Football is the false American dream. It is a rags to riches to rags story. It is fathers dreaming of their young boys making it for the thrills, the popularity, the cash. Work ethic gets you there. Hustle gets you there. Teamwork, commitment, toughness. The NFL. The dream.
All those virtues add up. They leave players broken down physically. We've learned recently how they attack the brain, leave players mush-minded. What's emerging now is that also leaves them financially troubled.
NFL players have been locked out for only six weeks in the labor battle with the league. And reports are many players are already taking out short-term, high-interest loans because they're in trouble with money.
I thought the NFL labor troubles were about billionaires vs. millionaires, owners vs. players. Players make so much money that they have the means to wait this thing out.
Wrong. Plenty of them are already out of money, losing time on ultra-short careers. The NFL Players Association acknowledged getting a letter from a splinter group of players not with the highest paydays, wanting a place at the table now. Now!
How can this be? It is the dream. And it's maddening how irresponsible they are with that dream, our dream. In this economy, these guys get that kind of money, only to blow it all?
We hear stories about lottery winners who blow all their money, too. Evander Holyfield had trouble paying his electric bill. Where does all the money go?
Ed Butowsky knows.
CARRY ON
http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-04-22/wake-up-call-the-high-cost-of-living-the-nfl-dream
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