By admin 
Allen Iverson, Antoine Walker, Latrell Sprewell, and Vin Baker all made more than $100 million during their impressive NBA careers. But all four, at some point in their retirement, wasted their fortunes and declared bankruptcy.
Read more How the Cap Keeps Coming Up for the Dolphins
Thank goodness, all four have made it back on their feet, financially. But it’s crazy to think how someone would blow through $100 million just a few years after retirement.
Meanwhile, former Milwaukee Bucks point guard T.J. Ford made just half of what those guys earned during their careers, even less. However, during an interview on the “Out the Mud” podcast last year, Ford credited two-time NBA champion Sam Cassell for helping him stay afloat, without any hitches, all these years.
“Sam was the first person to sit here and tell me that if you make $50 million in this league, you should be able to be set for the rest of your life,”
“$50M, $100M, it’s all the same. And that stuck with me. Making $50 million, you should never be broke. That stuck with me to this day.”
T.J. followed Sam’s post-NBA career path
Sam helping out T.J. is quite interesting. A day after the Milwaukee Bucks drafted Ford 8th overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, they traded Cassell to the Minnesota Timberwolves to essentially give the car keys to the rookie. Still, that did not stop the veteran guard from giving his successor a crucial lesson that has helped him to this day.
Cassell made just $57 million during his NBA career, but he’s pretty much stayed out of financial trouble and has kept himself busy with basketball since retirement, taking on coaching jobs and running basketball clinics. It’s unclear if Sam also taught T.J. that, because since Ford retired, he’s been very preoccupied with hoops aside from going back to college.
T.J. has made much less, at an estimated $43 million, but there has never been any report suggesting he is financially struggling. After operating youth camps while returning to college, Ford transitioned to coaching and, in July, was hired as an assistant coach under the new Bucks head coach, Tyler Jenkins.
Related: “One of us forgot our t-ts at home” – Sophie Cunningham’s reaction after posing for a photo with Sydney Sweeney
Teague says even $5 million would do, depending on lifestyle
Like Ford, former Atlanta Hawks All-Star point guard Jeff Teague also agrees that retired NBA players don’t need hundreds of millions of dollars in salary to set themselves up for life. In fact, Teague once mentioned that $5 million or 10 percent of the amount that Ford mentioned was more than enough.
“Y’all can live off of $5 million for the rest of your life. Cus’ Cause if you get $5 million off of interest, you got a good financial guy, financial investor. You buy a crib for two million after taxes. Just even if you put $250,000 in an investment account, you will never spend it in your life, depending on the way you live. Your returns every year can make your life; you’ll never have to spend none of your money just based on your returns,” Teague
Whether it’s $5 million or $50 million, Teague is correct that everything depends on the player’s post-retirement lifestyle. Safe to say, both Ford and Teague aren’t billionaires like Michael Jordan, LeBron James or Magic Johnson.
However, they’ve never been reported to have experienced financial struggles, unlike many who made much more than they did and ended up going broke. Again, it’s the lifestyle and mindset.
Related: “All money isn’t good money” – Angel Reese explains why she turns down endorsement deals
Read more Raiders’ Kubiak Takes No Prisoners in Blunt Team Assessment
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 5:31 AM.