Pro Athletes Go Broke

Bloomberg Businessweek reports:

Professional athletes are notoriously bad at managing their finances. A 2009 Sports Illustrated investigation found that 78 percent (!) of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress within two years of retiring. The NBA is scarcely better: Sixty percent of former players are broke within five years of leaving the league. Millions are squandered on risky deals involving real estate, restaurants, and other ventures—money that could have provided a comfortable living for years if it had simply been put into a low-cost, diversified portfolio and left to appreciate over time.

An article well worth your time.