Allen Iverson made 154mil during his career....now he's broke

Apoc13

getting too old for this
Allen Iverson has reportedly gone from 11-time NBA all-star to financial deadbeat. The Philadelphia 76ers icon was recently ordered to pay over $860,000 to a jeweler, and he couldn't cut a check.

A Georgia judge has ordered the seizing of Iverson's bank account, so the relatively little money he has left will be garnished, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

This isn't just another formerly famous athlete blowing a ton of cash. Iverson was among the biggest superstars in the NBA, earning more than $154 million during a professional career that began back in 1996. (This doesn't include endorsement money and other business deals.)

How did Iverson lose so much?

Loyal to his friends from a youth spent in Virginia, Iverson traveled with one of the biggest posses in professional sports. Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the group has as many as 50 people for some Sixers home games. "A.I." took a hair stylist on the road with him and also loved to buy jewelry for himself and his beloved mother, Ann Iverson.

Iverson felt he owed his childhood friends from the old neighborhood because "They made me." The feeling was, without them protecting him from the mean streets, he would have never made it to the NBA.

Apparently they also unmade him.

Despite rumored interest from the Lakers, Iverson is more likely to find playing time and (more importantly) cash outside the U.S. in a place like Puerto Rico.
 

whogotz

dilligaf?
sounds like the mob, build you up, then bleed you dry.

eff him, he didnt HAVE TO spend that money.
 

FlashTheLeather

Addicted to Softballfans
I would imagine his Reebok contract was the biggest endorsement deal for Reebok at the time. Shaq had those ridiculous pumps but he wasn't with them long. Being extremely conservative, I imagine that was another $10M+ pissed away.
 

Nietzsche

Drowned God
This is nothing new. Spoiled jocks rarely earn finance degrees or travel in entourages that have a few sprinkled in.

For these guys that come from slums and broken homes making it to 40 alive and w/o doing hard time is an accomplishment enough.

There is no tomorrow....only right here right now.

I love Iverson as a player. He treated each drive to rack like a bayonet charge, never dogged it and played like he was two weeks away from the bread line.

wishing that last part could have been written with less irony.
 

Primo

fat and famous pablo
upon every contract signing, players should be required to have a league approved accountant, pr guy and most importantly, a frickin' chauffer......
 

Peacock

DBOTY 2011
upon every contract signing, players should be required to have a league approved accountant, pr guy and most importantly, a frickin' chauffer......

This is actually a good idea.
Especially for sports where the players basically never obtain a college degree.
The player associations should press for this. It wouldn't cost that much.
If owners were moral people, they would offer these services to their players anyway.
 

eHall

Base burglar
What would AI do with a college degree right now that will help pay a 860k jewelry bill?

None of the elite college athletes are majoring in something that will pay them anywhere near 100k after graduation. The saying "at least they have a degree to fall back on" is the biggest load of crap the NCAA has ever spewed.
 

ilyk2win

Addicted to Softballfans
This is actually a good idea.
Especially for sports where the players basically never obtain a college degree.
The player associations should press for this. It wouldn't cost that much.
If owners were moral people, they would offer these services to their players anyway.


Why should an owner be responsible to make sure the payer he just worte a check to for millions of dollars is responsible?

I understand protecting your investment, but the players are adults.....and "businessmen" (that was hard to type even witht he cynical quotes)
 

thomas_z71

Addicted to Softballfans
What would AI do with a college degree right now that will help pay a 860k jewelry bill?

None of the elite college athletes are majoring in something that will pay them anywhere near 100k after graduation. The saying "at least they have a degree to fall back on" is the biggest load of crap the NCAA has ever spewed.

You know having a college degree is 100x better than not having one regardless of what job you are trying to get. I'm not saying you can't make millions w/o a degree, and I'm not saying a person with a degree is more beneficial than one w/o, but most all resumes out there with a degree will get looked at first over one w/o.
 
I saw AI while I was playing 3 card poker at the MGM in Detroit. He had a table reserved with him and his boys and a stack of 100 dollar bills that was at least 4" high. After a while I was talking to the dealer about him and he said since he joined the Pistons he was a regular in there. He told me he was in there for the last three days and lost a ton of money (he told me how much but I can't remember now). So the fact that he was broke doesn't suprise me at all.
 

LngBallLvr

Addicted to Softballfans
You know having a college degree is 100x better than not having one regardless of what job you are trying to get. I'm not saying you can't make millions w/o a degree, and I'm not saying a person with a degree is more beneficial than one w/o, but most all resumes out there with a degree will get looked at first over one w/o.

I think the assumption is that a college degree should make you smart enough to add up all your money and figure out when it is going to run out, and a college degree teaches you to reason and think. Probably a stretch in Iverson's case.

I don't think the degree is relevant when it comes to earning power since he made enough money for 10 lifetimes and he has zero experience in any worthwhile profession.
 

eHall

Base burglar
I think the assumption is that a college degree should make you smart enough to add up all your money and figure out when it is going to run out, and a college degree teaches you to reason and think. Probably a stretch in Iverson's case.

I don't think the degree is relevant when it comes to earning power since he made enough money for 10 lifetimes and he has zero experience in any worthwhile profession.

Agreed. He hit the elite athlete lottery and blew it like so many lottery winners before him.

It is a sad story every time we hear about a famous athlete doing this. The problem is those guys think they know everything. They surround themselves with YES men. If you say no, you will be cut out of the loop and a better yes man will be found.
 

freak98guy

Place Clever Title Here
Yep, not sad for these guys at all though. Anyone who can't see that he won't get paid like this forever is just flat out stupid. You wanna slpurge a little an buy a fancy house, cars, etc. go for it. But know that someday your income will come to a screaching halt unless you have success in other areas like clothing endorsments and such... Classic street thug turned pro turned broke. ***** about practice on the unemployment line.
 

Primo

fat and famous pablo
i saw him lose 40 grand to nelly at the nelly back in 05.....ended up being quite the party
 

phxraida15

Addicted to Softballfans
If someone makes 154 million dollars during a 15 year stretch, than becomes broke? They deserve no sympathy!
 
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