Personal Finance

Simple Math to See if You Have An Age-Appropriate Nest Egg - WSJ.com

This WSJ column, "Getting Going Simple Math to See if You Have An Age-Appropriate Nest Egg" focuses on hiw much you need to save if you are 45.  I won't be 45 for nearly 20 years, so I'm not so worried about the actual detail.  That aside, the column opens with "It's halftime. What's the score?"

I think this unintentionally raises the question of what the math looks like for star athletes.  What would our model have to look like for a football player?

It would have to take into account several important elements:

  1. Retirement from the game and retirement from "work" could be 20 to 30 years apart
  2. Declining income level as retirement nears
  3. A trend that could partially reverse itself with a bunch of endorsement deals or coaching after player's retirement