Issue #4 | The people around your money — agents, advisors, family, and friends

A newsletter about money, athletes, and the financial life nobody prepares you for.

A quick note before we start.

In the last three issues we covered the financial mistakes most athletes make in year one, what your contract actually means for your take-home pay, and why athletes need to invest differently than everyone else.

This week we're getting into something more personal. Something most athletes know instinctively but rarely talk about openly.

The people around your money.

There is a phenomenon that every professional athlete recognises the moment I describe it.

Before you signed your first professional contract, you had a certain number of friends. A certain number of people who called, who checked in, who made time for you.

Then the money arrived.

And suddenly you had more friends than you ever remembered having.

Old classmates you hadn't heard from in years. Distant relatives who now remembered your birthday. People from your neighbourhood who always knew you were going to make it. New acquaintances who seemed genuinely interested in your life — your schedule, your plans, your finances.

Some of these people were genuine. Most meant well. A few did not.

The problem is that when you're twenty-two years old, earning real money for the first time, and everyone around you seems warm and supportive — it is almost impossible to tell the difference.

This issue is about learning to tell the difference.

Not everyone in your life has the same relationship with your finances. Understanding the four categories helps you navigate each one more clearly.

Category 1 — Paid professionals

These are the people you pay directly to manage aspects of your financial life: agents, financial advisors, accountants, lawyers.

The critical thing to understand about paid professionals is that being paid by you does not automatically mean they are working for you. Some are. Some are working primarily for themselves, with you as the vehicle.

The difference lies in how they are paid.

An agent who earns a percentage of your contract has an incentive to get you the biggest contract — which usually aligns with your interests. But that same agent may also have relationships with clubs, with sponsors, with other parties whose interests don't always align with yours.

A financial advisor who earns commission on the products they sell you has an incentive to sell you those products — regardless of whether they're the right ones for your situation. A financial advisor who charges a flat fee has no such incentive.

Before you work with any paid professional, ask one question: how exactly do you make money from this relationship?

The answer tells you everything about where their loyalty sits.

Category 2 — Family

Family is the most complicated category, because the financial dynamic is wrapped in love, obligation, history, and guilt in ways that make clear thinking almost impossible.

Most professional athletes come from families that sacrificed significantly to support their development. Parents who drove to early morning training sessions. Siblings who understood when family events were missed. Relatives who believed in you when the path was uncertain.

When the money arrives, there is a genuine and understandable desire to give back.

This is not wrong. It becomes a problem only when giving back has no structure, no limits, and no honest conversation attached to it.

The athletes who handle family finances best are the ones who establish clear, consistent support early — a defined monthly amount, a one-time gift, a specific commitment — and then hold that line with love but with firmness.

The athletes who struggle are the ones who say yes to every request because saying no feels like betrayal, and who gradually give away the financial security they worked years to build.

You can love your family completely and still have financial boundaries with them. In fact, having those boundaries is often what allows you to support them sustainably over the long term rather than generously for a short period and then not at all.

Category 3 — Friends

When the money arrives, so does everyone else.

This is not cynicism. It is simply a pattern that repeats across every sport, every country, every generation of athletes who suddenly find themselves earning significantly more than the people around them.

Some friendships deepen and prove genuine under those circumstances. Others reveal themselves to be transactional in ways that are painful to acknowledge.

The clearest signal of a transactional friendship is that the conversation always eventually arrives at money. An investment opportunity. A business idea that just needs a small injection of capital. A loan that will definitely be repaid. A favour that happens to involve your finances.

Genuine friends talk about your life, your career, your wellbeing. They are not constantly circling toward your wallet.

The hardest thing about this category is that the people in it often genuinely believe they are your friends. They may not be consciously exploiting you. But the pattern of their behaviour — always present when money is available, less present when it isn't — tells you what you need to know.

Category 4 — Advisors and influencers

This category covers everyone who shapes your financial thinking without being formally paid to do so: teammates whose spending habits set the social norm, coaches who offer investment tips, social media personalities promoting financial products, and the general culture of the sporting environment you operate in.

This is the most invisible category and often the most influential one.

If every teammate you respect drives a certain car, lives in a certain way, and spends at a certain level — that becomes your reference point for normal. Even if that reference point is financially catastrophic.

The culture of professional sport around money is often one of visible spending rather than invisible building. The athlete who is quietly accumulating financial security looks exactly the same as the athlete who is spending everything. The difference only becomes visible years later.

Having the right people around your finances is not about being suspicious of everyone. It is about being intentional.

Here is a simple framework:

One independent financial advisor — paid by fee, not commission, with no incentive to sell you specific products. Their only job is to give you objective advice in your interest.

One accountant — specifically experienced with athlete finances, ideally with knowledge of the tax implications of playing in multiple countries.

One lawyer — who reviews contracts before you sign them, not after something goes wrong.

Clear family boundaries — a defined, sustainable level of support that you decide in advance, not reactively in the moment of request.

Genuine friendships — the ones that existed before the money and will exist after it. These are your most valuable relationships and worth protecting.

Think about the five people you talk to most about money — formally or informally.

For each one, ask: does this person benefit financially from the decisions I make?

If the answer is yes — that doesn't make them untrustworthy. But it means you should understand exactly how they benefit, and factor that into how much weight you give their advice.

Financial clarity starts with knowing who is genuinely in your corner.

Write down the name of one person in your life whose financial advice you trust completely.

Then ask yourself: have I ever verified their credentials, their track record, or how they are compensated for that advice?

If the answer is no — that's your action this week. One conversation. One question asked directly.

"How exactly do you make money from the advice you give me?"

You deserve a clear answer. And any professional who won't give you one isn't someone you should trust with your financial future.

Final Whistle Finance is written by a former professional basketball player and ACCA-qualified finance professional with Big Four audit experience. This newsletter is for educational purposes and does not constitute regulated financial advice.

If you found this useful, forward it to one athlete you know who needs to read it.

Next issue: Building wealth when your income stops — practical strategies for creating income streams that survive the end of your playing career.