Being one of the best in your sport doesn’t always mean millions of dollars in the bank account and luxury cars. Several Quebec athletes, with little financial support, struggle and make sacrifices in order to be able to continue practicing their discipline: working until the early hours of the morning, giving up being an owner, sleeping in a boarding house during tournaments…
The Journal offers you a series of reports on both sides of the coin: that of the richest athletes and that of the poorest athletes.
When he was drafted in Washington and signed his first contract, Benjamin St-Juste found himself a millionaire overnight. Temptations can become omnipresent, but the Quebec cornerback has always kept a cool head by taking advantage of the support of financial advisors certified by the NFL.
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From the Senior Bowl, three months before the draft, St-Juste remembers that advisors were ready to take charge of the young people to help them transition smoothly from the university world to life among the professionals.
After putting his signature at the bottom of a contract earning him 5.1 million for four years, his life changed completely. St-Juste was reminded by his advisor to stay grounded because an NFL career can end as quickly as it began and contracts are not guaranteed.
“You have to be careful at the beginning though because sometimes you talk with veterans who are on their second or third contract and it’s no longer the same reality. You can’t afford the same things. You always have to look at your own situation,” St-Juste told Journal.
Some treats
The former Old Montreal Spartans started with an annual salary of $660,000. Next season will be the last on his contract and will bring him 3.1 million.
The one who will be a father in July recently bought a house in Fort Myers, on the west coast of Florida, as well as a Porsche Turbo S. He had finished paying off the Audi he had bought in his first year contract and sold it.
“The Porsche is a vehicle that I want to keep for a few years and with my current salary, it’s not exaggerated. I won’t be the type to buy two or three cars or carry around high interest rates for several years.
“There is a lot of danger of slipping into excess. To believe that all players listen to the letter of their financial advisor would be false. My advisor makes me think about everything, and the worst thing is going overboard. You should not start buying a car for yourself, for your wife, for your father, for example,” he points out.
Always well anchored
St-Juste does not hesitate to treat himself to luxury, without multiplying expenses in a vacuum.
“You must reap rewards for your efforts, without going overboard. For some, it’s never enough. You have to find a balance between the new life you are living and the one you led before. Otherwise, whether you have 4 million or 400 million, it will disappear.
“I may make a few million, but that doesn’t change the value of money that my parents instilled in me. If my sandwich costs eight dollars delivered, I’m going to get up and go get it. Often, people lose this notion because they make too much money and their funds slowly decrease for everything and nothing,” recalls the cornerback who could get big money from his second contract next March.
Lost fortunes
Photo credit: Getty Images via AFP
Without naming names, even though he has only been in the NFL for three years, Benjamin St-Juste has already witnessed or heard horror stories about wealthy players who lost everything by snapping their fingers.
“I have acquaintances who have made it to the XFL and who continue to have the same lifestyle as when they played in the NFL. They go to restaurants all the time, they look at big houses, they change cars all the time. The problem is that the same money is no longer coming in. I know people who had to fill out bankruptcy forms because there was not $1,000 left in their checking account,” he says.
One thing is certain, St-Juste says he is fully aware that his reality has nothing to do with that of many amateur athletes, but he can do nothing about it.
“I cannot consider myself responsible for this system. I work hard and what I am given is according to market value. I don’t know many who would turn down an NFL salary. Unfortunately, everything is relative to the environment in which you operate. I appreciate everything I have, but I know it can all be over next year or after my next contract.”
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2024-05-19 23:30:00
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