The NFL is one of the most popular sports and is also one of the most profitable ones. From coaches to players, insane amounts of money are involved with big contracts. Most of these players also get married due to their huge net worth attracting many women.
However, many of those players also face problems financially and personally after their careers are over despite being so rich. Recently, a statistic has brought renewed attention to the problems many of them face after their career is over.
Statistic shows high rate of divorce and financial loss among NFL players
A recent stat revealed by MLFootball has shown that around 60-80% of NFL players get divorced. The figure is not new, but rather recycled from a 2009 New York Times article. It used polls, evidence, and studies to find this figure, and also investigated the causes of divorces which they found to be many. Many other articles challenge this figure with some going for a modest 20-30% or a more moderate range of 40-50%.
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; General view as musician Charlie Puth performs the national anthem before Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Carlos Barria/Reuters via Imagn Images
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; General view as musician Charlie Puth performs the national anthem before Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Carlos Barria/Reuters via Imagn Images
The reasons include factors like being unfaithful to their partners or vice versa, inability to cope with lifestyle, financial stress after retirement, extensive travel and distance as well as the spouses being opportunistic.
Another stat also shows that a large percentage of players fall into financial mismanagement and lose all their money after their careers are over. While there is not an exact figure, it is estimated to be in the upper ranges, with one source from 2015 saying that 78% of players go broke after two years of their retirement. The two main reasons attributed were joblessness and divorce, which correlates to the previous divorce statistic.
Divorces often involve huge payouts for the spouses which creates financial problems for the players, and not having a job after retirement also compounds that. A lot of fans think that both the players and their partners are to blame for this recurrent and huge problem.
Fans criticize NFL players for high rate of divorce and financial loss
Many fans mocked the NFL players for being irresponsible not only with their money but also their choices which include their choice of partner. The comments were full of this sentiment being expressed.
One user said, “The more money the man has, the more likely you’ll suffer a divorce. There’s too much money on the table.”
A second user wrote, “Imagine getting paid millions to play catch and still failing at the one thing most normal people with 9-to-5s manage to do: stay married and keep a bank account. This isn’t ‘lifestyle challenges,’ it’s just poor character. Next.”
A third replied, “More Money, More Divorce Drama”.
Another added, “Bc broads only hang around to get their $ and dudes fall for it every time. She convinces him “She’s different””.
A fifth commented, “But the women sure were there when the big bucks were flowing in… 🤔”.
A sixth remarked, “An women being whores, are only married for their money. Money gone = h** gone”.
NFL players face a huge problem in these aspects, and have to be careful to manage their money and their family life carefully.