Milwaukee Bucks owner Wes Edens providing financial advice to players

Milwaukee Bucks owner Wes Edens has been offering advice and counseling on financial planning and management to players, having grown concerned about the number of NBA players who find themselves in financial trouble during and after their careers, the Milwaukee Business Journal reported this morning.

Edens, a hedge fund manager who purchased the team for $550 million this spring with another hedge fund executive, said recently that he had begun working with players to equip them to manage the millions of dollars they can make during their time in the league.

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Edens felt the issue was pertinent for Milwaukee, as the team has three 19-year-olds who, just a few years out of high school, don't have experience with important financial decisions.

"I want to help guys out to understand financially how to be in a better place," Edens said. "I know when I was 22 (years old), I made a lot of bad decisions."

According to Edens, more than 50 percent of NBA players file bankruptcy after they leave the league.

A GQ report this spring found that within five years of their retirement from the NBA or NFL, 60 to 80 percent of players face bankruptcy, "despite making an average of $5.15 million and $1.9 million per season, respectively."

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Edens said he invited Milwaukee players to his summer home in Martha's Vineyard in August for presentations on financial and money management strategies.

Edens is founder and co-chairman of Fortress Investment Group, an asset managment company worth $62 billion. Prior to that, he was partner and managing director of BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.

- Christopher Woody