Scottie Pippen – Former Chicago Bulls Player

Known more for his on court defense than his off court business sense, former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen lost $120 million in career earnings due to poor financial planning and bad business ideas. Air Jordan’s sidekick blew $27 million on bad investments and spent $4.3 million on a Gulfstream II corporate jet.

Latrell Sprewell

Look up the word “shortsighted” in the dictionary and you will see a picture of Latrell Sprewell. He famously turned down a $21 million contract because he said it wasn’t enough money to feed his family. Sprewell, who made over $96 million during his career, lost his $1.5 million dollar Italian yacht, named “Milwaukee’s Best”, in 2007. According to MSNBC, a U.S. marshal seized the yacht after Sprewell defaulted on his mortgage. His $5.4 million house went into foreclosure in May 2008. Don’t blame Sprewell for turning down the three-year, $21 million contract though. I mean really, who could live off a measly $7 million a year?

Excerpts taken from full Yahoo! report..read more here

I do know that the NBA currently has a program for ex-NBA players and their transition after basketball. It is important to have path or at least a mentor to help you find your new career.

There a question that many professional basketball players ask themselves, “What am I going to do when my career is over”? This is a question that all players should be asking themselves. There are many opportunities that basketball players can get involved in when their playing days are over. Players have opportunities to get involved with team operations or as sports commentators. In many cases there have been players that have returned to their alma mater to become coaches or working in operations. There have even been players that have returned to school to receive their master’s or doctorate degree.

Players can start planning and organizing their future now while they are playing in the league now. There are some players in the league that have businesses that they may have a family member may be overlooking while the player is on the road. Some are conducting business while on the road there are many players that have management companies, such as Lebron James. James also has many other opportunities that he has going on that other players can easily jump into. This is why it is important for players to have a positive agent, that is not always about the money but also the future of the player he represents. There are some sports agents that are only in the business for the money and can care less what a player does after basketball.

After basketball this is when a player’s college degree or degrees should kick in. That is the purpose for the courses that players took in college. Many players may have had career goals when growing up aside playing basketball for instance, a player may have wanted to become an engineer and majored in engineering in college. With the money a player may have saved after a basketball career it is possible that he/she can start an engineering company and bid for government contracts and make money in that field. For those who jumped to the professional league without graduating from college can still go to college while playing basketball. There are many resources that will enable a player to receive their college degree while playing basketball. College intellect is preparation for the real world and that is a main factor that any player should recognize when it comes to the end of their professional career.

Many players in the professional league usually turn to commentating games after their career is over. This is showing that they have taken classes in broadcasting or have a degree in journalism or mass communications. This is why a college education is important and can be of great assistance for players organizing their future after basketball.

There are many products that are designed to reduce the risk of a knee or ACL injury.  None of these products guarantee protection from a knee or ACL injury.  One of the best ways to protect athletes from a knee or ACL injury is to strengthen the knees and muscles by using proper training techniques.  Training is an important factor in many things that an individual participates in, whether it is for a job or sport.  This is why athletes must participate in training simulations that teaches proper jumping techniques, proper stretching techniques, proper jump landing techniques, and other drills to help athletes to use their speed and agility properly.  Many players often suffer from these injuries due to the lack of training and knowledge of stress their knees or ligaments can withstand.

Females have a greater risk to these injuries due to the as they lack control of the neuromuscular knee.  This comes from not landing properly when jumping and not receiving or using the proper knowledge on the use of ligaments in the knee.  Many athletes are unaware of the proper techniques in protecting themselves from a knee or ACL injury.  There are also some trainers that do not teach the proper techniques to protect players from injuries.    ACL injury in girls is most common than the males but that does not exclude anyone and everyone.

Athletes need take the time to receive the necessary knowledge in protection from career ending injuries.  When an athlete takes the time to receive the proper training on proper jumping and landing techniques he/she is reducing the risk of a knee or ACL injury.  Many athletes also do not have proper training or decides not to use proper stretching techniques, which is another factor in risking a knee or ACL injury.  Many players believe that if they put on a knee brace or pad on their knees they are preventing a knee or ACL injury.  That’s not true, if a player is not using the correct techniques to reduce the risk of an injury the brace or pad is useless.  There are also tutorials and clinics that are available to athletes, trainers, coaches and even coaches to help protect players from a knee or ACL injury.  Remember proper knowledge and training will protect players from career ending injuries involving a player’s knee or ACL during their participation in different sports.

Here is a list of well known professional athletes that have had a major ACL injury

• brady’s acl injury
• michael owen acl injury
• weiss acl injury
• palmer acl injury
• tiger woods acl injury

This is a head start in receiving your degree at an accredited online university.  This is a $1,800 value that is absolutely FREE to those who qualify.  There are some restrictions that apply to those who are already enrolled in college, those who are in default on student loans, students who don’t have a high school diploma or GED and don’t have access to a computer with internet access.  Kaplan University a fully accredited online university offers the Future Scholars course.  If considering applying for Future Scholars you must pass the ECS College Assessment Exam.  Once you have taken the ECS and passed, an Academic Advisor will contact you discussing the terms of the Future Scholars program and your score.  So if you are leaning towards attending an online university the Future Scholars course is the start to earning your degree online.

Fastweb is the well known leader in helping students further their education as well as helping them find the career that suits them.  This site is recommended by many high school guidance counselors and academic advisors to be huge factors in furthering a student’s education.  Fastweb’s college search tool is the most recommended online college search tool that helps students make one of the most important decisions of their life.  The job and internship tool helps students find part time jobs near the school they attend and also internships in their field to help jumpstart their career.  Fastweb has many tools students can use to stay organized while attending school like academic calendars, email reminders and more and it’s all FREE.  So for the best help on the web to further your academic studies Fastweb is the place to sign up for a FREE account.  There is no place that can offer these important resources to help jumpstart your career.

When considering becoming a referee you must gain experience in officiating any sporting such as football, basketball, boxing or any other sport.  Majority of referees jump started their careers by volunteering in community sports such as Pop Warner Football, community basketball leagues and other community sports after gaining proper education of the sport they are officiating.  It can take up to 15 years to reach the professional level, but once you have progressed in skill and knowledge the road to the professional level will be in arms reach.  After years of officiating for community games you can work your way up the ladder to grade school level coaching such as junior high and high school sports.

There are many workshops, clinics and classes that are available to those interested in becoming a referee.  Some of these classes are free of charge and some may require registration fee.  The referee clinics that require fees are national conventions with referees from everywhere that have great benefits when attending them.  Once you have gained experience and the proper training as a referee there are opportunities at the college level.  Once certified at become a NCAA level referee, there is a chance that you may be picked up to become a referee at the professional level after years on the collegiate level.  If you can convince professional executives that you are a professional referee, then you are on the way to becoming a professional referee.

Referee salaries vary in numbers. Of course as a professional when starting out, the pay is normal based on performance. So just starting out, don’t expect to receive a whole lot of income. But if you’ve scaled to the ranks of NBA, WNBA or even European leagues – so does your salary!

• Career ending injury
• Unexpected family
• Childbirth
• Financial Obstacles

Now what? Is your career only prepared for basketball or something more? The focus of obtaining a degree in subjects that you enjoy is important because after basketball you will live everyday working and providing for yourself.  You could however, be lucky enough to prolong your career as a basketball player and live the life as a professional athlete and get paid a great salary. However, at some point your career will end and it is important to fall back on your degree or something that you have cooking in the fire (unless you are a “Michael Jordan”).

The importance of graduating from high school with a diploma and hopefully with an athletic or academic scholarship should be high on your list. I recommend talking to a guidance counselor and mapping out a plan for you to get prepared for exams such as the SAT and ACT when you are a junior and senior. Remember you cannot get accepted to play basketball in college if you don’t have the proper grades or pass those important exams.

I won’t go into much detail but for scholarships I recommend you reading Recruit Me if you’re interested in a college athlete scholarship.