As Super Bowl Sunday draws near, it’s important to remember the systemic labor issues that plague the nation’s most popular sport.
As Super Bowl Sunday draws near, it’s important to remember the systemic labor issues that plague the nation’s most popular sport.
Not to mention a large amount of NFL players don’t play for very long. A quick Google shows an average player career of just 3.3 years, which is ridiculously short even by modern sports standards. The average goes down depending on which position there is as well. Most other major sports have an average of 5 - 8 years for careers.
Imagine getting to the NFL and then only staying for a couple years. Sure you’re set for life with that paycheck but expecting somebody who’s like 24 years old at most to be able to be financially responsible with that money is just absurd.
I’d imagine there’s also a lot of similarities to the stories of lottery winners. Coming from a poor, working class background into sudden wealth almost always ends up with the person losing that wealth. Like I feel like there’s this image of a 24yo playboy spending his fortune on cars, drugs & partying. But 70% of the NFL roster are African-American and the vast majority of them come from poor upbringings. They go back home and spend money on housing for family & friends, on medical bills & other emergency living expenses for members of their communities. People that have genuine & heartbreaking stories. But they also get targeted by con artists and other people who would want to fleece them of their earnings.