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You probably have never heard of Ryan Broyles, the Detroit Lions’ wide receiver, who is entering his fourth season in the National Football League. That is understandable. Playing in Detroit behind Megatron, and now Golden Tate, Broyles is pretty much a journeyman receiver. In fact, he may not even make the Lions’ roster.
Nontheless, Broyles is the subject of the most important story in professional sports so far this year. In an interview with Lions’ beat writer, Michael Rothstein of ESPN, Broyles detailed a financial plan that has him, and his wife and kid, living off $60,000 a year.
That is just a mere fraction of the $3.6 million contract he signed with the Lions when he was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft out of Oklahoma. After spending a week at the rookie symposium in ’12, and hearing the stories of athletes going broke, Broyles made a plan.
He talked with a financial advisor and studied investing and saving. Broyles came up with a budget of $60,000 a year. The rest of the money has gone into retirement savings and investment. His conservative business practices have jump started his life, regardless if his pro career, which has been derailed by two ACL injuries, ends this year, or in the near future.
And this is why his story is the most important story of the year. It is a lesson, or at least should serve as a reminder, and a model to other pro athletes. I hope every pro team puts the Broyles story on its bulletin board for players to see.
Professional sports is filled with so many sad financial disasters. Every sport has them, from John Daly in golf, to Antoine Walker in the NBA, and onto Warren Sapp in the NFL. It is so prevalent that ESPN produced a documentary ‘Broke’, chronicling the stories of pro athletes who have lost their fortunes. In 2009 Sports Illustrated estimated that 78 percent of NFL players, and 60 percent of NBA players, had filed for bankruptcy five years after retirement.
People often wonder how athletes can squander so much cash? Well, the mistake many people make is thinking because a guy is playing in the NFL, or any other professional sport these days, that he is rich, and set for life. Even worse, some of the athletes think the same way, and spend as if they are going to be in the NFL for 20 years, instead of the average of about three years.
However, just like the real world, pro sports has a class system. Broyles’ teammates Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford are truly rich, the upper crust. While a player like Lions’ cornerback Rashean Mathis, 35, has middle class security. He has the longevity of 13 seasons behind him, and has earned good money all along the way.
Broyles falls into the working class of the NFL. These are men who, if they are lucky, make it through one contract. When these men leave the game they discover quickly there aren’t many jobs paying even the 2015 NFL rookie minimum of $435,000. For every Calvin Johnson sitting atop the pay scale, there are late round rookies, free agents and journeyman like Broyles, sitting at the bottom of the pay scale. For these players ‘NFL’ can easily stand for ‘Not For Long’.
Injuries have really curtailed Broyles career. He came to Detroit as the NCAA’s all-time pass catcher. His chances now of making the the Lions’ are up in the air. If he does get cut, it could be the end of his career. However, if other professional athletes pick up on his story about financial responsibility, he will have made an impact that lasts far beyond the playing field.
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In the video below former NBA player Jalen Rose, now a member of ESPN, talks about some of the ways pro athletes end up losing all of their money.
