Millionaire professional athletes have dished out some interesting financial takes over the last year or so, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma has had enough of it. We have seen athletes talk about how the millions they make aren’t what they seem like because of taxes, agent fees, and whatnot, and Kuzma took to X on Wednesday to call them out and make it clear the real problem is their lifestyle.
“Ngl, it’s exhausting hearing athletes break down how their millions ‘aren’t really millions’ after taxes and fees,” Kuzma wrote. “40M after taxes is still 40M. The real issue isn’t the system, it’s lifestyle creep. Nobody told you to live like a king, buy 5 cars, or move with a 10‑person entourage. Modest is allowed.”
If an athlete who has played at the top level for a good amount of years makes smart financial decisions and doesn’t spend recklessly, they should be fine for the rest of their life. It’s when they get carried away that they lose it all.
A fan then pointed out to Kuzma, who has made $107 million in his NBA career so far, that it’s not like the rest of the population isn’t taxed or doesn’t have expenses. The 30-year-old reacted to that by firing another shot at the athletes.
“And they say it like they are going to get empathy from regular folks that are using credit rewards points for groceries right now,” Kuzma replied. “Wild”
All of this was likely in response to Atlanta Hawks star CJ McCollum’s comments that went viral recently. What McCollum said was taken out of context, though, as he wasn’t complaining at any point. He had been asked how he spent his first $1 million, and said it was over time, as his checks when he came into the league in 2013 were small compared to those of rookies now.
McCollum then pointed out how much of a $2 million salary can get lost to taxes and other fees. He also revealed that he was living off a $12,000 energy drink deal when he entered the NBA, which caught the attention.
Now, McCollum was explaining that he was being careful with money. He was paranoid about going broke and was going to try to save where he could. He wasn’t moaning about anything.
With backlash coming his way, though, McCollum felt compelled to clarify. The 34-year-old acknowledged that millions of dollars are indeed enough. It’s just that there was no NIL when McCollum was coming through, and he was only going to get paid in November in the NBA, so he lived off that energy drink deal. His main point was that people with and without money need to budget.
Now, all this complaining seemingly originated from NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. During an appearance on The Pivot Podcast in 2025, he said that you cannot make a five-year, $100 million contract last a lifetime. He got a lot of pushback for that, but Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony came to his defense on his 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony podcast.
“But it’s not really $100 million over a five-year span,” Anthony said. “You’re talking about taking 58 to 60 percent… half your check. So that 10 goes to five over five years. So now within that five, now you’ve got other taxes you gotta pay… So now, you got taxes alone that’s going to hit. Boom. You can’t do nothing about that. Then you gotta live.
“You gotta get a house, you gonna take care of your moms,” Anthony continued. “You got your agency fee. So you got all of this s*** that is happening within that $5 million… Your lifestyle changes drastically, and that drastic lifestyle change f***s you up mentally. That’s the gray area that f***s a lot of athletes up because they sit in this space of transitioning from having this to now got to budget on a day-to-day basis.
“I got to budget how I’m going to pay my mortgage,” Anthony added. “… I got to budget on food like it’s a lot of s***… You got to come back to reality now because now you ain’t got the bread.”
Anthony’s point is that players struggle to change their lifestyle once they stop playing. That’s a flaw in them, though. Everyone needs to have a proper plan that ensures financial security, and then follow it. If you squandered millions, you went wrong somewhere.
