[i]
Professional athletes are making more money now than ever before. Unfortunately, many athletes have no experience managing such massive amounts of cash, so they often become the victims of unscrupulous parasites or live unsustainable lifestyles that eventually wipe out their finances. Here is a list of seven pro-athletes who lost their fortunes to frivolous mistakes. These players can certainly be poster children for “Lifestyles of the Rich and Stupid”!
• How is it that an NFL rookie signs a contract in 2006 for $26 million then five years later goes reportedly broke? Vince Young has proven that he possesses the financial brainpower of a mental midget! Should we really give a boo-hoo for a 29-year-old, No-financial sence-having, bottle-popper who allegedly dropped $5,000 a week at the Cheesecake Factory and once bought all of the seats on a Southwest Airline flight because he wanted to be alone?

• Allen Iverson, who earned more than $154 million in salary alone and another $50 million in endorsement deals over his superstar playing career, has now fallen in to hard times. Reportedly, the man who was once referred to as “the Answer” apparently doesn’t have any answers as to why he is as broke as a joke. Iverson’s high-roller lifestyle included excessive jewelry-buying and splurging on sponging relatives and associates. His chief downfall, though, was gambling. At one point, it was so reportedly extreme that he was banished from casinos in Detroit and Atlantic City, New Jersey.

• Boxing icon Evander( Ouch! My ear!!) Holyfield, a four-time heavyweight champ, made a mint in his career with a reported $250 million. Unfortunately, all of those millions were reportedly squandered away on women, child support, and fancy do-dads. This past summer, Holyfield had to sell his 25,000-square-foot mansion for a mere $7.5 million because he owed his creditors more than double the amount. The legendary athlete held an auction for the belongings, such as his 1984 Olympic Bronze Medal.. In the words of the famous Mr. T., “I pity the fool!”


• Iron Mike Tyson was one baaaad boxer and he was also one baaaaad business man, with money seeming to just evaporate in his hands. Tyson earned an estimated $400 million as a heavyweight boxer and now only owns that tribal tattoo on his face. Tyson filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and had to pay for a costly divorce settlement, a cocaine habit, as well as extravagant expenditures like jewelry, luxury cars, and designer duds. Tyson was also known for spending lavishly on nonsensical items, such as a $2 million tub. Unfortunately for Tyson, it is common knowledge that the 3-year prison sentence he served for rape did him in because he lost three years of income while he was still in his prime in the mid-nineties. So the question remains, “Kids, do you REALLY want to be like Mike?”
• Who says male jocks are the only ones who make bad money moves? Marion (dope Mama) Jones was a former-world champion track and field dynamo and B-ball player for the WNBA. Jones won five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, for track, but after it was discovered that she “enhanced” her way to the top by taking illegal steroids then lying about it, she was stripped of all of her Olympic medals.
Jones, who was one of track’s first female sports millionaires, brought in at least $7 million per year. Yet, she eventually filed for bankruptcy. The athlete’s lies cost her to lose the $2.5 million mansion she lived in and other properties she owned wound up being foreclosed. The once-celebrated Jones found herself heavily in debt, battling court judgments, and entangled in a check-counterfeiting scheme. She received a 6-month sentence for perjury with regards to the check fraud case and for denying the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Lie lie, no good o!

• “Round-the-way boy” Kenny Anderson was a powerhouse on the courts but a fool regarding finances. He earned about $60 million during his playing heyday in the NBA during the ’90s through early 2000s, but it somehow turned into dust. Anderson allegedly loved to spend his money on items, such as pimped-out rides, and he also idolized the ladies. He has seven children with five different baby mommas and has been to the alter three times. He used to give himself $10,000 a month for “hang out” money and would regularly dole out thousands of bucks to friends and family members. Shortly after he retired from the game, Anderson filed for bankruptcy in 2005. In addition to his spendthrift ways, divorce and excessive child support payments also emptied out his “Big Daddy” pockets.

• With 11 mouths to feed and 10 baby mommas to go along with the mouths, why wouldn’t Travis Henry be broke? Henry signed a $25 million contract in 2007 and had a base salary of $50,000 per month. The former NFL running back who played for three teams from 2001 to 2007, had children who were born just a few months apart. The player’s eye-raising procreation agenda has cost him dearly with numerous child support disputes. In 2009, Henry was even placed behind bars for falling behind $16,600 in his child care obligations to one Mother. Travis’ total child care support payments lie somewhere around an estimated $170,000 per year. The ex-Denver Broncos running back was also sentenced to three years in federal prison but served two for financing a cocaine-trafficking operation. This past summer, shortly after his release from prison, Henry was reinstated back in to the NFL. While he was handed down an indefinite suspension after his drug involvement, Henry now hopes to generate interest from an NFL team. Let’s hope he stops generating interest from any more potential baby mommas!

@ Yuck Mouf: You hit the nail on the head. I'm no racist but Black people in general tend to be more ostentatious in their display of wealth. For example, a rich Nigerian man would buy houses for his numerous girlfriends, while a rich white guy would be more prudent with his money. In fact, he (white guy) would buy a house where he and his girlfriend would live in, provided she agrees to be his wife. Rich white guys only spend heavily during special occasions like birthdays or weddings. They don't take it upon themselves to take care of their entire extended family or spending lavishly in night clubs.