The mega-rich lining of sport
It is that time of year where you have to evaluate if it’s in your best interest – I mean your child’s best interest – to play sport. Forbes has released their 2017 highest-paid athletes’ earnings card and you will be amazed by it.
There are a million reasons why one should play sport. Children get to learn complex motor skills for improved movement and quality of functional movement. They learn to cope under pressure in strategic situations that sport places them in. It allows you to build social and interpersonal skills needed for future business life.
Sport has the ability to athletically shape your body, build bone density and increase the efficiency with which your organs function. Sport keeps your immune system strong and your mood swings down with the help of the release of endorphins throughout your body. Not just in the victories achieved, but by simply participating and moving.
Sport is a wonderful gift that you can give your child, but this is not entirely what my article is about. Sport, if nurtured correctly, has the potential to make your son or daughter very, very rich. So rich in fact that if you were one of the top 100 richest earning athletes this year you would have had a cut of $3.11 billion or close to R40 billion. Not bad going for doing what you love and getting paid handsomely for it. Tiger Woods has been the ringleader for many years, but has fallen off the balance beam and landed in 17th position this year. The question most parents are asking is: “What sport should my child play that has the greatest possibility of a payday reward?” Parents raising children in the mid-80s who allowed their children to participate in basketball would have hit “top 100” pay day. Not all – but 32 to be exact – 32 of the top 100 players this year have been basketball players, next up with 15 for American football, nine for soccer, and nine for tennis, five for racing, five for golf and three for boxing. In the top 10 highest paid sportsmen we have four for basketball, two for soccer, and one each for tennis, golf, NFL and Formula One racing. The most astonishing part of the top 100 athletes is that the average age is 31, which means these players still have another six to eight years to cash in on. The reality check with sportsmen is that the minute you step out of the limelight your empire will shrink literally overnight.
Kobe Bryant before retiring last year was ranked 10th on the Forbes list with a total of $50 million. After retiring though, he did not even make the top 20 list. Luckily he positioned himself well and earned himself $20 million through his Nike partnership.
For most other athletes who have not been smart with their money and investments and don’t have strategic partners, the income from sports endorsements will vanish. That unfortunately is the nature of the beast.
The bottom line to being a successful business athlete is not how much you make but how much you can keep. If you are fortunate enough to become a professional athlete and then move on to higher stardom, surround yourself with very smart people who will look after your money and keep you, your family and future generations financially free.