NBA Star’s Entourage Pawning Jewelry?

Financial issues, pawning jewelry. I expect to hear those terms quite a bit this summer as the NFL continues its lockout and the NBA heads full speed toward theirs.

Even the entourage has to tighten up their boot straps as illustrated by this recent article in ESPN The Magazine. I’m fairly certain it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which former Philly superstar this crew belongs too:

And it’s not just jocks who grab for their stones when the gravy train crashes; their entourages do too. Recently, several guys clad in hoodies walked into Philly’s venerable Carver W. Reed Co. (est. 1860), with enough jewelry to outfit the Oscars: flashy earrings, gold necklaces and a 50-carat diamond cross so big that owner Tod Gordon was thrown. “It was almost too gaudy to sell,” he says.

What caught Gordon’s eye, though, were the matching tattoos on the men’s necks. A lifelong Philly fan, he believed the design matched a tat sported by a local celebrity athlete whose money woes were making news. “I’m pretty sure they were there because it was the end of the line,” he says.

Sure sounds like A.I. How sad because we know Allen is now living in Atlanta, that means these are the tier 2 crew members. Guess they weren’t allowed to transition.

Equally sad, a 10-year NFL vet whose recently unemployed not only pawned a $90,000 watch but his wife’s six-carat princess-cut diamond ring too. How tragic!! And what happens when you find out the real quality of those jewels you paid for? Walk into the pawn shop expecting half on your investment and walk with a half of the half you were expecting.

Athletes get rid of their jewelry all the time. A lot of time, other athletes are the benefactors of earrings and cars when the stars upgrade. But with everyone looking for an extra boost to their finances, I hope the take-away in all this is better planning for your future.