I’m not going to pretend to be an economic expert. I have never taken any classes in economics, personal finance or in contract law. But I feel like I have a grasp on at least a small sense of reality and a basic ability to crunch some numbers.
That’s why this story about Latrell Sprewell had me scratching my head. Years ago when Spree complained about not being able to support his family with a 3 year, $21 million contract I just thought he was crazy. Apparently, he’s so bad at money management that $21 million is nowhere close to what he needs to scrape by.
Take this latest news. He sells is $1.5 million yacht and his house is in danger of foreclosure. Read further and you see that he’s only paid $200,000 on the yacht. Then there’s the $110,000 he’s paid on a $405,000 house.
To recap, on what are probably two of the biggest purchases in his life, Spree has paid $310,000 of close to $2 million that he owes.
That’s from a man who made $14 million in the same year he turned down that $21 million deal.
$14 million in one year. He has played 13 seasons in the NBA. Even at the NBA’s minimum salary, Sprewell should have plenty to cover those costs. Or maybe buying a $1.5 million yacht isn’t the best idea to begin with.
But that brings up the question of just where all of that cash went. I don’t know the man or anyone who does. Frankly, I don’t feel like taking some time on Google to find out more about his habits. I’d much rather speculate on what Spree is buying.
I bet he has at least one llama. Maybe even a few alpacas. They’re fun and seem like the kind of thing a rich guy would buy just because he had a $14 million contract. I know I would.
What about pop rocks? I bet Spree has an entire closet full of pop rocks in all kinds of flavors. Maybe there’s that one flavor he doesn’t like, so if you’re hanging out at his house and love sour apple you’re SOL.
158 LCD monitors in his vehicle. He can only watch one of them at a time, and really there’s no need for even that. But he’s the only guy he knows with 158 of them. That’s how he rolls.
What better to watch on your 158 LCD screens in your car than every Land Before Time DVD. I think there are about 34839 of them buy now. Then throw in that he probably has one copy for the car and a separate copy of each one at home for the kids, and that’s a lot of scratch down the drain.
No ridiculous waste of money collection is complete without your very own carousel, especially one that utilizes live horses. Sure, it seems like a cool idea at first. But then they start wanting food and to be cared for. Suddenly a small investment turns into a huge money pit.
So sorry Spree. I guess I didn’t think it through when I started to criticize your money management skills. I realize now you had a lot of expensive necessities to take care of.
Say hi to the alpacas for me.
Another quick money note. Reports have Hillary Clinton loaning $5 million to her campaign. In a CNN.com story I learned it’s not exactly a new thing. John Kerry did the same in 2004. But what was enlightening was that you are allowed under campaign finance laws to charge interest to your own campaign when you are reimbursed.
Maybe Spree should have run for president.