Allen Iverson set to play Indoor Soccer

Basketball players aren’t known for their financial planning skills. The league players’ association has said that close to 60 per cent of the players end up broke within five years of retiring from the game, even though some of them made tens of millions of dollars during their playing careers.

So to hear that former all-star and future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson is looking for work isn’t too much of a headline. Iverson reportedly earned about $155 million during his 15-year career in the NBA before the taxmen took their share. However, it still means that he’s blown through millions over the past decade and a half.

It was also reported that he had a personal hairdresser travel with him and had a weak spot for jewelry. He was recently ordered by a judge in Georgia to pay one of his favourite jewelry shops the $850,000 he owes them or have his wages garnished.

But since leaving the NBA two years ago, there haven’t really been any wages to garnish. He did sign with a basketball team in Turkey for two years at $4 million, but only stayed a few months. This could perhaps be the reason Iverson has been offered a pro contract to play indoor soccer. The recent offer came from the Rochester Lancers, a New York-based team that plays in the relatively unknown Major Indoor Soccer League. What’s even stranger is that the club has just two home games remaining in their regular season.

Nonetheless, the Lancers have offered the grand sum of $40,000 to play in those two games for them.

The contract offered to Iverson would pay him $20,000 for each game and he could also earn a bonus of $5,000 for each goal that he manages to score. Bonuses for the sales of merchandise and team wins would also be worked out with him. Rich Randall, the vice president of the Lancers, explained the offer by saying in a press release that Iverson is one of the world’s best athletes and has exceptional athleticism to go along with his competitive hunger. He said, the former basketball star would fit in well with the Lancers as the team pushes for a playoff berth. He added, that Iverson’s presence would be appreciated by the team’s fans and it would give the sport of indoor soccer some good exposure.

It takes time for players to adapt to and learn the intricacies of different sports. It’s hard to pick up a ball and become a skilled player in a sport you’ve never played before. Pro soccer players even have a hard time adjusting to the indoor game from the outdoor version of the sport.

While Randall may be trying to help Iverson out by allowing him to earn some extra cash, it smells like nothing more than a publicity stunt. It’s doubtful that any MISL players would be too happy about it since they don’t earn anywhere near the money that has been offered to Iverson for just a couple of games.

Iverson is still hoping that he can return to the NBA someday soon, even if he has to play in minor league to work his way back and it’s believed that he’s been offered a deal by a Puerto Rican basketball team. If it does make it back to the NBA, he should seriously consider hiring an efficient financial advisor or pick up a pair of soccer shoes just in case.

Written by Ian Palmer