Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Vick, Young, Russell, and Leaf: Which NFL Quarterback is Financially Solvent?


When you remember that Dez Bryant is the face of the modern National Football League (NFL), then what we are about to say will make perfect sense.

He was a bust, but Leaf still has his NFL earnings
With the NFL players currently locked out - and the threat of violence in major cities if they don't strike a deal for the upcoming season - many players have resorted to drastic measures to survive, including taking out high interest payday loans.


Adrian Peterson called himself a slave - though he is set to make $10 million in 2011 - but even he would be hard-pressed to acknowledge why so many of his fellow athletes are in such dire financial situations during the lockout and upon retirement.

Perhaps the stories of Vince Young, LaMarcus Russell and Michael Vick - that quintessentially Black quarterback for the new era - can shed some light on the consequences of financial mismanagement and the repercussions of failure to understand compound interest.

Vince Young is a failed NFL quarterback. Though he enjoyed massive collegiate success, Young was a bust for the Tennessee Titans. Young is now having not only his ability to read and react to complex defenses questioned, but his ability to balance a checkbook as well:
Vince Young has been the forgotten man of the quarterback carousel speculation this offseaon.

It’s not because of his play. Young has a lot to work on as a quarterback, but he’s flashed plenty of playmaking ability and production during his career. Young scares decision makers because of, well, everything else.

Len Pasquarelli of the Sports XChange writes that a few teams are “investigating rumors [Young] may have mishandled his money” and are worried about his perceived lack of maturity.

Mishandling money would hardly be a unique issue for a top-ten pick, so a deeper investigation could indicate a larger problem.

We went back and watched Young’s snaps from 2010. It wasn’t all perfect, but his play on third downs and his ability to fit the ball into tight windows was impressive. Take away the baggage, and he’d easily be the top name available this offseason.

If only getting rid of the baggage was so easy.
Former No. 1 draft pick JaMarcus Russell love of purple drank caused a dint in his pocket book and well as inhibiting him from success in the NFL:
Nearly four years after JaMarcus Russell(notes) became the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, his playing career may have completely bottomed out after “life coach” John Lucas asked Russell to leave Houston recently, two sources close to the quarterback told Yahoo! Sports.

Russell, 25, and Lucas had been working together since September in hopes of getting Russell into shape for a return to the NFL. The aforementioned sources say Russell, released by the Oakland Raiders last May, initially worked hard, but quickly lost motivation. Recently Lucas tired of trying to get Russell, the top pick in 2007, to respond to instruction and assistance.

After being the top pick, Russell missed all of training camp as a rookie in a contract dispute before signing a six-year, $62 million contract including $31 million guaranteed money.

“It’s such a waste of talent,” the source said. “It’s hard to believe a guy with that much ability could let it just waste. It’s sad. … It’s like they say, you can’t coach desire.”
Reports indicated that Russell is nearly broke. $31 million on what? Purple drank? Jewelry? All-you-can-ribs everyday?

Minnesota Vikings defense end Jared Allen blasted the poor financial decisions of his fellow athletes, saying:
“I think the bigger disappointment was to see the jewelry on these kids’ arms and ears,” Allen said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “Are you kidding me? You haven’t played a down in the league yet and thousands and thousands of dollars on these kids’ arms and I’m like, ‘You guys understand you’re getting drafted into a lockout where you don’t know what rules you’re playing under or how much money you possibly might get?’”
What else needs to be said about Michael Vick? A player loved by Black fans and spurned by white fans, Vick lost out on the prime of his career because of his avocation of dog fighting. Not only that, Vick lost millions and went bankrupt:
With apologies to Harper's Index …

Amount jailed star quarterback Michael Vick spent from July '06 to July '08, according to recent bankruptcy papers: $17.7 million.

Amount of that time he was in prison: 8 months.

Total amount of checks he wrote his mother, Brenda Boddie—not counting all her bills he paid—even while in prison: $21,400.

Amount he donated to her church: $327,900.

Amount he gave her for an Easter egg hunt: $700.

Number of Reese's Chocolate Easter Eggs that would buy: 5,259.

Amount of the check he wrote to Boddie labeled "chump change": $1,000.

Amount Vick was sentenced to pay to house and care for the 47 pit bulls he and his buddies didn't drown, strangle, hang, shoot, or electrocute for not winning fights: $928,073.

Average pay, per hour, of Vick's pit bulls' caregivers at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah: $14.

Pay, per hour, Vick gets for washing pots and pans at Leavenworth: 12 cents.

Cost of a bottle of Shelter Blend Flower Essence aromatherapy used for "anxious, worried or easily stressed" dogs at the sanctuary: $27.50.

Number of hours Vick would have to work to afford a bottle of Flower Essence: 230.

Cost of a bottle of "Vicktory" wine with a painting of one of the rescued dogs on the label: $40.

Cost of a tin of tuna at some federal prison commissaries: 23 cents.

Number of cars Vick owned at one time: 9, including the '07 Land Rover for his fiancée; the '07 Cadillac Escalade for his fiancée's mother; the '07 Land Rover for his brother Marcus; the '08 Mercedes Benz for his financial advisor, David Talbot; the '06 Cadillac DTS for his pal Rodney White; and the '07 Ford F-150 he drove himself.

Ironic name of the Lincoln Mercury dealership Vick continues to make car payments to, despite sitting in jail: Freedom.

Sticker price of the '07 Infiniti Vick bought for his fiancée to keep in Leavenworth so she has something to drive while visiting him in prison: $65,000.

Amount mysteriously categorized as "miscellaneous" over two years: $3.5 million.

Number of fake Dasani water bottle "safes" with hidden compartments that would buy: 116,861.

Amount Vick took as "cash out": $1,112,664.

Number of $400 ATM withdraws, including $2.50 service charge, that would require: 2,764.

Number of ATMs in Leavenworth penitentiary: 0.

Amount of deal Vick signed with the Falcons in 2004, making him the highest paid player in the league at the time: $130 million.

Monthly average salary in the Arena Football League, where Vick will probably end up playing when he's released on July 20: $7,000.

Vick's ongoing cost to support his fiancée, their two daughters, his brother, his mother, a former girlfriend and his son with her, per month: $20,000.

Amount Vick still owes banks in Toronto, South Bend, and Charlotte, for loans he took to invest in a car rental franchise, a wine store/restaurant, and other businesses: $6 million.

Total amount listed as "loan payment" over two years: $33,523.

Amount of judgment against Vick that he still owes former agent Andrew Joel: $4.5 million.

Amount Vick still owes the Atlanta Falcons from his signing bonus: $3.75 million.

Amount the NFL attempted to recoup from Vick's bonus money: $16.25 million.

Useful name Vick might need when he's released: Ron Mexico.

Number of homes Vick owned at one time: 4.

Number he lives in now: 0.

Unfortunate name of the investment firm Vick sunk $245,000 into: Leake.

Essential question about Vick now after ruining his life—with bountiful help from leaching family, friends, advisors, agents and his own Hindenburg instincts: Can the chump change?
With a stellar 2010 season, Vick is set to sign a lucrative contract extension and garner multiple endorsements, which is good news for his creditors:
Odds that Vince Young wishes he were still being paid under the table at Texas?
Vick, once a star for the Falcons, signed a franchise tender with the Eagles on Wednesday that could pay him $16 million to $20 million for the 2011 season, barring a lockout. The exclusive franchise-rights tender requires that he receive the average salary of the top five highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.


His pay will increase to the $20 million figure if Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning signs his franchise tender (worth $23 million) or works out a long-term contract.

The "exclusive" tag bars Vick from talking to other teams once free agency begins. However, the players' union has argued that franchise tags are invalid because of the current labor strife.

On July 7, 2008, Vick filed for bankruptcy, citing debts ranging from $10 million to $50 million. He reportedly still owes his creditors about $20 million.
The quarterback position is the most cerebral of all the positions in the NFL, with the duties of knowing all of his fellow offenses players assignments for a given play and his ability to analyze a defense and quickly make audibles to get his team in a better opportunity to win if the play called is schemed against before the ball is snapped.

Some have questioned if the inability of Black players to dominate this position (as they constitute 67 percent of current NFL rosters) is because of the cognitive demands put on the quarterback.

Perhaps. But remember that Ryan Leaf was, like Vick, Young, and Russell, an All-American quarterback in college. Considered one of the biggest busts in the history of the NFL Draft, Leaf moved on with his life:
Ryan Leaf is up early each day and often out the door before his parents get up. He wants to stay busy, see people if he can. It's a routine he needs.

It was Manning who went first in the 1998 draft, and Leaf went to the San Diego Chargers at No. 2.

The 6-foot-5 Leaf got a four-year contract worth more than $31 million. His dream of playing NFL football was coming true.

"I was hungry," he said. "I wanted to be good."

Life hasn't turned out the way Leaf expected.

He struggled with fame. That led to infamy. He struggled with drugs. That led to shame.

About a decade ago, the ex-quarterback was among the biggest stories in the NFL. When he was drafted in 1998, the debate was over whether he or Peyton Manning should be the No. 1 pick.

Then he turned into one of the biggest busts in league history. He was booed and benched in San Diego, where he lost 14 of his first 18 starts. He lashed out at fans, journalists and teammates who criticized him. And in the years after he washed out of football, his life got worse – ending in a criminal conviction.

But here's the thing: Leaf gets it that he fell short, how he disappointed, and how he rubbed people the wrong way with his arrogance. And now in the relative calm of his Montana hometown, under the eyes of his parents, he's trying to mount a comeback at the age of 34, nine years after his last NFL pass.

Leaf checks his e-mail each day and draws inspiration from prayers he gets from his sponsor for a 12-step program.

Leaf says he is comfortable financially, helped by relatives who know how to invest and worked with him on his $11.25 million signing bonus.

Divorced, he spent time in rehab in British Columbia late last year, and now lives with his parents – although he's often away selling resort packages as the business development manager for a Canadian company.
Ryan Leaf has been arrested and put on probation, and yet he is financially secure because of sound investments. Remember that within two years of retiring, 78 percent of NFL players will have gone bankrupt or will be under severe financial stress.

There's a reason why Dez Bryant is the modern face of the NFL. There's a reason why Ryan Leaf doesn't belong in the same category of Vick, Russell, and Young.

Though he will never throw a football again for money, Leaf can rest easy knowing that his NFL earnings are earning interest while Russell can't afford anymore purple drank; Young can't get a job, like so many other Black people, because of poor credit; and that every penny Vick earns goes to pay back a creditor.

Good luck to Cameron Newton!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

People wonder why Black communities don't have many banks; because no one in those communities would use a bank.

Swim said...

Vick's financial responsibility: Priceless

There's some things money can't buy. Vick bought everything else.

FeminizedWesternMale said...

"Good luck to Cameron Newton!"

Scam Newton has already made and lost more than you and I ever will, Brother.

bubo said...

I live in an NFL city. According to the local media I should be up nights worrying about this labor dispute between billionaire owners and millionaire blacks, lest I don't get no feetball to watch on Sunday. I honestly don't care if it ever came back.

Anonymous said...

The most surprising thing from this article is the fact that Vick drove an F-150 for his personal vehicle. How can you keep it real in a truck usually driven by white untouchables?

~AV~ said...

There is a reason for the term...that I learned way back in the early 60s...and the meaning has remained the same...

"nigger rich..."

~AV~ said...

@12:52 ANON

could it be that it is easier to load and unload dead dogs from a bed of a truck???

Anonymous said...

I like sports but I do not live, eat, and drink sports. It is sickening to think of the money squander but it is a market economy. I wouldn't have it any other way. If viewership were down and less people idolized these "afletes" then millions would not be wasted. It is the sports fans who are as much to blame as the leagues and the players.

Isn't this really the circus just to occupy our time and minds?

MuayTyson

Anonymous said...

AV,

You are probably correct. Transporting dead dogs and live, murderous pit-bulls made an F-150 a necessity. You don't want a dog that can kill you sitting in your heated leather seats by your side or a dead dog stinking up your trunk.

~AV~ said...

@Muay

...black people equate their "role models" and/or "heros" as being sport stars...all except for a few "uncool" sports...like for Tiger Woods...and the negro tennis star sisters....(forgive me their names escape my finger tips)....

~AV~ said...

Paul....

http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/post-office-suspends-retirement-contributions-1554997.html


Post office suspends retirement contributions


here it begins....the mother of all affirmative action federal employment

the US post office...

We may be on the last death nail into the coffin of Federal affirmative action going belly up

Boy get ready for the angry mau mau...and the new program of...they get paid the same and only deliver mail Mon - Tues - Fri bullshit program to keep the usually unemployable negro out of jail and off the streets between the hours of 10 to 3 (cause we all know that is all a US postal employee really works)

~AV~ said...

Paul...

www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-mossburg-wright-20110621,0,1855821.column


Reverend Wright brings his anti-American crusade to Baltimore

Marta Mossburg writes that Obama's former pastor urges blacks to disavow their country

Anonymous said...

To anon at 1:14,

Hey dumbass, making ignorant remarks that call pitbulls murderous does a disservice to sbpdl.

To evrryone else, sorry to digress.

Anonymous said...

SBDL alludes to it, but I'm actually shocked no one has pointed out that ryan leaf is considered the most unstable hothead white QB of the last 15 years, YET he can life comfortably off his NFL earnings. His rookie contract was worth a fraction of what Jamarcus, Vick and VY earned. I would add that VY, Jamarcus and Vick all received far higher non-contract earnings compared to Leaf through endorsements and jersey sale %. Marginal defensive players now get better deals than Leaf's rookie contract yet 78% of players go broke shortly after retirement.

Whiskey said...

How sustainable is the NFL model of Black QBs in and out of jail constantly, acting like Vick, or Russell, or Young, with no other White stars for the mostly White audience to watch?

After all, the NFL is an advertiser-driven league. They've failed completely in international expansion. They've failed in growing merchandising revenues. They've failed in growing significantly ticket revenues, and the days of new stadiums built by taxpayers are gone. Jerry Jones "Jones-mahal" was built by private debt. He's got payments on $1 billion and counting.

The NFL is counting on growing revenue, not decreasing it radically. Remove all the White stars (QBs really) and you have ... the NBA. About $1 billion per year in TV revenue, not the NFL's $4 billion. Colleges are a natural competitor, so is the CFL, hell Vince McMahon can start up another league "old-school" style not the farce he did with NBC. Versus and other hungry nets will put ANYTHING on. A sports league has few barriers to entry, and there's lots of hungry guys willing to play football on TV.

Anonymous said...

Purple drank, fur coats and McNuggets do not buy themselves. What Vince Young's excuse is I do not know.

Anonymous said...

At the time Vince Young was drafted, a bunch of black ESPN football "experts" were practically sucking his cock, all predicting that he would a superstar in the NFL. Wishful thinking, I guess.

Stuff Black People Don't Like said...

It's called Projection. ESPN has a vested interest in promoting Black athletes, as this is one of the primary mechanism for manufacturing positive images of Black people in America.

The quarterback position is traditionally seen as the leader, the alpha on the field. Think Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, etc., the guy that everyone wants to be.

Rush Limbaugh was exactly right when he said the media is desirous of a Black quarterback back in 03 (the McNabb Incident).

Most sports writers are total nerds. The kind of guys who got picked last in every pick-up game and they live vicariously through the athletes they cover.

Ex-jocks employed by ESPN, CBS, Fox and other stations know what is expected of them in the broadcast booth.

Anonymous said...

My spectator sport of choice is... ( wait for it )

Roller Derby.

Yes,you heard me correctly. Roller Derby has enjoyed renewed popularity in a surprising number of mid sized to large cities,and as a spectator sport,it has a great deal going for it.

It's pretty much a homegrown,organic type of thing,at least in the Austin area. I'm certain there's sponsorship money somewhere,but to date the sponsor money isn't enough to detract from the fun.

It's a hell of a lot more fun to go watch a roller derby bout than it is to sit in front of a screen and watch a batch of overpaid thugs throw a ball around. Think Little League baseball-these are girls you just might know,or at least run into at the grocery store. The cleavage and fishnet stockings don't hurt either.

You can take a date to a roller derby bout. She'll go because there's girls on the track. Which is why you're going too,but your date might overlook that so she can go watch girls competing with each other.

The bouts that I've attended have been-sort of-family tolerant,if not exactly family friendly. There's definitely an age limit,but they're probably ok for junior high kids,and they're just edgy enough to appeal to that age group.

The bouts that I have attended serve beer.

They cost a lot more than renting a DVD and spending the evening at the house. But they aren't nearly as bankrupting as a ticket to an NFL game. And getting back to the DVD rental,you won't be putting up with a chick flick. ( I was elbowed awake three times during "Eat,Pray,Love",which was three times too many. The third time,I finally had to explain that since it's a chick flick,from my point of view,THERE IS NO GOOD PART. )

Every dollar you spend watching a local roller derby league is a dollar that DOES NOT get spent supporting overpaid,underbrained thugs with an excess of fast twitch muscle fibers and testosterone.

And like I said,the cleavage and fishnets don't hurt my feelings a bit. Some of the rear views are pretty appealing as well.

After you finish watching roller derby,think seriously about getting something like a decent bicycle,or a kayak,or something along those lines,and spending your free time getting your self in shape. Instead of watching a bunch of overpaid thugs.

Anonymous said...

Barack Obama...the Jermarcus Russel of presidents.

Anonymous said...

17 year old and his twin stomp a 61 year old to death in Illinois
http://www.herald-review.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_ff6b662e-5edd-11e0-ad9a-001cc4c03286.html