Gibbs to teach rookies about financial peril from experience

This week, Joe Gibbs will be teaching NFL rookies about the importance of watching their finances. He will be speaking to the incoming players from the perspective of having been in severe financial distress at one point in his life himself. On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week Gibbs, along with some financial planning experts from Strayer University, will conduct a seminar in financial education at the NFLPA's version of the rookie symposium, cancelled this year by the NFL due to the lockout. The Business of Football: Rookie Edition will take place this week in Bradenton, Florida. Gibbs recalled his days negotiating contracts in the NFL. "A player would be upset with his contract, (and) we'd be in serious discussions," he said. "And during the conversation, it dawns on you, 'Are you in financial trouble?' That happens over and over again. It played out a lot." Gibbs once was in severe financial trouble himself. His annual salary on his first coaching contract with the Redskins in 1981 paid him about $100,000 a year. He decided to invest some of that money in a real estate partnership. It soon turned sour.

I got into this investment which was a land deal and a partnership and I was going to be a passive investor and make some money. Instead of just trusting God and coaching football, I was going to get rich in real estate. I don’t think I’m an egotist about football because I always know there’s somebody around the corner ready to knock our block off but in the business world I was somebody who thought he had this all worked out. I got into this investment and it was for about two years and all of a sudden I started getting late notices right before a football season started.

He coached the season and then turned his attention to the debt.

After the season I beat it down to Oklahoma and when I sat down with the attorneys there were nine banks involved and it was way over a million dollars in debt. The interest alone was over thirty thousand dollars a month. I was bankrupt.

Gibbs said that he prayed for help and he decided to pay back the banks.

I feel like I have an obligation to these banks and to these people and I’d like to work this out. I’m just praying to you and saying this is the biggest mess in the world. Only you could straighten this out . . . I went to all nine of those banks and they all worked something out.

Now, $100,000 a year is not a lot of money by today's standards but the record shows that the bigger the money, the bigger the problems can be. Defensive end Luther Ellis, who earned about $20 million playing for the Lions and Broncos for 10 years before retiring in 2005, filed for bankruptcy last year. According to USA Today, 125 of the 254 players drafted will be attending the NFLPA's event this week. It seems a shame that nearly half of the rookies in the league will not have the benefit of the advice based on lessons that Gibbs learned the hard way.

Comments

[Jason]

I'm very familiar with this story having read both of Joe's books. An almost identical thing happened to mark Brunnel a few years back too. Just goes to show you that it's not only the "young, immature kids" that are prone to money problems with fame and fortune.

Kudos to Joe Gibbs for doing this to try and help others. He's one of the classiest men on the planet! Coach did a similar workshop for the Redskins players a year or two ago and he pointed out at that time the fact that somewhere around 80% of NFL players are in financial trouble within 3 years of their career ending. So this is much needed and I hope it helps some of these rookies make good choices with their newfound money.

[snyper94z28]

alot of players go buy gold chains and several cars, then buy a house way to big, after they stop playing the money they where use to is no longer coming in steady. if they would learn by attending one of these siminars not to go buy the gold chains, 25 new cars and the house way to big they would be OK. As a friend and knowing him very close, Larry Webster played for the Browns and the Ravens, never a high priced player but he bought his mom a new house,(average size) and saved most of his money for after football days. Larry wasnt the sharpest knife in the drawer but he knew enough not to waste money on cars and crap, he lives a good life and spends his money wisely. alot of these players come from the ghetto and never had anything, once they get money they have no idea, even after being told by someone like Gibbs how to not waste money. if you never had a pot to Pi&& in and all of a sudden you have cash you want ALL the things you never had growing up.