This question popped up in one of the news magazines last week: Why do so many star athletes go broke? According to Sports Illustrated, 78 percent of NFL players are bankrupt or in financial trouble within two years of their last game.

About 60 percent of NBA players are broke five years after they retire.

The article goes to great lengths to explain why this happens. These guys are young. They earn so much so quickly they never learn how to manage money. Their careers are short.

These things are true. But the article left out the most common reason why big-time athletes go broke. So many of them are not too bright. I guess it is impolite to say this.

Let us be realistic. Few of these guys get degrees during their college playing years. Many of the few who do, get them in basket weaving. Or playground management.

Now, you might say that they are not too smart to turn their backs on their educational opportunities. I suspect that sentence should be shortened to “They are not too smart.” A lot of them cannot spell “playground.”

They are not too smart to let the colleges use them as fodder. While they make money for the school, the colleges care about them. After that, they don’t know their name. Well, a lot of the former players don’t know the name of the colleges either.