Total Pro Sports
If someone handed you a check for $600,000, you’d be set for a while, right? Well, not exactly, especially if you’re in the NFL.
As training camps heat up and players gear up for the preseason, one veteran lineman just peeled back the curtain on a problem that doesn’t show up on stat sheets. It’s not about injuries or contracts. It’s about money, and the fact that many players don’t have any of it left.
The league’s first preseason game kicks off Thursday night with the Lions and Chargers squaring off in the Hall of Fame Game. Trey Lance, a former No. 3 overall pick, will be under center for Los Angeles. But while everything seems to be fine on the field, there’s a growing issue in the shadows.
Breiden Fehoko, a 28-year-old lineman who’s been around the league, revealed it. He shared a brutally honest post on social media that stunned fans but hit home for many players.
“I watched teammates spend a year worth of salary (600k ish) some even more post taxes and have nothing right before the start of the season,” Fehoko wrote. “Nobody will admit it but there’s guys in the league on big contracts right now that are figuratively broke. Liquidating assets as we speak.”
I watched teammates spend a year worth of salary (600k ish) some even more post taxes and have nothing right before the start of the season. Nobody will admit it but there’s guys in the league on big contracts right now that are figuratively broke. Liquidating assets as we speak. https://t.co/ABuwKN76Xw
— Breiden Fehoko (@BreidenFehoko) July 29, 2025
That’s not a rookie blowing his first check at the club. That’s grown men, with families and homes, running out of cash, sometimes before Week 1.
Fehoko explained that careers in the NFL are fragile. “Someone in a higher power has the ability to change the trajectory of your life for better or worse. Most times you could do everything right and all it takes is your boss just not liking you,” he said. “You could go from retiring at 30 to pushing carts at Target at 26.”
The numbers back him up. Studies estimate that around 75 percent of NFL players face financial hardship after their careers. About 15 percent go bankrupt within 12 years of retiring. That’s not a footnote, that’s a crisis.
Yes, top quarterbacks are signing deals worth over $50 million a year. But most players don’t see anything close to that. And even when they do, bad habits, bad advice, and short careers can drain it fast.
The league has started investing more into financial literacy, but change takes time. For now, being rich in the NFL isn’t as common as fans might think. And no one’s talking about it.
Also Read: Massive Scandal Looming As NFL Reportedly Punishes 100 Players & 24 Employees
