How does a professional athlete sign a contract and earn a certain amount of money but have a lower net worth than the amount they earned?

Question

I was looking over the net worth of a specific baseball player and it says his net worth is between $6 million-$15 million. But in the same article it says he earned $51 million playing four seasons in the majors. If he earned $51 million how is his net worth $15 million max?

In: 5

Answer 1

[Another relevant article](https://www.abi.org/feed-item/how-athletes-go-bankrupt-at-an-alarming-rate)

This one looks at their financial situation on retirement, but the same principles can apply to active athletes.