/christophers-website-6418/images/CPT103405967_hd-u6ad8.jpeg)
Chris Pronger Launches Twitter Account Sharing Experiences
/christophers-website-6418/the_sport_marketeer_-_chris_pronger_shares_financials_stories-e0d70.png)
In his prime, Chris Pronger was the best all-around defenceman in the NHL. Those who never had a chance to watch him play missed a player who could do it all for a very long time. Playing in over 1100 games in his career, Pronger is known as one of the best defencemen in NHL history and even made the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players list in 2017.
Although it’s been ten years since we’ve last seen Pronger on the ice, he’s continued to be involved in various positions within the sport. He previously worked with the NHL assisting its Player Safety Division before moving to the Florida Panthers as a Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations after his contract ended in 2017. It’s safe to say that he’s kept himself busy in retirement from professional hockey.
After setting up his Twitter account in December of 2021, Pronger had a measly 20k followers up until last week when he decided to share some advice and information with the hockey community surrounding financial advice and player salaries. In a Twitter thread, Pronger explained the three problems he’s seen with an average athlete’s financial management:
Athletes often believe that their careers will last forever and the money will continue to come in when in reality they’re always one bad injury from retirement.
Financial advisors and lawyers will look to take advantage of professional athletes wherever they can.
Many players struggle with taking care of close circle and often fall into the trap of hiring unqualified friends, investing in unprofitable businesses with family, and spending way too much on entertainment
In another thread, Pronger broke down an NHL player’s salary expense by expense and explained how a player earning $6 million per year takes home much less than that. After deducting escrow (~10% or $600,000), federal taxes (~37% or $2,000,000), local taxes (~8% or $432,000), and agent fees (~3% or $162,000), a $6 million salary only nets $2.8 million. That’s also not including other necessities for professional athletes such as housing, personal trainers and chiropractors, vehicles, and nutritionists that Pronger estimates to be over $200,000 per year.
Regardless of if you’re a fan of Chris Pronger or the NHL, any sports fan or athlete should take a moment to think about these figures. It’s crazy to see how much of what is seemingly an incredible salary is taken away quickly. Combined with the fact that most players never even consider asking for a $6 salary (Pronger estimates the average NHL salary to be $2 million), athletes have to be increasingly careful of where they spend their money. Maximizing your potential on the ice should be your coach's job, but off the ice, the responsibility falls on the athlete to make smart decisions and save money for the future. With so many emerging opportunities for personal growth, creating a brand for yourself outside of your sports career has never been more important for athletes.
With the positive feedback coming from the sports community after Pronger shared his insights (his account grew to 110k followers, gaining 90k followers since April 5), it’d be no surprise if he continued to share his advice in the coming weeks. You can check out Chris Pronger’s recent comments on his Twitter page.
Published: April 15, 2022 - Issue 34 of The Sport Marketeer