Linsanity


Guest Mores
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Guest Mores

I just read about how Jeremy Lin just received his first ring.  But he's not really happy right now because, as a free agent, he's having trouble finding a team to take him.  I'm not sure what this is about.  But he described his situation as "rock bottom keeps getting more rock bottom for me."

So, I just looked up his net worth.  As of this year, he's worth $170 million.  That puts him in line with some of the top 10 players in the NBA.  Even if he never plays again, I'd say that means he's had a pretty good run.  So, what's the beef?

Is it just that athletes do it for the game and the fame as much as the pay(m)  -- sorry, I couldn't find a synonym for "money" that rhymed. :) .  But seriously, does he really love the game that much that he'd like to keep playing even though he's already got it made?  Why not just go cheaper on salary, just to play?

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Guest MormonGator
9 hours ago, Mores said:

I just read about how Jeremy Lin just received his first ring.  But he's not really happy right now because, as a free agent, he's having trouble finding a team to take him.  I'm not sure what this is about.  But he described his situation as "rock bottom keeps getting more rock bottom for me."

So, I just looked up his net worth.  As of this year, he's worth $170 million.  That puts him in line with some of the top 10 players in the NBA.  Even if he never plays again, I'd say that means he's had a pretty good run.  So, what's the beef?

Is it just that athletes do it for the game and the fame as much as the pay(m)  -- sorry, I couldn't find a synonym for "money" that rhymed. :) .  But seriously, does he really love the game that much that he'd like to keep playing even though he's already got it made?  Why not just go cheaper on salary, just to play?

Let's slow down a bit. I'm one of the biggest sports fans you'll ever meet. That doesn't make me an expert, but my perspective might help. 

First, lets look at the market. An athlete is only worth what the market will pay him. Just like any other job. Jeremey Lin is not worth 170 million because the market won't pay him that. So there's that. Next, he's 30, which is on the "decline" in pro basketball. No, that doesn't make him old, he's just not going to get better and there are cheaper, younger options available on the market. So a GM would probably go with that option. Why pay a 30 year old 10 million dollars when you can pay a 21 year old 3 million dollars for basically the same production? Looking deeper at the player Jeremy Lin, he's not a good defender and he's has a problem with turnovers. He's also gotten more and more injury prone as he's gotten older and for a man who relies on his athleticism more than technical basketball ability, that's a major problem, also lowering his value. 

You'd be amazed how many players are doing it for the money. I'm not going to say they don't like the game, but I've heard professional baseball players talk about how boring the game is. More than once. So the saying "They are playing for love." is sort of naive. I mention baseball because it's my addiction and passion.(Ask @mirkwood how much the Gator family loves baseball.) Usually guys who are playing for love are playing in the minor leagues and not making much money.

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Guest Mores
14 hours ago, MormonGator said:

Let's slow down a bit. I'm one of the biggest sports fans you'll ever meet. That doesn't make me an expert, but my perspective might help. 

First, lets look at the market. An athlete is only worth what the market will pay him. Just like any other job. Jeremey Lin is not worth 170 million because the market won't pay him that. So there's that. Next, he's 30, which is on the "decline" in pro basketball. No, that doesn't make him old, he's just not going to get better and there are cheaper, younger options available on the market. So a GM would probably go with that option. Why pay a 30 year old 10 million dollars when you can pay a 21 year old 3 million dollars for basically the same production? Looking deeper at the player Jeremy Lin, he's not a good defender and he's has a problem with turnovers. He's also gotten more and more injury prone as he's gotten older and for a man who relies on his athleticism more than technical basketball ability, that's a major problem, also lowering his value. 

You'd be amazed how many players are doing it for the money. I'm not going to say they don't like the game, but I've heard professional baseball players talk about how boring the game is. More than once. So the saying "They are playing for love." is sort of naive. I mention baseball because it's my addiction and passion.(Ask @mirkwood how much the Gator family loves baseball.) Usually guys who are playing for love are playing in the minor leagues and not making much money.

You might have misunderstood what I meant when I said "he's worth..."   I was speaking of his current net worth as far as his personal finances.  His salary is another matter.

I was pointing out that he seemed to be complaining about his plight (employment condition) when his net worth already has him quite secure.  So, I was wondering why he was complaining.

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Guest MormonGator
2 hours ago, Mores said:

You might have misunderstood what I meant when I said "he's worth..."   I was speaking of his current net worth as far as his personal finances.  His salary is another matter.

I was pointing out that he seemed to be complaining about his plight (employment condition) when his net worth already has him quite secure.  So, I was wondering why he was complaining.

Yeah, um, I thought you meant that, but then I checked out this website: 
 
https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-athletes/nba/jeremy-lin-net-worth/ 

His net worth is "only" 36 million, according to this website. So I checked this website: 
 

https://hoopshype.com/player/jeremy-lin/

And it said his earnings were "only" 64 million. Still way less than what you said his net worth is. So I assumed YOU were the one who misunderstood what net worth and values were.

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Guest Mores
1 hour ago, MormonGator said:

Yeah, um, I thought you meant that, but then I checked out this website: 
 
https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-athletes/nba/jeremy-lin-net-worth/ 

His net worth is "only" 36 million, according to this website. So I checked this website: 
 

https://hoopshype.com/player/jeremy-lin/

And it said his earnings were "only" 64 million. Still way less than what you said his net worth is. So I assumed YOU were the one who misunderstood what net worth and values were.

I found those websites in my search.  But my filters won't let me see those links.  The links I found were:

https://aqwebs.com/jeremy-lin-net-worth/

https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/jeremy-lin-net-worth

So, apparently, there is some "estimating" going on here.  These two sites indicated the estimate was as of 2019.  I don't see what exact dates we're talking.  But it's hard to believe he lost that much in just six months.

I guess they were considering his future earnings based on contracts.  I don't see how that can be considered an accurate accounting when he's a free agent.  But sports are not my specialty.  So, maybe that's common practice with athletes and their contracts.  I like hard numbers and hard assets.  This sounds more like the realm of derivatives.

BTW,

The "earnings" of $64 Million were from his playing.  It did not include his endorsements.

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Guest MormonGator
16 minutes ago, Mores said:

I found those websites in my search.  But my filters won't let me see those links.  The links I found were:

https://aqwebs.com/jeremy-lin-net-worth/

https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/jeremy-lin-net-worth

So, apparently, there is some "estimating" going on here.  These two sites indicated the estimate was as of 2019.  I don't see what exact dates we're talking.  But it's hard to believe he lost that much in just six months.

I guess they were considering his future earnings based on contracts.  I don't see how that can be considered an accurate accounting when he's a free agent.  But sports are not my specialty.  So, maybe that's common practice with athletes and their contracts.  I like hard numbers and hard assets.  This sounds more like the realm of derivatives.

BTW,

The "earnings" of $64 Million were from his playing.  It did not include his endorsements.

BTW, 

You '"forgot" to take off taxes. Which cuts his pay in half. 

And I highly doubt he makes that much money in endorsements. He's just not that big of a name. 

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Guest Mores
17 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

BTW, 

You '"forgot" to take off taxes. Which cuts his pay in half. 

And I highly doubt he makes that much money in endorsements. He's just not that big of a name. 

Good point with taxes.  But there are ways around that.  And it would only be about 1/3 at most.  Not half.  When talking numbers this big, 16% is quite a bit.

He's not so big now.  But he was for a while.  Four years with Nike.  Few years with Adidas.  Can't be too shabby.  Volvo, Steiner Sports, Hilfiger...

I was able to look at the Celebrity Net Worth page.  Based on the salary, that was based on 2014.  So, not sure how current that would be.  Although, I read that the $170 was achieved in 2012 https://www.forbes.com/sites/thestreet/2012/02/17/jeremy-lin-the-170-million-man/#44f363e96b2f

Could he have lost that much net worth over that time?  Amazing.

The Richest says he's worth $15 Million (2015).

Celeb Money says:

Quote

Online estimates of Jeremy Lin’s net worth vary. While it’s relatively simple to predict his income, it’s harder to know how much Jeremy has spent over the years.

Apparently so.  Even Celeb Money says his net worth is $16 Million as of 2019.  I've looked up a bunch of other sites as well.  The numbers are all over the board.  So, who the heck knows?  

Regardless.  He's got to have a nice house and several nice cars with all the trimmings.  So, even if he has as little at $16 Million in banks, funds, etc. he's not what anyone I live or work with would call "rock bottom."

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Guest MormonGator
4 minutes ago, Mores said:

And it would only be about 1/3 at most.  

Oh you are so right. There are "other ways" around paying taxes. And let me explain them to you. In order to pay about 1/3 in taxes on that income, you'd have to pay a TON of money to tax lawyers and accounts. And they ain't cheap. So you'd still only be getting 50-60% of your income. 

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Guest Mores
2 hours ago, MormonGator said:

Oh you are so right. There are "other ways" around paying taxes. And let me explain them to you. In order to pay about 1/3 in taxes on that income, you'd have to pay a TON of money to tax lawyers and accounts. And they ain't cheap. So you'd still only be getting 50-60% of your income. 

I've decided to sandwich this.

Regardless.  He's got to have a nice house and several nice cars with all the trimmings.  So, even if he has as little as $16 Million in banks, funds, etc. he's not what anyone I live or work with would call "rock bottom."

OK.  I'm baffled at your insistence on this.  But I'll run a few things past you because people say you're a nice guy.  Yes, they really do -- despite the sharp teeth. :)  So, I'll try to be nice.

  • The top tax bracket is 37%.  Because of lower tax brackets that one has to go through, the effective tax rate is less than that.  But looking at a list of his salaries throughout the years, it looks like he'd have an average of around 34% or maybe 35% -- effective tax rate (just a rough visual estimate).  This "at most" that I referred to was if you simply put your numbers into TurboTax and did it yourself. It does not involve tax attorneys or accountants.
  • If you hire tax attorneys and accountants, one rule anyone with money uses is: Will it be cheaper to pay the government or pay these guys?  If what you imply is true (that they cost more than they save over the taxes if you were to do it yourself) then I don't know why you'd want to hire them at that kind of opportunity cost.  Granted, using the most favorable numbers between yours and mine, we're only talking about 5%.  You were originally talking about half.  And I'm just not seeing half, even if he did it through turbotax, himself.  I could do my taxes myself.  But I simply don't have time.  That's why I hire someone else (motivation).  But I never pay more than I would save beyond having my wife do it through Turbotax -- in terms of opportunity cost.
  • There are plenty of really straight forward things you can do to cut taxes that are not "iffy".  They're really clear.  Not under the table.  Easy to apply.  Many people do them quite easily.  And it is all above board.  The only question is if one would educate oneself and then confirm it with a professional or two.  Which brings me to the next point.
  • He's not just an athlete.  He's also a philanthropist who has set up a charitable foundation which his family runs.  Sounds like a great tax shelter to me.  I don't know much about his family.  But I would have to guess that if his family is running it, they would need to know a few things about taxes, business models, investing, managing finances, etc.

Regardless.  He's got to have a nice house and several nice cars with all the trimmings.  So, even if he has as little as $16 Million in banks, funds, etc. he's not what anyone I live or work with would call "rock bottom."

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Guest MormonGator
7 minutes ago, Mores said:

  But I'll run a few things past you because people say you're a nice guy.

Don't believe everything you hear. 

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Guest MormonGator
14 minutes ago, Mores said:

I'm quaking by my calculator with reptilian terror.

It was a joke, not a threat. I'm very grateful that you've heard nice things about me. But they aren't true. 😉

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On 7/29/2019 at 5:37 AM, Mores said:

Is it just that athletes do it for the game and the fame as much as the pay(m)  -- sorry, I couldn't find a synonym for "money" that rhymed. :) .

Do they do it for:

  • The hops and the pops as much as the chops?
  • The fun and the sun as much as the mon?
  • The spin and the sin as much as the skin?
  • The rub and the stub as much as the grub?
  • The scene and the preen as much as the green?

I think that last one might work best.

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Guest Mores
3 hours ago, MormonGator said:

It was a joke, not a threat. I'm very grateful that you've heard nice things about me. But they aren't true. 😉

No worries.  That's how I took it.

Self deprication is not a stranger to me.

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Guest Mores
2 hours ago, Vort said:

Do they do it for:

  • The hops and the pops as much as the chops?
  • The fun and the sun as much as the mon?
  • The spin and the sin as much as the skin?
  • The rub and the stub as much as the grub?
  • The scene and the preen as much as the green?

I think that last one might work best.

I like 1,2,&5.

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