Most of us will never be multi-millionaires, but then again, most of us aren't professional athletes. Professional football, baseball, basketball, and soccer players can make millions of dollars every year, which is more money than lots of people would even know how to handle. But as it turns out, even when you're ridiculously rich, you can still end up completely broke if you make the wrong choices.
We've shown you before that athletes make astounding salaries — just check out how much cash your favorite baseball teams are giving their players this year! But whether it's due to outrageous spending habits, neglecting to pay taxes, child support, or just bad wealth advisers, lots of athletes end up millions of dollars in debt after their careers are over. While some athletes do manage to spend their funds in ways that make the world a better place, such as when David Beckham knocked on this family's door and gave them $100,000, many others seem to have no idea how to handle all the money they've earned.
Check out these athletes who made it big and then ended up filing for bankruptcy. It just goes to show that even the super rich aren't immune to the risk of losing everything. Still, when I saw what number 7 ended up spending all his money on, I couldn't stop laughing!
Make sure you SHARE these broke athletes with everyone you know!
1. Evander Holyfield
The former heavyweight champion boxer had 250 million dollars to his name, but that didn't stop him from blowing through it all. Lots of the cash went towards his eleven children, and while we might never know where all the rest of it went, the bank ended up foreclosing on his $10 million house.
2. Michael Vick
Michael Vick earned tens of millions of dollars every year to play football, but it wasn't enough to keep him above water when lawsuits, bad spending habits, and awful wealth advisers led to him declaring bankruptcy.
3. Johnny Unitas
One of the best quarterbacks in history didn't blow away all his money with drugs or women. Instead, he and his wife tried to open multiple businesses that ultimately failed, including an air freight company, a bowling alley chain, and a restaurant. When he filed for bankruptcy in 1991, he was about $3 million in debt.
4. Mike Tyson
There was a time when Mike Tyson could make tens of millions of dollars just for a single fight, but this famous boxer wasn't as good with money as he was at punching. Women, drugs, and general carelessness (including "forgetting where he left" a suitcase full of $1 million) eventually landed him $23 million in debt, and he declared bankruptcy in 2003.
5. Darren McCarty
The man who helped lead the Detroit Red Wings to four Stanley Cups had a drinking and a gambling problem. Combined with a divorce, they led to the athlete declaring bankruptcy in 2006 with debts exceeding $6 million.
6. Sheryl Swoopes
The WNBA superstar made a total of $50 million throughout her career. But, like many people with a lot of cash, she ended up entrusting her wealth to people who mishandled it, leading her to file bankruptcy in 2004.
7. Vince Young
He might have been earning $26 million at one point, but soon enough, this football player's bad spending habits caught up to him. It was reported that he was shelling out up to $5,000 a week at the Cheesecake Factory, and he was known to spend thousands of dollars for a single restaurant outing. He filed for bankruptcy in early 2014.
8. Jose Canseco
Canseco was earning $45 million playing baseball, but thanks to two divorces that cost him a combined $7 million and the big housing market crash, he ended up over $1 million in debt. He eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
9. Dorothy Hamill
This Olympic figure skater won a gold medal at the 1976 Games, and later went on to endorse a shampoo and star in the Ice Capades skating show. But when Hamill purchased Ice Capades in an attempt to make it more successful, her plan failed, and she filed for bankruptcy in the mid-1990s.
10. Marion Jones
This track and field star won three gold medals at the 2000 Sidney Olympics, but her good fortune quickly turned bad when her ex-husband revealed she'd been using steroids to help herself to victory. Jones was eventually sentenced to six years behind bars and filed for bankruptcy.
11. Mark Brunell
During his 17-year NFL career, this quarterback made over $50 million. But he ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2010 when the housing market crashed and left him millions of dollars in debt.
12. Lawrence Taylor
Linebacker Lawrence Taylor had it made until he retired and continued to spend large amounts on money on drugs and women. He filed for bankruptcy in 1998.
13. Warren Sapp
Sapp had earned around $60 million when he retired from a 12-year career in the NFL, but after neglecting to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in child support and at least a million dollars to the IRS, he ended up nearly $7 million in debt. He declared bankruptcy in 2012.
14. Jack Johnson
In October 2014, this member of the Blue Jackets filed for bankruptcy after his parents allegedly lost $18 million that belonged to him.
15. Rollie Fingers
This former baseball player made a series of bad investments that included horses and pistachio farms. The result was him filing for bankruptcy in 1992.
Make sure you SHARE the stories of these athletes with everyone you know!
