Glitz & Glamour

I think there is a common misperception that being a professional sportsperson automatically means a glamorous and glittering career. For many, it does. Hit the Premier Leagues, the NHL, the NBA, and you will be laughing…awash with so much cash, it will be coming out of your cosmetically enhanced ears.

Let’s put it into some context. Leo Messi apparently leapfrogged Becks as the top earner in football last year, earning €33 million.

For so many however, and when I say many, I mean the vast majority of professional athletes. Let’s take football as an example, of course the elite make fortunes, but there is a huge number of players in the lower leagues who are only just able to make a living. League 1 and League 2 in England – salaries average somewhere between £1,000-2,000 per week which on the face of it is not a bad salary. Playing football and earning a living is a dream for so many people even if they may never make it to the Premier League etc.

Giving it a bit more thought however, it is not quite as glamorous as it may seem, even for these guys. Put yourself in their position. The best chance in England of making it as a professional footballer sadly means one must join an academy at a young age, and 99% of you are likely to bypass further education in order to get there. Thus in turn meaning no real qualifications to fall back on should things fall apart or at the end of your career.

Contracts. This is not some permanent job one has like Joe Bloggs down the street. Ok, Joey boy runs the risk of redundancy, especially in this day and age, but so does the player, and he likely only has a one or two year contract in his position. There is no luxury called job security here.

Career life span. If the young dreamy player is lucky, he will make it as a pro and have a twenty year career. If he is not, then he can find himself out of work, without an employer in his twenties and in one of the most competitive markets around. Even if he makes it for twenty years, he is left in his mid to late thirties more than half of his life to live, and many are unlikely to be financially secure enough to retire.

Injuries can strike at any time. It is one thing if you’re just not good enough to succeed, it is another if you get injured and are physically unable to do so. Now in football, insurance is generally good enough to cover any losses within reason. Consider other sports and athletes though like the UFC where there is no union protecting their interests and many of them struggle to get a good level of insurance. You may argue they deserve what they get for fighting in the UFC, but it is one area that needs development.

Going back to football, it is one of the reasons why the players union in the States rebelled against the MLS. 70% of their players are on something like $20,000-70,000 per annum. I knew professional players while I was at Brentford (not necessarily at the club) who earned £10,000-15,000 per year. Therefore, when you think about some of the restrictions they currently face, and that players in Europe used to face prior to the Bosman ruling, you can imagine the hardship of some of these players.

Sadly, there are many professional athletes who lose their way either before or after reaching stardom. Drugs, alcoholism, failed marriages are just some of the issues which are prevalent among retired or out of work athletes, and it is easy to understand why. It’s not all glitter and glamour, so enjoy the Champions League, the Stanley Cup, the Superbowls, but I always spare a thought for those lees privileged.