Allen Iverson went from globally-adored NBA icon to broke, divorced, and exiled sports tragedy. Known as the face of a generation, A.I. earned over $200 million during his 15-year NBA career and blew it all. Seems impossible, but that’s what made the 11-time All-Star shine on the court—him doing exactly that.
Here are seven reasons why Allen Iverson went broke. Take a look.
Financially-reckless
He traveled everywhere with a 50-person entourage and showered “friends”/family with extravagant gifts, houses, cars and boats they’ll never use. Every day, he woke up, hungover, in a new Bugatti, Bentley or Maybach and blew millions on jewelry and lavish mansions.
His monthly expenses AFTER declaring for Bankruptcy? $10,000/month on clothes. $10,000/month on groceries. $10,000/month on entertainment/dining out. $1,000/month on dry cleaning.
Terrible Asset Management + Financial Illiteracy
The best pound-for-pound NBA player, maybe ever, signed a six-year max contract worth $70.9 million in 1999 along with a $50 million lifetime endorsement deal with Reebok. In ’09, he earned $20 million just to skip practices and party in Atlanta while “injured” after being traded from Denver to Detroit.
15 years. $200 million. But no savings, trust funds or key investments? Incredible.
Too Rich, Too Fast
He literally started from the bottom in Hampton, Va and rose to superstardom. For years, he was the NBA’s most popular player with a top-selling jersey and no idea how to manage millions.
Obsessive Gambling
He blew over $1 million in a single evening of gambling in Atlantic City on several occasions until he was banned due to unpaid debts. After years of reckless gambling while wasted, he spiraled into a $150 million hole.
Mortgage Crisis Casualty
He purchased his lavish six-bedroom, nine-bathroom Denver mansion for $3.875 million in 2008 (before his career crumbled) that later fell into foreclosure, and sold for $2.85 million. Do the math.
Nasty Divorce
His ex-wife Tawanna demanded alimony and child support for their five children after years of emotional-abuse and cheating during last year’s divorce proceedings. In a December 2012 court filing, A.I. revealed that his monthly income is $62,500 with monthly expenses over $360,000
Of that $360k, approximately $125,749.33 goes to various creditors, jewelers and past-due mortgage payments.
Pride
After his steep fall from grace, several NBA teams offered him small roles but he declined, still believing he was a starter. Soon, teams stopped calling and the greatest small guard ever was left unemployed and broken.
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