In general, all NFL players make more than the average individual, and there are select NFL players that make whopping amounts that maybe they should not be making. Someone like Andrew Luck should not be making $122.97 million in …show more content…
The site Statista.com gives a good perspective on how long a player could expect to play, and the findings are not promising. The data supports the statement that the best players tend to have the longest careers, as Pro Bowlers have an average career length of 11.7 years. First round picks tend to have more money on their rookie contracts, and their career lifespan is 9.3 years. Anyone who makes it onto the final roster as a rookie can expect on average a 6 year career length. The article, Two Charts That Expose How Badly NFL Players Get Paid, broke down all the numbers, which claimed 70% of players are between 22 and 27. The article also said, “The number of players at each age starts declining once you get to age 26…,” which happens to be the age where contracts begin to go up. The overall average player salary is $1.9 million, but that number goes up to $4 million between the age range of 28 and 35, but only one out of four NFL players are located in this range. The opposite relationship between player age and contract size demonstrates that many NFL players will never make a lot of money, and the minority of players that earn a lot of money are lucky that they did. With this information, NFL players should not lower salaries, but brings up a separate issue about balancing out …show more content…
During their careers, NFL players face very high taxes that may sound fair to some, but bad to the players in terms of what they lose. Most NFL players lose almost half of their money just from taxes. The pressure is extremely high on young players who think helping out their family is great, but hurt themselves in the long run. Unfortunately, the expenses don’t end after retirement, and the expenses can come in various ways; financially, physically, and mentally. The first expense is mental, as players can go into denial about living a normal life after football. Ex-NFL players will go years focusing on being in football shape, waiting for a second chance that never comes. Some are never able to adjust to a normal life, some are backed up by college degrees. The article, How the NFL Leaves Players Broke and Broken claimed former defensive back Troy Vincent washed clothes all day and mowed the lawn three times a day because he was unsure of what to do with his unscheduled time. For other ex-players, its not because they do not know what to do, but they struggle because of the physical pains and injuries that come after the game. The article mentioned how one out of four former NFL players experience symptoms of brain damage, and that 90% of former players experience aches and pains daily because of previous football injuries. Another