle and distant cousin within the family. With the right real-estate investments, athletes can continue to earn well after retirement. They may consider buying and leasing commercial and residential properties. Shortterm rentals are now highly lucrative and are a great investment option as well.
Coaching is also a viable option for those who are still in love with the game. This one’s a no-brainer for former Reggae Boyz Theodore Whitmore, Ricardo Gardner, Aaron Lawrence, and Fabian Davis, to name a few. There are also lucrative roles as player agents, managers, publicists and agent representatives across football and track and field.
Former athletes also make for great motivational speakers or gym proprietors or instructors. Sprinter Aneisha McLaughlin recently procured her fitness instructor licence, which suggests that she has already begun to explore that option after track and field.
ANALYSTS
Lastly, it is still a struggle within the Caribbean to find former athletes to fill the roles as sports analysts, commentators or talk-show hosts. I can’t think of anyone with more credibility than those who have already played a sport and can offer first-hand insight within commentary, preview or analysis. Caribbean analysts are in high demand. Tino Best retired from cricket less than a year ago and already has worked on the SportsMax Zone, the Caribbean Premier League, and the regional Super 50 tournament, just to name a few. He is still learning, but he has the engaging personality to do it!
So many options, so little time to share. Let me know what I may have missed. ‘
One ove.