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Hockey13Playa

Sean Avery - Transition Season

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When I read the title of this thread I thought it was going to be a different kind of, ahem.....transition. He was doing all that fashion stuff for a while (not that I have a problem with either of those things, I don't) it's just what popped in my head

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Where do you get he has $20million in the bank? He said in the article "Even if you retire with $20 million in your bank account (and hardly anyone but a major-superstar-endorsement-deal-king does that), you still have to reckon with the fact that when next season starts, youll be watching from the stands."

And by all accounts he has a net worth of $7.5million, nothing to shake a stick at, but nowhere near $20million

http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-athletes/hockey/sean-avery-net-worth/

Yeah my bad should have read it again also thanks for the site already one of my favourite new sites, just great. I mean 7,5 million is still a lot of money. I disagree with a lot of things he does and stands for but I will admit that having a restaurant - even if he isn't the majority owner located on broadway is a success. His advice is a good one but every hockey player is different, some NEED the time off to re-focus on their goals in life, while others might want to join the family business later and a lot of people just want to stay involved, so they become color commentators, analysts or insiders like PJ Stock, Aaron Ward, Jeff O'Neil or McLellan. I think even Tortarella worked for TSN before he was hired by the Rangers.

The good thing is there are a lot of post hockey-options for hockey-players but giving up that luxurious life and being treated like a god must for sure be hard, so I think it's great that they are now getting help from the NHLPA and advises from former players (yes that includes Sean Avery).

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That broadway story made me laugh. As a professional actor you see bloody hissy fits all the time from never-were's let alone has beens. And if the assistant is crying because of what he said, she needs to grow some chops because I've had far worse things said to me by people when I've not only been in the right, but also totally conciliatory. If it wasn't him and didn't fit his persona, it wouldn't be a story.

As for the broader issue, the sports world is full of people who didn't last because they didn't have the mindset to make the incredible sacrifices necessary to be a top level pro sportsperson, as much in terms of personality as lifestyle choices (due to the tedium of the dullness of many extremely professional but charisma-less teammates), and Avery is one of them. He played up to his panto villain too far, and pissed off the wrong people because he had the dangerous element of intelligence and imagination, but not nearly as much as he thinks. He always knew his role, but never knew the line, which is why things got tricky for him. That said, I've no doubt that his bad behaviour was blown out of proportion because he pissed off the wrong people, and things got into the public domain that would have been kept quiet had they been the actions of others.

The article is well written, articulate and thoughtful, but also demonstrates a characteristic lack of personal accountability for his mistakes.

Edited by lomekian

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Good read. I also read his other article from January where he mentions how much $ the players actually see. If they sign for $13 Million, after the Feds take 50%, their agents 25%, and the NHL 20%, they only see $660,000 of that! ESPN's 30 for 30 "Broke" mentioned how much athletes actually make too. Considering what they put their bodies through, I think athletes earn every penny.

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Good read. I also read his other article from January where he mentions how much $ the players actually see. If they sign for $13 Million, after the Feds take 50%, their agents 25%, and the NHL 20%, they only see $660,000 of that! ESPN's 30 for 30 "Broke" mentioned how much athletes actually make too. Considering what they put their bodies through, I think athletes earn every penny.

Thank you for this. Some fans act like hockey players are all overpaid athletes like the other 3 major sports. Fact is they don't make a fraction of what's being handed out in football and baseball etc. That's why there's a lockout every few years. They're fighting for every penny. Then consider the fact that Avery is lucky. Despite his shortened career he earned more than most NHLers will ever earn. How many Cory Emmertons have slipped through the cracks? These guys gave their lives for the sport.

Yet at the end of the day I don't feel bad for those who failed to plan ahead financially.

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Good read. I also read his other article from January where he mentions how much $ the players actually see. If they sign for $13 Million, after the Feds take 50%, their agents 25%, and the NHL 20%, they only see $660,000 of that! ESPN's 30 for 30 "Broke" mentioned how much athletes actually make too. Considering what they put their bodies through, I think athletes earn every penny.

If the Feds take 50% and their agents 25%, they need to fire their accountant and their agent.

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If the Feds take 50% and their agents 25%, they need to fire their accountant and their agent.

Exactly and the league takes 20%? I doubt they do everything they do for %5 pay. So a player that gets paid $750,000 would only get $37,500 per year. Lol, no.

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The part that I found funny is where he suggested the creation of a "character" - one that he'd play when he left for the rink and one that'd he'd shut off when he got home. Is he trying to say that he appeared to be a a-hole, but that was really just a made up character? If so, he's full of it. He's shown to still be pretty classless to this day based on various things I have seen.

I didn't see the other article on money, but just read it now. What he's laid out is plain wrong and not even close to reality. He talks about how they don't really have as much money as you think, but also suggests he blew so much money on different things ($750 for pants). So, they would actually have a lot of money if they didn't throw it away?

Let's look at the numbers. #1 - Taxes.....so what's his point? Everyone that earns money pays taxes, does he not understand that? I know he does, it just makes him look stupid (+ 50% is probably high....probably that much on a certain chunk, but not all ~ 45% would be a very high estimate on the total in my opinion, assuming no tax planning). #2 - 25% for agent/management? That is ridiculous. He's either flat out lying or bending the truth by using the highest % he's ever paid on a particular item. Fact is, in the NFL and NBA, agent commissions are capped at 3%. While the NHL does not have a cap, I doubt it would be much higher than 4 or 5%. In terms of management fees, those would be higher - 10-20% on endorsements, but that's completely new income beyond the base NHL salaries. #3 - the NHL doesn't take 20%, they hold back 15% until revenues are recalculated to balance out the sharing between players and owners at 50/50. Fact is, I believe most of that goes back to the players in the end anyway. What he doesn't mention is that players can and have taken more than their base salaries based on total revenues. So, they have 15% held back, but then get paid that much and more if revenues are higher.

My estimate on the $13.2 million - agents take 5% (high estimate) - $660,000 and NHL takes 15% (my estimate would be that it all comes back, but let's assume half of it doesn't, so they take 7.5%) - $990,000....both of these would be deductions from the $13.2 million, so the 45% tax would be ($13,200,000 - 666,000 - 990,000) * 45% = $5,197,500. Therefore, net cash after that would be $6,352,500. Quite a bit different from his $660K calculation.

Even using his numbers makes his final estimate of $660K make absolutely no sense. $13,200,000 - 3,300,000 (commission) - 2,640,000 (NHL...which he admits comes back) - 3,630,000 (tax on $13.2M-3.3M-2.6M @50%) = $3,630,000. I'm sorry, that article makes him look like a total idiot.

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The numbers obviously aren't that scewed, but it's a valid point to bring up that these guys earn a finite amount of money between 20 and 40 (if they're lucky), and whatever that number is, for many of these guys that has to last a lifetime. There are only so many assistant coach and color commentary positions available after they retire.

My coach from back in high school was a financial advisor at Smith Barney and many of his clients were Red Wings (which meant a lot of awesome perks for our team), and he would tell us some horror stories about some players living like celebrities during their career and having no long-term game plan, and everything falling apart within a couple years of retirement. On the opposite end of the spectrum, he had some stories about some of his clients who took their finances so seriously they would notify my coach of literally every purchase, even if it was going out for a carton of milk (lol I wish I remembered who he was talking about in this case).

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Obviously these guys aren't paying half their salary in taxes that would be crazy beyond everything. I'm sure most hockeyplayers and athletes in general do have some professional advisers to use every possible loophole in order to pay the smallest possible fee.

Also why would players have to pay money to the NHL ? They are employees and employees aren't paying their employer back, the employer is paying them to work for him, her.

I think what Avery is saying here, that players should do something, anything after their career is over or at least don't expect to continue flying around in private jets and use the top of the top hotels if the finances aren't there. I mean sure a guy like Lidström can still do it but we are talking about the elite of the elite here...the average NHL player will be lucky to last 15 years and take home ~ 4 million which is a boatload of money but I don't think it will last long if guys aren't responsible with their money.

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Before reading these articles, I kind of hated the guy. After reading two of Avery's articles, I kind of like him. I can see a little bit of myself in him. I would do whatever it takes to be useful to the team, and if that meant being an agitator, then I guess I'd be agitating.

It's funny to read a story about him flying coach to experience what non-rich people experience.

Life is all about happiness, and happiness is what you make it. For me happiness is a house the size of Avery's closet, being faithful to my wife, and raising two kids. I think I may be happier than many NHLers, and it costs me a very small fraction. I don't have cable, I don't buy new cars (or lease), I buy clothes on sale and wear them until they're falling apart.

To Avery excitement is buying the new car, opening some bar, or some other expensive or time consuming thing. To me excitement is a $200 kayak that's big enough to fit me and my 5 year old daughter.

Avery's article is an interesting perspective on wealth and professional athletes. I hope he finds the happiness he desires.

Edited by Holmstrom96

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