2024-04-19 21:01:35
I literally threw some money in the trash during my life, but I was extremely lucky to earn a lot of it during my career, one of the best hockey players in Czech history, Jakub Voráček, admits in an open interview. He also advises on what mistakes professional athletes should avoid when managing their money and how important it is to have someone you can absolutely trust.
Do you remember what you spent your first sports money on?
You probably hate to hear this because it’s not the smartest investment, but I bought a car. BMW. I was just 19 years old then, I managed to break into the NHL, and I still remember the moment when I got my first paycheck. I knew the money was due that day, so I checked my account at the ATM right next to the hockey hall. I stuck my credit card in and saw ten thousand dollars, which was the pay for about the first four or five days of the season. My eyes completely lit up and I immediately called my dad.
By the way, if I had to give one piece of advice to young, beginning players, it would be this: If you have someone in your family whom you completely trust, then really listen to them. They mean well to you. My dad is a very good and careful person and I must say that I am very lucky. I may have figured it out a little later than I should have, and I’ve also gotten burned a few times in my life because of it.
What’s the biggest money mistake you’ve made?
I’ve always been a bohemian, both on and off the ice. Of course I made a mistake too. I’m not quite ready to talk about it yet, I think only people who are really close to me know. The fact is, I literally threw some money in the trash.
But I was extremely lucky to earn a lot of them. Of course, I would rather have the money I lost now, but on the other hand, this experience changed me tremendously. My advice is clear: If you get burned, please don’t lose everything and learn. Mistakes happen, it’s normal and human. But smart people can learn.
How much did you earn as a rookie in the NHL?
In the NHL, the first three years of earnings are capped, you can earn a maximum of around 900,000 dollars per year. If you’re lucky, you’ll have about half a million left over after taxes, but it’s still a lot of money.
You mentioned that you were very lucky to have a dad. In your opinion, is a good family background essential not only for a sports career, but also for how players deal with the money they earn?
Very important. If I had listened to my dad, I would be much richer today. You know what, money is much easier to spend than to earn. And once you have them, a lot of people who just want to make a living will latch on to you. That’s why it’s important to have someone close to you who you can trust. And I can only thank my parents because without them I would never have made it this far.
Are NHL clubs helpful to players when it comes to managing their money?
In the NHL, they throw you in the water and you have to learn to swim on your own. You are 18 or 19 years old, you have to find your own apartment, buy a car, they leave it up to you what you eat and drink, if you train hard or not. Financial advice is provided by your agent. And I know guys who changed three financial advisors in two years. There are a lot of sharks who just want to feed on you and rob you of your money.
Czech representative and world champion. Today, the thirty-four-year-old hockey player made his debut in the NHL in 2008, then spent more than fifteen seasons in the Canadian-American NHL, mostly in the jersey of the Philadelphia Flyers. Since last September, he has been a mentor at his parent club Rytíři Kladno, and his foundation supports research and the establishment of a register of patients with multiple sclerosis.
Photo: Reuters
It is necessary to be careful and conservative, not to believe the promises of fabulous earnings. As soon as someone comes to you and promises a return of fifteen, twenty percent a year, take your feet on your shoulders. After all, with such earnings as one has in the NHL, such a high yield is not even necessary. If you manage to earn 10 million dollars in the NHL during your career, then a return of six percent per year is more than enough for you. That is 600 thousand dollars, i.e. some 14 million crowns. If you can’t live on this money, you’re a sorry moron.
Is the financial literacy of young players improving?
I think yes. In the 1990s, the salaries of players in all American sports leagues, be it the NHL, NBA, or even the NFL, went up terribly. Many players have made big money, and there have been a lot of scary examples of guys who lost it again.
For example, basketball player Allen Iverson earned about a quarter of a billion dollars during his career. Bad friends deprived him of most of them. Fortunately, he also had a few good ones who, seeing the way he lived, took his remaining 40 million and bound him not to touch it until he was fifty. Thanks to such stories, players are perhaps more cautious today.
But there are still a lot of stories in the media about athletes who lose money and invest unwisely.
There are a lot of rich people who have also lost a lot of money, but they are not or do not want to be known in the media, so they are not written about. After all, no one would even read it. Nobody cares if someone they’ve never heard of has lost some money. That is why in the media you will find more stories of athletes. After all, people are interested in the fall and failure of someone famous. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that athletes are extra special in that they don’t know how to handle money.
For a professional hockey player like you, sport is the alpha and omega of life during your career. When a career ends, there must suddenly be a big void that needs to be filled with something. Isn’t it important for an athlete to have already thought about what to do with a lot of free time during his career?
It’s terribly important. I knew that the end of my career was very close, that it would come within a year or two at the most. That is why I also found two projects in the Czech Republic in which I invested and which are now taking up a lot of my time. You can say that I get up in the morning and go to work.
In general, it is extremely important how one handles the end of a sports career. I’ve never been a sentimental person to sit around and regret that my career could have lasted longer. After all, life after the end of a sports career is just beginning.
If you’re lucky, sports allow you to earn money and provide for your family, but life isn’t just about sports. I have children for whom I want to be a good role model, to pass on some life experiences to them, to teach them respect for other people. Someone might think that the end of my career might make me sad, but the truth is that I haven’t been as happy as I am now in a very long time.