“You are doing great.” This was the line my financial advisor used to tell me as an 18-year-old kid.
I was a kid who had just received millions of dollars overnight, had zero understanding of money, and was craving more.
Quite frankly, I was searching for more than “you are doing great”. I wanted the confidence to understand what I could spend or better yet what I should spend.
You see even then I knew that money was a tool, all I could think about was running out of it.
So, instead of spending it ~ I spent nothing.
In this guide, I am going to walk through financial planning for professional athletes.
You know the one that I always wanted as an athlete.
How to think about saving
How to think about spending
How to deal with the emotional side of it
How to deal with the uneven incomes sports provides
Financial Planning for Professional Athletes
Saving Money as an Athlete
Let me make one thing clear, traditional financial advice rarely applies to professional athletes.
Now sure, some basic concepts still apply athlete wealth management requires strategies different than 99.99% of the population. With that how we approach saving money should differ too. Consider this, our goal in saving money is not to hit some random number but instead it is to hit a crystal clear goal.
So, do this exercise with me ~ Write down everything you think you want in your future life.
Car
House
Vacation
Charitable Giving
Lifestyle Spending
Legacy Planning & Goals
What does that number come to every year?
It doesn’t need to be exact but let’s say it comes to $300,000 per year. The number matters less than the fact that we just crystallized our future goal. You see now we don’t just have some random percentage or dollar amount.
We have a clear goal. With that goal, we can start working backwards towards what we need to save to achieve it.
See how that works.
Example:
Spend $300,000 forever
Current contract is 4 years at $5,000,000 per year ($20M total)
Safe withdrawal rate (trying to avoid touching the principal) of 3%
Taxes, agent fees, and reward purchases leave us with $10,000,000
So while you could say well save all of it, a more reasonable approach is to understand the pros and cons of each.
You could spend less today and more in the future.
You could spend more today and less in the future.
You could spend more today and generate additional income in the future.
Do you see how personal this should be for an athlete?
Yet, the building block is understanding what we want to spend in the future. The last thing you want to do as an athlete is to play out that $20,000,000 contract with no sense of what your future goals look like.
Spending Money as an Athlete
The spending is out of control but not always like you think.
You see, I see professional athletes go one of two ways with spending.
You either spend everything or you spend nothing.
Much of that mentality is based on an athlete’s experiences, upbringing, and mindset around money.
Think about spending like a seesaw. We want to keep the balance and stay away from the far edges. The goal is not to spend nothing but it is also not to spend everything.
It is kind of weird actually, you can buy anything but that doesn’t mean you can afford it.
I think about spending in two buckets – rewards purchases and lifestyle purchases.
Reward Purchase – This is a one-time purchase rewarding yourself for years of work.
Example: You sign a new contract and you buy the watch, car, or vacation you always wanted.
Lifestyle Purchase – This is an ongoing purchase you can afford for years.
Example: You enjoy taking your family on vacation each year around the Holidays.
Step one is distinguishing the difference between the two.
Step two is understanding what things you can afford in each category.
Step three is acknowledging which purchases mean the most and whether you can sustain them.
I want our athletes to feel good about spending money, they have earned it. I also want them to understand that there is a lot of life to live after a career ends. The time to start planning around their spending is at the start not at the end.
Remember we want the seesaw to be balanced.
Approaching Uneven Incomes
I remember the first time I saw teammates check for over $1,000,000 for a two-week period. My jaw about hit the ground.
As a professional athlete, you can earn substantial income typically condensed into certain periods in time.
Each professional league pays players on different schedules but still the vast majority lump salaries into the playing season.
This means months with steady income and months with no income. Compound this with the fact that your yearly salary is often far from guaranteed. Free agent contracts for multiple years are few and far between and even those come to an end.
You need to be planning for this.
The best way to do this is through building up your war chest. This is the bucket of money that is positioned for the here and now. This should be a combination of cash and ultra-safe investments.
The goal of this money is to:
Sustain Lifestyle Spending
Provide You Peace of Mind
Allow Other Investments To Grow
Said more simply, this bucket allows every other aspect of your money to work properly.
Spending can continue, investments can grow, and you can have peace of mind in the unknown.
Emotional Side of Money
I will never forget the day I signed my first big contract. Excitement turned to anxiety when I started considering all the aspects that came with having millions of dollars.
For my movie buffs, I can’t help but think of the Spiderman quote, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
I knew from the start if I did it right this money could set my family up for generations. I also had no experience, no idea how to actually do that, and had never dealt with money.
So, ya that anxiety you might feel around, “Am I doing this right?” ~ It is normal.
The reason money is emotional for professional athletes comes down to one thing, not understanding it.
Think about it, do you have anxiety when you walk onto the field for a big game?
Nervous excitement sure but once the game starts you get into your flow state. That happens because you have prepared, understand the situation, and have executed your sport thousands of times. This money thing is the exact opposite.
So how can you get to the point where you feel that same flow state around your finances?
Ask Questions
Hire Trusted Advisors
Ask Questions
Determine Your Future Goals
Ask Questions
Execute On The Plan You Develop
Ask Questions
See the theme? Ya, you need to ask questions.
The hard part is knowing what questions to ask. The truth is that comes with time in meetings with your financial team but start with “What questions should I be asking”?
Remember your financial team works for you, part of the fee you are paying them should be to educate you on why you are making the moves you are.
As financial advisors for professional athletes, our goal is to give athletes one takeaway each time we meet.
_____
Athletes, your financial advisor telling you, “You are good” is not enough. You don’t need to be the expert but you do need to understand what is going on.
It will give you confidence.
It will set you up for future success.
It will allow you to avoid future financial regret.
It will help you set your family up for generations to come.
When it comes to financial planning for professional athletes you need advice as specialized as you are.
If you are a professional athlete looking for a financial team that specializes in you, schedule a call, and talk with a Moment founder.
Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor.
Get in Touch With An Advisor
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic.
Are you a fiduciary? Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time.
How does Moment Private Wealth make money? We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate any profit sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients.
How are you different than other financial advisors? We are specialists in working with professional athletes and entrepreneurs. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing.
Where do you hold my investments and how can I see them? Moment Private Wealth uses Fidelity Investments as a third-party custodian for our client investment accounts. As a third party custodian, Fidelity safeguards and provides reporting to you and the IRS each year. Client can also access all financial information via the Moment Private Wealth Client Portal.
How do you work with other members of my team? We believe in the power of the team. For most of our clients, their team consists of Moment Private Wealth, an accountant, an attorney, a banker, and an insurance specialist. We help our clients build out their team of individuals or work with existing partners clients have. Our goal is to ensure every family has a team of experts to protect their interests.
How do you choose investments for clients? As independent financial advisors, we can gather research and make recommendations based on all available options. We determine clients’ portfolios in partnership with some of the largest asset managers in the world. Each quarter, we have calls with teams of CFA (Chartered Financial Analysts) to ensure our clients are receiving the most up-to-date strategies and recommendations.
What does your average client look like? Our clients are nearly all athletes and entrepreneurs. Our average client has a net worth greater than $5M. The strategies, solutions, and planning that we implement have a high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth client in mind.
Why should I consider hiring Moment Private Wealth?
Great question! But first, let us explain why you shouldn’t hire us. If you’re looking for an advisor who will pitch shiny object investments or be a “yes man” you are in the wrong place. Why? Because we believe in being truth tellers and only giving advice that we take ourselves. The investments, strategies, and planning we do are all things our advisors do with their own money. If you are an athlete or entrepreneur interested in things like lowering your tax bill, investing smarter, and finding a trusted partner we might be a good fit.h
*Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.
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