NFL players are some of the highest-paid in any profession in the world, most of which could rent a limo for the entirety of the night whenever they go out and it wouldn't be a drop in the bucket against their earnings. But, they don't...
NFL is actually probably the least player-lucrative major sport franchise, due to the relatively low number of games (compared to NBA and MLB) and high roster size. Minimum rookie salary is around $300,000, which sounds like a lot until you realize players are basically forced into retirement after less than ten years, face tremendous workplace risks, and don't get easily translatable skills.
There's a reason you hear so many stories about homeless former pro athletes, and its not because they're dumb jocks: the system isn't exactly tailored around long-term fiscal viability.
Well to be fair, a lot of players in the NFL only make it in the league for a few years if they are lucky and make closer to the league minimum. I would think a lot of software developers stand to make more money over their careers than some of these guys do.
That's to say, not everyone playing in the NFL right now stands to retire with millions of dollars in the bank, especially if they have the mentality of renting a limo everytime they go out.
League minimum this year is $405,000. I think they can afford a cab on that wage.
What isn't considered is the thousands of players on farm teams that make 80k. However, they're generally not the ones ending up in the news (nor the ones that this benefit covers).
They are far from being a developmental league where players hone skills with the hopes of "being called up to the big leagues", like what baseball, hockey, and to a lesser extent basketball do.
Sure, most anyone making a decent salary can afford a cab in most cities.
I was just pointing out that the caricaturization of all NFL players as multi-millionaires who could afford to rent limos every time they went out is unfair and not really true for the majority of them.
The NFL has no farm system:
> The National Football League, as of 2010, is the only one of the four major professional sports in the USA that does not have a farm system.
My understanding is the median household income in the US is approx. $50,000 - about 32 years' worth of work to equal the (minimum) earnings of an NFL draftee.
They're hardly struggling, even if the contract isn't renewed and they have to find another job.
http://www.bucsdugout.com/2013/1/14/3874488/minor-league-bas...