When high income is not enough

Photo by Pixabay

As children and young adults, many people imagine life as a professional athlete. The appeal is obvious: talent rewarded at the highest level, public recognition and earnings that most households could never expect to see. Yet professional sport offers one of the clearest demonstrations that high income alone does not create long-term financial security.

Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 15.7% of NFL players file for bankruptcy within 12 years of retirement. Similar patterns appear across other leagues. In hockey, the story is not materially different. The average NHL salary is over $3 million dollars per year and the typical career lasts roughly four to five years, creating lifetime earnings that can reach well into the millions even for non-star players. Despite that, financial strain is common, with former players and league observers noting that a meaningful proportion of athletes experience financial difficulty after their careers end. High-profile cases reinforce the point that substantial earnings over a short period do not reliably translate into long-term stability.

The issue is not income. It is the ability to manage income over time, particularly when it is earned quickly, under pressure and within environments that encourage spending and risk-taking.

That same pattern is now visible well beyond professional sport, particularly as access to financial risk has expanded through digital platforms and app-based services. In the United States, sports betting has scaled rapidly, with total wagering reaching into the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. In Canada, Ontario alone has reported tens of billions in wagers through its regulated iGaming market. These are not marginal activities but normalized financial behaviors taking place at significant scale.

The environment in which that activity occurs has also changed. Gambling is no longer confined to casinos or betting shops. It now exists inside the same devices people use for banking, payments and investing, with app design reducing friction, shortening decision cycles and encouraging repeated engagement. What once required deliberate effort now happens in seconds, often without the same sense of risk that accompanied more traditional settings.

Research increasingly shows that this shift matters. The expansion of online sports betting has been associated with higher bankruptcy rates, increased debt in collections and rising delinquencies, particularly among younger consumers. These financial consequences tend to emerge over time rather than immediately, which makes them harder for households to detect early.

The common thread across both professional sport and consumer behavior is not simply access to money or risk but the gap between access and the ability to manage it.

Across both the United States and Canada, financial literacy levels remain close to 50%, a figure that has changed little over the past decade according to organizations such as the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. At the same time, the financial environment has become more complex. Consumers now navigate traditional banking alongside fintech platforms, app-based financial services, buy-now-pay-later products and self-directed investment tools, all competing for attention and trust with varying levels of transparency and protection.

Cryptocurrency adds another layer. It is widely discussed and often perceived as accessible, yet it does not provide the safeguards people associate with insured deposits or regulated institutions. The collapse of FTX illustrated that gap clearly, as billions in customer funds were lost and even high-profile investors, including professional athletes such as Tom Brady, were drawn into the platform and suffered significant losses. As these tools expand, the pace of financial innovation often exceeds the pace of financial understanding.

This is not limited to younger cohorts. Older adults are increasingly exposed to unfamiliar financial tools, digital interfaces and sophisticated scams, often at a stage when financial recovery is more difficult. In Canada, reported fraud losses have reached into the hundreds of millions annually, while in the United States older adults are disproportionately affected by certain types of scams. The financial impact often extends beyond the individual to family members who step in to help.

In this context, financial literacy becomes an ongoing requirement that evolves alongside changing financial products, risks and behaviors. The need for practical, accessible education extends across age groups, income levels and life stages.

At the same time, there are signs that how people want to learn and engage is shifting. Commentators and researchers increasingly point to a growing appetite for more human, more analog experiences in response to years of digital saturation. As social media has scaled, so too has a sense of isolation, prompting people to seek out environments that feel more personal and more trusted. This has implications for how financial education is delivered, particularly in balancing digital reach with in-person learning.

Programs that combine digital accessibility with in-person discussion align with this shift. Video-based learning provides reach and consistency, while classroom settings and facilitated sessions are often where understanding is reinforced and confidence is built. The combination reflects how people are choosing to engage rather than forcing them into a purely digital model. 

There is also a workplace dimension emerging. Employers are increasingly acting as informal financial coaches, responding to employee demand for guidance on debt, savings, benefits and financial stress. This shift is occurring not because employers are seeking it but because employees are looking for trusted sources of support. For credit unions, this creates a clear opportunity to engage through trusted, community-based channels.

Community-based financial education delivered through schools, workplaces and local organizations allows credit unions to engage individuals early, often before major financial habits are formed. This approach functions as structured, long-term member development built on early engagement and sustained trust. It creates relevance in environments where financial decisions are beginning to take shape.

Programs such as It’s a Money Thing are designed to operate effectively in these settings. The digital content supports scale and accessibility, while classroom and group delivery create the interaction that leads to behavioral change. The result is not just improved financial knowledge but stronger relationships between institutions and the communities they serve.

Over time, the benefits align. Individuals who better understand borrowing, saving, risk and financial tools are more likely to make stable, informed decisions, while credit unions benefit from stronger member relationships, healthier portfolios and increased product engagement. The experience of professional athletes provides a useful lens, as even at income levels most households will never approach, financial outcomes depend on capability rather than earnings alone.

Financial literacy does not remove economic uncertainty but it shapes how individuals and households navigate it. For credit unions, that represents both a responsibility to their communities and a practical advantage in building stronger, more resilient member relationships.