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Jeff Teague shared the reality of NBA bankruptcy - "It be divorce, child support, and people stealing"
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- Jeff Teague shared the reality of NBA bankruptcy - "It be divorce, child support, and people stealing"
Throughout most of the NBA's history, players have had a bad tendency to go broke just a few years after they retire. Despite making millions, or even hundreds of millions , some still file for bankruptcy, scraping for any dollar to get back on their feet. Nevertheless, while the historical statistics have been right most of the time, the narrative of athletes losing all of their money has begun to change.
Through numerous investments and ventures, players are starting to build their understanding of business through various deals, building and expanding their knowledge to keep their finances safe.
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However, while the story has started to shift in the past few years, there will always be some who blow all their money. Some believe it is due to their lavish spending and lack of awareness of the value of money, which is the case in most cases. Others, on the other hand, believe that isn't the case.
"It be divorce, child support, and people stealing"
Through all his hilarious experiences, Jeff Teague has also seen the NBA's other extreme in his 12-year career. Most notably, he has been a bystander as many former teammates have gone down the ugly path of losing their hard-earned money after their careers.
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For Teague, however, the problem of poorly managing one's finances doesn't lie in athletes' bad spending habits, but rather in bad decisions that are indirectly tied to their money.
"It be divorce, child support, and people stealing," said Teague. "I don't even really be people just blowin' money. It be like somebody stole from them or somebody lied to them, they had a bad business deal, they got divorced, or they got crazy child support payment."
"Like ni–as don't just blow money. They might spend a lot, but, you know, if you got $500,000 dollars in your pocket, ni–a might spend 300 [thousand]. But [the rest], you be like, 'Alright, I'm a keep it.'"
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While Teague emphasized that players should really spend $200,000 instead of $300,000, and keep the rest, he still believes that the wrong spend-save ratio isn't the catalyst to eventual bankruptcy.
"But when you get child support, alimony, divorce, and all that, I seen it take down to many people," he added.
Despite not "intentionally" spending money on things like divorces, alimony, and fraudulent activities, such spending still ties into the players' internal intentions and awareness . While those kinds of situations could happen to anyone, it's still an abnormal statistic for how many athletes fall for women with hidden motives and questionable business plans.
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The NBA wants to limit this problem
The league is well aware of these issues and is keen to always help its players. To counter the problems, the NBA has strict and informative tools, like educational courses and guidance to teach them how to anticipate and stop the situations that will cost them their money and mental health.
For example, since they're drafted, rookies undergo a special social media regimen in which they're taught what types of women will approach them, how to express an artificial attitude, and the consequences if they fall into the trap.
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With that, players are also guided by various methods on how to take care of their finances, as the league assigns them financial advisors and managers as soon as they're drafted or signed to a team, if they don't have one, of course.
With today's access to information and the rise in contracts and business deals among athletes, there is almost no reason for them to end up as a statistic, but rather to rewrite it.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
