78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress

A new Sports Illustrated article states that “78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress”. This article did not surprise me. I have a friend who used to play college football before he had a serious injury. He stayed in school and got his Masters degree. He  would tell me about his friends who made it to the NFL. He would tell me about how they spent money like  there was “no tomorrow”. They would fly him and other friends out for the weekend to whatever city they were playing a game on the weekend. He would warn them about investing but it would fall on deaf ears.