Jose Canseco files chapter 7

[NinePack]

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/M.../20055881.html

"listing $20,850 in assets against $1.686 million in liabilities,"

"During his major-league career, from 1985 through 2001, he made a total of $52.995 million in salary"

[WhiteTiger]

While being bankrupt really sucks, I have to admit, I feel almost no sympathy for these sorts of stories. He made nearly 53 million dollars in 16 years, and has finished pissing it away in less than 11.

Using a very generous average salary of 45,000 (not all places can be O&G hubs...) what he made and pissed away in roughly 27 years would take most people 1178 years to make in the first place.

Yeah, not really feeling all that sorry for him at all.

[metallicat]

This guy is a complete train wreck. His twitter feed is sad and pathetic.

[Joborule]

It's hard to fathom how someone can blow that much money. Don't they keep a savings account and put a percentage in so they could build interest?

[nik-]

it's still a lot of money, but people look at the contracts they sign and never remember that they get half of that, then they have a desire to help everyone they knew growing up, especially if they came from a poor background. Tack on to that a million people out to rob you and a limited education as a result of being pushing towards pro-sports. It sucks for these guys.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by nik-

it's still a lot of money, but people look at the contracts they sign and never remember that they get half of that, then they have a desire to help everyone they knew growing up, especially if they came from a poor background. Tack on to that a million people out to rob you and a limited education as a result of being pushing towards pro-sports. It sucks for these guys.

you are joking... right?

[trumpethead]

How is it possible he only has $20k in assets??

Maybe he is the real life Montgomery Brewster

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by nik-

it's still a lot of money, but people look at the contracts they sign and never remember that they get half of that, then they have a desire to help everyone they knew growing up, especially if they came from a poor background. Tack on to that a million people out to rob you and a limited education as a result of being pushing towards pro-sports. It sucks for these guys.

See, my wife tries to use that argument too, and I just don't buy it. I admit that I don't really know how much of their actual contracted amount of money they get, so let's just take your example and say that he picked up 26.5 mill between 85 and 01. That would still take our average Joe 589 years to earn.

Let's say that he's really generous, and manages to give and 'get robbed' of 16.5 mill of what he actually earned, leaving him with a 'mere' 10 million for those years. Average Joe's still punching the clock for 222 years to make that much.

To get to something even reasonable in our lifetimes, he'd have to have been able to retain a bare, rough 1% of what he took home from the half a contracted amount. So, if could have managed to keep his hands on 2.5 mill, Average Joe would only be working for 55 years to make that.

He couldn't even put away and/or properly invest less than 1% of his massive earnings? Aren't most folks encouraged to put away as much as 30% to ensure that they will have some "left over" when they hit retirement age?

I understand that "it's different" looking at it from the other side, having all those millions. But I can't look at it from that side. I've never had multi millions. There is pretty much no chance I will ever have multi millions. And because of that, I just can't understand folks who have blown THROUGH multi millions, and then cry about it to us, and expect us to understand and feel sorry for them.

[nik-]

Obviously he could have put away or invested some money, but he didn't. He wasn't the first and he won't be the last. I'm betting if you're a 20 year old kid who is handed millions, you can't even conceive that you'll ever be poor again, as a result, you don't spend or plan like someone who's had to work. Especially when lots of people, instead of trying to educate you on life after sport, will try to take you for what they can.

[Travis Munroe]

juice isnt cheap either

[Dion]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

I understand that "it's different" looking at it from the other side, having all those millions. But I can't look at it from that side. I've never has multi millions. There is pretty much no chance I will ever have multi millions. And because of that, I just can't understand folks who have blown THROUGH multi millions, and then cry about it to us, and expect us to understand and feel sorry for them.

I can appreciate how it could happen. Not every athlete is good with money and don't know how to handle it. Once you have that money every Tom, Dick and Harry is going to come out of the woodwork with ideas on how they can invest all that money. The investments go bad and there goes the money. I've read of hockey players in the past losing thier money on a failed golf course or resort development.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Realtor 1

juice isnt cheap either

Neither are the hookers and blow

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

I understand that "it's different" looking at it from the other side, having all those millions. But I can't look at it from that side. I've never had multi millions. There is pretty much no chance I will ever have multi millions. And because of that, I just can't understand folks who have blown THROUGH multi millions, and then cry about it to us, and expect us to understand and feel sorry for them.

Rational people tend to be better with money.

Egotistical people tend to be poor with money.

You are being very rational and if you were in the situation where would have multi millions, you'd likely be able to keep it.

However, most athletes are very egotistical people, which is part of what makes them as good at what they do. They feel entitled to have everything because they are awesome and get attention from everyone so they get a bit of a god complex. However, once they don't play any more, meaning less attention, some compensate by upping the level of their spending and burn through it all relatively quickly.

You add in that most athletes are stupid and combine it with the ego issues and you get this.

[schteve_d]

No sympathy from me. Go be a twit with twenty-odd million dollars and put a mil in the bank for a rainy day. Boy, do I wish.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by nik-

Obviously he could have put away or invested some money, but he didn't. He wasn't the first and he won't be the last. I'm betting if you're a 20 year old kid who is handed millions, you can't even conceive that you'll ever be poor again, as a result, you don't spend or plan like someone who's had to work. Especially when lots of people, instead of trying to educate you on life after sport, will try to take you for what they can.

Wait, you're not joking??

You don't honestly believe what you write here do you? Seriously?

Like you aren't just trying to be debatey, but you're genuinely making this argument?

[Jacks]

What a rookie, Tyson blew over 300Mil, bet he doesn't even own one tiger.

Now we know why he was on the Celebrity Apprentice.

[Rathji]

You know, I would like to think that I would be smart enough not to go bankrupt, but I can't say that all my money would have been wisely invested etc

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

...I just can't understand folks who have blown THROUGH multi millions, and then cry about it to us, and expect us to understand and feel sorry for them.

I tend to come at this more from your point of view than nik-'s, though I can understand both sides. I'm just pointing out that I don't think the linked article, nor anyone who has replied here, has expressed sympathy towards Canseco, or asked anyone else to do. Understanding how Canseco could have possible pissed away millions isn't the same as feeling sorry for him.

[puckluck2]

I can see how these guys can spend so much money, but only because I've witnessed the stupidity with my own eyes. A guy I used to work with won about $900,000 in the lottery. He was living a pretty average life with a fairly decent home working 6 days a week. He must have thought $900,000 could buy you a lot more than it actually could because within 2 years he lost everything (including his shiny new house) and had to start renting because no one would give him a mortgage once he lost him home, and it's not like he could afford to make the payments anyways.

I kind of do have sympathy for people who get rich and have no clue how to wisely save and spend. Remember, an athlete who gets rich is just like a random winning the lottery. They go from not making money in college or whatever to a pretty hefty salary in the big leagues. Dumb people with any amount of money will not make smart decisions. Now give them lots of money and I can see where the problems start.

I still see them as idiots though, but my soft side has sympathy.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Wait, you're not joking??

You don't honestly believe what you write here do you? Seriously?

Like you aren't just trying to be debatey, but you're genuinely making this argument?

Umm, yes. I'm not saying I'm all bummed out, but it sucks when someone loses it all, regardless of how much they had or how they got it. What I don't get is that every time news like this comes out it's the same "well how could that happen? That would never happen to me" statements come out. This happens all the time and every time people are just dumbfounded.

It's not like I'm saying anything new or controversial, it's not a debate, this is the same story almost every time.