Ex-NBA player on how he went from earning $62 million to filing for bankruptcy: "It takes a long time to go broke buying Ferraris"
- Darius Miles, a former NBA player who entered the league straight out of high school, earned $62 million during his career but filed for bankruptcy just six years after retiring.
Before he fulfilled his dream of playing in the NBA, Darius Miles was a young prospect dominating the high school scene in East St. Louis. Being raised by a single mother and living in the hood surrounded by drugs and guns, there was only one goal in his mind: to make it out and into the pros.
Miles was one of the rare players who skipped college and came into the NBA straight out of high school. He was drafted third overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2000 and signed a deal worth roughly $3 million per year.
For an 18-year-old kid coming from East St. Louis, becoming an instant millionaire was nothing less than surreal.
After playing eight seasons in the league and ultimately not fulfilling the expectations that were put on him, Miles' career was cut short due to a knee injury. Still, he earned himself $62 million, an amount most would consider more than enough to last a lifetime.
However, that would not be true in Miles's case. Just six years after his retirement, he filed for bankruptcy.
" When you're young, you think the money is gonna last forever," he said . "I don't care how street smart you are, or who you got in your corner, when you go from not having anything to making millions of dollars at 18, 19 years old, you're not going to be prepared for it . Listen, it takes a long time to go broke buying Ferraris. What makes you go broke are shady business deals. They'll make the money disappear quick ."
Miles' financial downfall
In a world overflowing with cautionary examples of athletes losing money due to laid-back spending, Miles' case was quite different. His lack of financial knowledge and literacy led him to make poor business investments, causing his finances to deteriorate rapidly.
Miles reportedly lost $100,000 in one real estate deal in 2008. He also lost a significant amount while being part of an investment group that invested in real estate in downtown St. Louis, which led to multiple multi-million-dollar lawsuits.
After losing his mother in 2013 to cancer, Miles fell into a deep depression, something that also deepened his financial problems. He reportedly listed $1.57 million in total liabilities, including $282,041 in debt, as well as $20,000 in child support debt.
As a result, he had to sell most of his belongings, auctioning a wide range of items, including sports memorabilia such as a signed LeBron James jersey, thousands of DVDs, video games and firearms.
Athletes' financial awareness
Coming from a single-parent home and growing up in the projects, Miles didn't receive any proper financial education, and his sole focus was on basketball.
That's why today's players emphasize the importance of having the right people around them, including financial advisors who can educate them and help manage their hard-earned money effectively.
Besides that, another aspect that rarely gets discussed is the wrong financial goals athletes chase, resulting in poor spending habits and a focus on luxury items instead of building generational wealth — a trap that is very easy to fall into.
Miles' case is often talked about and referenced by players as an example of how to approach good and steady investments. Unfortunately, when he was going through his struggles, awareness and education were certainly not at the level they are today.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 15, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
