ESPN's 30 for 30 tackles the issue of star players who burnt through their fortunes without considering retirement. Basically little more than dozens of talking heads with a fancy background, interspersed with cutaways to Cribs-style tours of their spoils during better times, it doesn't paint a particularly sympathetic portrait of anyone involved. The producers make a concerted effort to address some causes behind this widespread symptom of sudden fame, and raise a few issues that hadn't previously occurred to me, but ultimately it's agreed by all that the bulk of the blame for these identical downfalls lies on the athletes' shoulders. Many of the subjects' eyes light up so brightly upon recounting their tales of excess, which is really all they're left with, that it's quite obvious they'd gladly do it all over again. It's an important topic, and would be worthwhile viewing for any rookie about to cash his first paycheck, but for the rest of us it's a tad long-winded and indulgent.
9 Reviews
Engrossing and illuminating
Woodyanders27 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This documentary on how professional athletes in such sports as football and basketball who makes millions of dollars as both contract players and through endorsements, but nonetheless still wind up losing all their money and going broke within a few years after retiring from sports is quite an eye-opener. It turns out the fiercely competitive nature of these men which enables them to excel at sports proves to be a fatal Achilles' heel when it comes to money and business, as they blow their cash on such stuff as cars, big fancy houses, equally fancy suits, expensive jewelry, and, of course, women. It's especially painful to hear the horror stories from these men who fall prey to not only shady agents and financial advisers, but also their own family and friends. This documentary points out with bracing clarity the tremendous perils inherent in getting too much too soon in life, especially if you're a young person in your early 20's with no real sense of accountability. Fascinating stuff.
Every young athlete should watch this...at least twice!
planktonrules13 April 2013
I have known for a long time that about 1/3 of all lottery winners eventually will declare bankruptcy. In some cases, folks who have received $100,000,000 or more STILL have managed to lose all their money!! Little did I know that for professional athletes, the statistics are FAR worse! According to a 'Sports Illustrated' article, MOST basketball and football players are bankrupt or nearly bankrupt within just a few years of retirement. To illustrate this, "Broke" interviews tons of athletes--those who made wise investments and those who were foolish and lost it all. All in all, a very compelling show and one I wish all young athletes who dream of going pro would be forced to watch--at least a couple times, as young folks too often feel invulnerable and the message might not sink in the first time!! Well made and VERY compelling stuff.
True Reality!
duke1265111 December 2012
I have now seen this 30 for 30 on three different occasions. ESPN continues to walk that line with the athletes it, in a way, represents on and off the court. Again, they dive into a world that we know about, but have no idea about. This film finally shows us what happens when the famous ball players we now know get their contracts. They finally show us what happens when they hit the big money. And they finally show us what happens when they lose it all.
From a sports fan, I have been hearing about the ones that lost all of their money only a few shorts years after they earned it. I've heard about the Mike Tyson's and Curt Schillings, who've made poor investments and poor purchases. Billy Corbin does a fantastic job at sitting these athletes down, past and current, and asking them the questions we've all wanted answers to. The, "what did you spend it on?" The, "How could you have possibly blown it all?" And the, "What do you mean you had no idea or didn't see it coming?"
Through a unique set of sit down interviews, Corbin and ESPN manage to cut a glimpse of film in the eye of the once was athlete. This documentary manages to put us in their shoes and offer up some sympathy, but it also shows us first hand how bad this situation actually is. Even interviewees such as Herm Edwards, someone who speaks at the rookie symposium on economics they call it, knows it doesn't make a difference. This film manages to show us the root of the problem, not the end result of a tree we already know has died and gone bankrupt.
I really enjoyed watching this film and will most likely do so again. It is another unique perspective ESPN provides us with that we wouldn't have seen before. They answer many questions that we have all had. However, they have opened up many more questions we all now have. It isn't about, "how did this happen?" It is about, "how is this continuing to happen."
From a sports fan, I have been hearing about the ones that lost all of their money only a few shorts years after they earned it. I've heard about the Mike Tyson's and Curt Schillings, who've made poor investments and poor purchases. Billy Corbin does a fantastic job at sitting these athletes down, past and current, and asking them the questions we've all wanted answers to. The, "what did you spend it on?" The, "How could you have possibly blown it all?" And the, "What do you mean you had no idea or didn't see it coming?"
Through a unique set of sit down interviews, Corbin and ESPN manage to cut a glimpse of film in the eye of the once was athlete. This documentary manages to put us in their shoes and offer up some sympathy, but it also shows us first hand how bad this situation actually is. Even interviewees such as Herm Edwards, someone who speaks at the rookie symposium on economics they call it, knows it doesn't make a difference. This film manages to show us the root of the problem, not the end result of a tree we already know has died and gone bankrupt.
I really enjoyed watching this film and will most likely do so again. It is another unique perspective ESPN provides us with that we wouldn't have seen before. They answer many questions that we have all had. However, they have opened up many more questions we all now have. It isn't about, "how did this happen?" It is about, "how is this continuing to happen."
Turns out pro atheletes are just as likely to lose their shirts as lotto winners
IClaudius726 January 2019
Unlike many of the reviewers opinions here, they did not see
the human element of what was going on. The Pro athletes
we love are just as vulnerable as the rest of us, and maybe
more so because their time to make money is SO FLEETING.
In one way, you feel that they should have taken better care not to get fleeced. Unfortunately, many of them have target signs painted on their backs by society. Screw me because I am in the sports industry and making scads of money. On the other hand, everyone, including relatives are PARASITES looking to suck the blood of the rewards of their talents dry.
THIS was clearly an eye-opener. They people they trusted the most were to ones to take advantage of them and steal their money. By analogy, many laws have been enacted to protect children by requiring parents and guardians to put monies into trust accounts from damages won in court proceedings due to the minors injured in accident cases. Many child actors were fleeced by their own parents in the early Hollywood days. As a result, many jurisdictions passed laws to protect the kids until they were of age to hire attorneys to protect their interests.
Many athletes are simply not prepared to deal with the sudden onset of money. They don't have a clue to know how to deal with the fame and parasites coming out of the woodwork after them. Because of this documentary, many now are attending classes to help them transition to responsible money handling. The issue will always be, who can you trust ? They are like the lotto winner who without proper education stands to lose all that money. See this and ask yourself honestly, would you do any better than some who lost it all due to lack of preparedness ???
In one way, you feel that they should have taken better care not to get fleeced. Unfortunately, many of them have target signs painted on their backs by society. Screw me because I am in the sports industry and making scads of money. On the other hand, everyone, including relatives are PARASITES looking to suck the blood of the rewards of their talents dry.
THIS was clearly an eye-opener. They people they trusted the most were to ones to take advantage of them and steal their money. By analogy, many laws have been enacted to protect children by requiring parents and guardians to put monies into trust accounts from damages won in court proceedings due to the minors injured in accident cases. Many child actors were fleeced by their own parents in the early Hollywood days. As a result, many jurisdictions passed laws to protect the kids until they were of age to hire attorneys to protect their interests.
Many athletes are simply not prepared to deal with the sudden onset of money. They don't have a clue to know how to deal with the fame and parasites coming out of the woodwork after them. Because of this documentary, many now are attending classes to help them transition to responsible money handling. The issue will always be, who can you trust ? They are like the lotto winner who without proper education stands to lose all that money. See this and ask yourself honestly, would you do any better than some who lost it all due to lack of preparedness ???
Takes an interesting subject but doesn't do enough with it
bob the moo26 January 2013
Broke is a film that looks at the sudden boom in the wages of athletes and the impact that overnight going from minimum wage to a multi-million dollar contract can have. On one hand it is a film that sort of needs us to feel sorry for young men who are given wealth beyond the grasp of the vast majority of us but on the other hand it is a serious subject that does need someone to deal with it. As the film observes, often it is people from lower-income backgrounds who have little background in managing larger sums of money who end up winning the lottery overnight with no idea of what to do with it and the impression that it will last forever. Suffice to say that I was interested to see a film that could overcome the "screw them" factor and present the reality in a factual and interesting way.
Sadly this isn't the film to do that – even though it does have its moments. The film starts out with a good collection of talking heads discussing the spending, the views, the habits and the naïvity of some athletes when it comes to money and as this is discussed there are details and real examples to back up these experiences. Problem is – throughout the film it is presented in a very lively and upbeat way; this makes it more accessible as a film but at the same time it undermines itself as a documentary. This isn't helped by many of those who are contributing cannot help but enjoy relating their stories of excess and fun – so while they appear to be making the point of "don't do what I did", their smiles and spark in their eyes seem to suggest that they would live that high-life again in a split second if they got the chance. Some are worse than others but the majority are like this and it is hard to take the film seriously when the contributors come over like they are telling stories about the time they got drunk – full of remorse about the hangover the next morning but gleefully telling the story to anyone who will listen.
It is still an interesting subject though and, although the film could have done a lot more, there is still quite a bit of value in here. It falls short of the mark by some way but it is worth a look because it does have pace and entertainment value even if it should have had much more to say than it ultimately does.
Sadly this isn't the film to do that – even though it does have its moments. The film starts out with a good collection of talking heads discussing the spending, the views, the habits and the naïvity of some athletes when it comes to money and as this is discussed there are details and real examples to back up these experiences. Problem is – throughout the film it is presented in a very lively and upbeat way; this makes it more accessible as a film but at the same time it undermines itself as a documentary. This isn't helped by many of those who are contributing cannot help but enjoy relating their stories of excess and fun – so while they appear to be making the point of "don't do what I did", their smiles and spark in their eyes seem to suggest that they would live that high-life again in a split second if they got the chance. Some are worse than others but the majority are like this and it is hard to take the film seriously when the contributors come over like they are telling stories about the time they got drunk – full of remorse about the hangover the next morning but gleefully telling the story to anyone who will listen.
It is still an interesting subject though and, although the film could have done a lot more, there is still quite a bit of value in here. It falls short of the mark by some way but it is worth a look because it does have pace and entertainment value even if it should have had much more to say than it ultimately does.
Good Content, Horrible Format
noahcoburn13 August 2015
This has to be one of the worst-made documentaries I've ever seen. The information is interesting, but the format of pretty much nothing but staged interviews doesn't really allow you to connect with any one storyline, and connect with the pain of any one player's fall to bankruptcy.
It ends up coming across like a neverending string of former athletes bragging about all the millions of dollars they wasted on stupid purchases.
Also, the non-stop cheesy background music makes this documentary extremely annoying to watch. This is the second time I've tried to watch it, and I'm not sure I'll even finish it this time.
It ends up coming across like a neverending string of former athletes bragging about all the millions of dollars they wasted on stupid purchases.
Also, the non-stop cheesy background music makes this documentary extremely annoying to watch. This is the second time I've tried to watch it, and I'm not sure I'll even finish it this time.
Too Much Too Soon
Michael_Elliott1 November 2012
30 for 30: Broke (2012)
*** (out of 4)
The first in a new lineup of "30 FOR 30" films takes a look at how athletes make millions of dollars during their playing careers but soon after retirement they find themselves dead broke and no hope for the future. Bernie Kosar, Keith McCants, Jamal Mashburn, Andre Rison, Cliff Floyd, Curt Schilling and various others are interviewed as they discuss all the great times that came with making millions of dollars but also what led them to losing it all. This is director Billy Corben's second venture into this series and it's funny that he also did THE U, about the Miami football program, because both films pretty much dealt with athletes, greed, a rise and a fall. BROKE is certainly an interesting story simply because you actually get to see so many familiar faces and I'm not sure to feel bad for them for being broke or jealous because they did have years of great success and riches. I think the biggest problem with the movie is that structure because we pretty much get each person sitting in a chair, looking at the camera and telling their story. The stories are broken up from their bonus deals, the first big item they bought, money blown, strippers, bad investments, baby mamas and of course what finally put the nail in their coffin. The lack of a real story structure hurt the film somewhat as certain segments just seem to go on way too long and after a while it's clear the viewer gets the point yet the same stories keep coming. Still, this is still worth watching but it's no where near the best the series has had to offer.
*** (out of 4)
The first in a new lineup of "30 FOR 30" films takes a look at how athletes make millions of dollars during their playing careers but soon after retirement they find themselves dead broke and no hope for the future. Bernie Kosar, Keith McCants, Jamal Mashburn, Andre Rison, Cliff Floyd, Curt Schilling and various others are interviewed as they discuss all the great times that came with making millions of dollars but also what led them to losing it all. This is director Billy Corben's second venture into this series and it's funny that he also did THE U, about the Miami football program, because both films pretty much dealt with athletes, greed, a rise and a fall. BROKE is certainly an interesting story simply because you actually get to see so many familiar faces and I'm not sure to feel bad for them for being broke or jealous because they did have years of great success and riches. I think the biggest problem with the movie is that structure because we pretty much get each person sitting in a chair, looking at the camera and telling their story. The stories are broken up from their bonus deals, the first big item they bought, money blown, strippers, bad investments, baby mamas and of course what finally put the nail in their coffin. The lack of a real story structure hurt the film somewhat as certain segments just seem to go on way too long and after a while it's clear the viewer gets the point yet the same stories keep coming. Still, this is still worth watching but it's no where near the best the series has had to offer.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
