When did Ali's financial problems start?

DavidC77 · Apr 1, 2020

Dubblechin said: ↑

You have to keep in mind the idea of athletes having financial planners or agents is a relatively new thing - new like in the last 40 years.

Athletes from the 1960s and 1970s (Ali's era) in all sports weren't well paid and often had regular jobs when their sports season ended. Even in the 1970s, you could count the number of athletes IN ALL SPORTS who had even earned a million dollars on a couple hands.

Ali lived from fight to fight like most fighters did throughout history to that point. If he made 10 times more for a fight than other guys did, then he spent 10 times more before the next fight.

Many around him have repeated that Ali fought so much his whole career because he spent so much his whole career. But that's just what basically every fighter did. That's why people didn't find it particularly odd or write a lot of stories about it until his career was wrapping up.

Only a couple of heavyweight champions had any money when they retired. Dempsey had money, but lost it all in the stock market crash. Tunney had money, but he married into a wealthy family who taught him how to manage it. Schmeling had money only because he signed up with Coca Cola after WWII and became a distributor in Europe.

But just about all the other top heavyweights lived hand to mouth. Because once the fight checks stopped, the money stopped coming in.

Frazier retired with money, but at the end he was living in his broken down gym. Walcott and Patterson got state commissioner jobs based on their names (Patterson couldn't do the work), and they were considered VERY successful at the time for getting them. But they were just government jobs. Foreman retired with money in the 1970s, but lost it all. He didn't have money again until he made his comeback and then sold the George Foreman Grill.

There weren't people around Ali who said you need to set money aside for retirement until his last couple fights.

There's a documentary on ESPN called BROKE. It basically shows how sports agents have tried to help athletes over the past 40 years try to save their money. But even with people there to help, many of them blow their money.

Long story short, Ali's case of not having much money as he ended his career (until others came in later and tried to help him market his image) was the NORM. It wasn't out of the ordinary for an athlete (even a highly paid one) at all.

Now, accountants specialize in handling sports stars because there are A LOT of them and they are all making millions. Back then, when fighters retired, they tried to get into show business or they opened a restaurant that tanked, and that was about it.
Click to expand...

Nearly 500 words which could be summarised by saying...

'He spent too much'

reznick · Apr 1, 2020

Sanxion said: ↑

Where is your father now if you don't mind me asking?
Click to expand...

Sitting next to me and the rest of the family preparing steaks for a nice quarantine meal

Reinhardt · Apr 1, 2020

The Morlocks said: ↑

The day he joined American Islam.
Click to expand...

Bingo. he had those Islamic leeches attached to him.

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When did Ali's financial problems start?

DavidC77 Well-Known Member Full Member

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When did Ali's financial problems start?

DavidC77 Well-Known Member Full Member

reznick In the 7.2% Full Member

Reinhardt Boxing Junkie Full Member