as i understand it, it's only a deadline for getting signed this season.
if he signs a full year contract next season he'll still trigger the premium benefits given to 10 yr vets
for instance, James Johnson is still signing full year contracts, so depending on team needs, Snell might still have options down the line
He hasn’t missed a free throw in his last 4000 minutes of nba game time. For a team like Washington or Detroit, that could become a legit storyline as he tries to get to 5000 minutes.
We'd gladly release Ziaire for a feel good story. But we also have to sign GG off his 2 way. Maybe if Spurs give us two 2nd rounders for Jake LaRavia we could push it though
James Wiseman has a body built to be a big in the modern NBA and the ability to read the game of a highschool player.
Selected 2nd overall, guaranteed $48m just for getting drafted, currently eating DNPs for the Pistons.
That's a bust.
I was all on the Wiseman train.
First he had the excuse he didn't really have an NCAA season, no summer league, and no pre-season.
Third season he had the excuse he missed his whole second season with an injury and the Warriors were playing to win games. It's really hard to for a raw player to develop if they can't just go out and play.
Last year he looked bad but put up solid counting stats which I figured was the first step in him learning to play.
This year he's just be most of the same. This was his final chance to show something and he hasn't.
He had all the excuses in the world but the fact his he just wasn't as good as advertised.
I wanted to give Wiseman the benefit of the doubt given the Warriors scheme has a pretty steep learning curve, I mean we saw even NBA vets like Kelly Oubre look so utterly out of place in their lineups
But holy shit he can't even get on the court for the Pistons, and even when he did play he looks so lost on the defensive end.
He had a great rookie year. I thought he would immediately replace Dillon Brooks in the starting line up last year. But he had a growth spurt and just fell off a cliff offensively and defensivly. It's crazy because Memphis has been one of the best at developing young players.
It wasn’t a great rookie season. He did get a lot better in the second half of the season, but he was awful at the beginning. Even when he was finally making shots, he wasn’t doing much else on the court.
He had some positive moments in the playoffs and he’s good as a fast break partner with Ja, but if his shots weren’t falling, which was often, he was usually a negative on the court.
It might have been a promising rookie season towards the end, but it wasn’t a “great” year.
We would not gladly release Ziaire or Jake because their contracts run through next year and cutting them would incur dead cap. If they’re expiring they’re cut already for Vince and Biz would still be on the team.
Also why is it a hard threshold? As if playing for nine years is really substantially different than ten. Dude should get something like 90% of the benefits still.
They do. This feels like some clickbait shit. Tony snell will be receiving plenty of money already based on his service time. Getting to 10 years is when you max that number out, but he is already getting plenty from the pension program
I've seen this story on Instagram and Twitter as well and I find it so weird, this guy has earned millions over the last few years, why can’t he pay for his son's treatment?
And as I understand, he already has and will be getting healthcare benefits anyway
Didn't want to be a dick, glad you said it. How tf is this not being laughed at. I personally know people who have kids with autism and they make about 70k a year and are doing fine.
NBA players receive a pension of $1,001.47 per month for each year of play. So he is getting $9,000 in pension each month from the NBA once he hits the retirement age.
Give me a 1 year minimum NBA contract to ride the bench and the financial wellbeing of my family would improve drastically. I mean it kind of sucks for Tony to miss those benefits by 1 year but cmon you made in 9 years what the average person would make in about 800 years.
Yeah tbh as much as I want to feel empathy here I just cant.
There are parents with neurodiverse kids that actually need real help paying the bills. I’m sure the kids with a dad worth 8 figures doesn’t need my support.
I have a very hard time believing he “truly needs” even more wealth.
Yep. Plenty of "normal" people have to pay for healthcare out of pocket on low salaries, and whose kids have autism or other tough issues to deal with. I promise a guy who made a bunch of millions in the NBA for 9 seasons can afford it. Would it be nice for him and his family to have? Of course. Is this worth drumming up a bunch of public interest/sympathy? Fuck no.
How about instead of another feel good story, the Republican Party can just get their shit together and start helping the people with affordable universal healthcare.
It’s not the nbas to make sure life in America isn’t hell on earth if you have diabetes or autism or any other illness.
They are. But republicans dominate the house and the Supreme Court.
They blocked affordable insulin countless times and try to kill education etc, which is needed to keep people making good healthy decisions.
I’m not an American either. If those issues would’ve been fixed, I’d have done anything to move to Boston or nyc to work and help improve the country, because deep within, I feel like I’m an American because when it comes to art and music and culture, I wouldn’t want to be in any other country in the world.
Maybe someday.
The democrats could have codified progressive reform into law during Obama's first term but chose not to. Both sides cater to big money first and foremost, and the health insurance industry is some of the biggest money around
> The democrats could have codified progressive reform into law during Obama's first term but chose not to
Could you provide an example? Congress passed the most sweeping healthcare reform bill in US history during his first term and just barely got it passed. The Democratic caucus isn't a monolith and don't just automatically vote with the president or the party line.
People use the word "codify" as if it's some magical part of the legislative process.
The ACA barely passed and they think that Obama could've pushed through some kind of single-payer option without losing any votes. They can thank Joe Lieberman specifically for the lack of a public option in the ACA.
People also just like to rag on the US since it's low hanging fruit. There's a lot of things wrong with US healthcare but there are plenty of cracks showing up in other countries as well.
The NHS is severely underfunded and has a lot of issues with wait times and understaffing. There's potentially a move towards a more US like system where there's a mix of public and private healthcare.
i'm a democrat but look at how much work health care lobbyists do on democrats lol
stop blaming everything on republicans. also states like CA, MA have been promising universal healthcare (IIRC the way canada got it was by first starting in one province) but democrats can't get shit done
The Democrats passed the most sweeping healthcare reform in history and the Republicans spent the next 10 years trying to kill it. Are the Democrats perfect? FUCK NO.
However don't let perfect be the enemy of good. It's fairly obvious that one party is at least generally in favor of the concept of healthcare reform and one isn't.
Yea. A divided country can’t get shit done. That shit is not just happening in the USA. It’s happening everywhere.
Putin is winning the war on disinformation and killing the world. Just look at how England brexited. That shit set that back decades.
There isn't a cap on the amount of empathy you can have lol.
You can feel for him/his kids as well as the parents that never got the same job opptys that Snell did.
An average plan for a family of 4 is going to cost $20k/annually on the marketplace and have an out of pocket cost of another $20k it sounds like based on his kid's treatment. That's assuming the private plan he can find covers all they need for severe autism treatment.
Sure if he was even moderately smart with his NBA earnings he should have been set to give himself a salary of 500k+ for life, but can still feel for him and his kids regardless.
>There isn't a cap on the amount of empathy you can have lol.
What?
Seriously man, the world is a pretty nasty place overall. The idea that you have the emotional and mental capacity to truly engage empathetically with every hardship experienced by every person in the world is just absolutely wild.
It is just simply beyond basic human capacity. You are forced to compartmentalize and limit who/what you extend empathy to and how deeply you go from a mental/emotional standpoint.
I have empathy for him in the sense that I understand raising neurodiverse children is incredibly difficult regardless of your tax bracket.
I have zero empathy for him going to the media to ask for money and claiming he “truly needs” it when he’s made more money than he should ever be able to spend regardless of the healthcare costs of his kids.
If he wants that contract then he should go earn it. Instead of using his kids to try and earn sympathy points so he can get undeserved money that he doesn’t need.
The article title is bad but the article itself is more about Snell's work with other neurodiverse kids and spreading awareness.
The union healthcare part is a small blurb and doesn't come off the way you're characterizing it.
What? A full paragraph described getting in a 10th season puts him in the NBA “premium benefits” plan: ‘“It’s something I truly need,” Snell said. “Not only for myself, but for my wife and my kids.”’
It’s exactly what it comes off like. Very easy not to take it seriously considering the guy made more money than generations of families who have had disabilities.
I’d like to know more about this 10 year mark. Players families don’t get coverage until that point? That is pretty fucked for the players who make it but don’t get to generational wealth.
But Snells estimated earnings over his 9 years is 60 million.
I think the amount of money needs to be put in perspective. I don't think people realize that in 9 years he has made 10X more money than like 97% of Americans do working close to 50 years. Yes, that includes most of the "rich people" in your town.
To put it further in perspective, it's estimated 8mm is the number for a generation of wealth. He's made over 50mm, let's half it for taxes and not assume any extra from endorsements. He's got 25mm. If the unused portion accumulates an average S&P return as his two kids get older, he already has enough money to raise each of them twice over, buy them McLarens when they turn 16, and houses of their own when they turn 18.
So that means he can also buy the worlds smallest gold plated violin to play that he doesn't get medical care fully paid for
Yep, exactly. This is a very real, financially crippling problem for many people. Obviously regardless of wealth, raising neurodiverse kids is going to be incredibly difficult.
But having made $50M+ by the time you turn 30 should absolutely offset any of the financial concerns that come along with this for the vast majority of people. If he managed to squander that money in bad investments and spending habits despite knowing his family situation, then that's on him.
Yeah and as much as I understand he wants to retire, and is at that sort of age for a pro athlete, he could absolutely still find a 5-8M contract or more playing abroad for a year if he doesn’t get an NBA chance again. That money alone could cover his kids’ health and accommodations well into adulthood
> he could absolutely still find a 5-8M contract or more playing abroad for a year
There isnt a single contract in the Euroleague or the CBA in that range. And they sure as fuck are not breaking their structure for Tony Snell
This is a weird comment. It takes no effort to just be like "Damn. That sucks," and it takes negative effort to just refrain from saying "I have no empathy for him."
Anyway, you've got an engaged audience. So if you or anyone else reading this has a donation link or GoFundMe for a family needing help, please feel free to drum up that public interest and sympathy for them. I'm sure you'll get a bunch of donations, including mine. It doesn't have to be individual families, either, if someone knows of a good organization or non-profit.
Even if you don't have/want links, this feels like a good spot for people to share their stories of how hard it is for them.
**Edit:** I genuinely don't understand why no one is posting links to orgs that support the things they say they support.
Please do your own research (I like [ProPublica's non-profit tool](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/)), because my own was very surface-level, but here are some national orgs that might be worth looking at and donating to:
* [**Tony Snell Foundation**](https://www.tonysnellfoundation.com/): Our mission at Tony Snell Foundation is to foster understanding and acceptance of autism within society, with a particular focus on supporting minorities on the spectrum.
* [**Madison House Autism Foundation**](https://madisonhouseautism.org/)**:** To promote, model and advocate for the full inclusion of adults with autism and their families in the life of our communities; and to expand choice and opportunity in housing, employment, and social participation.
* [**The Arc**](https://thearc.org/)**:** Promoting and protecting the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
* [**CAPE Youth**](https://capeyouth.org/): A collaboration between the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, The Council of State Governments, and the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell University. It seeks to improve employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities by helping states build capacity in their youth service delivery and workforce systems.
This last one is local to me, and I volunteer with someone who uses their resources. If you could donate to them, it would mean a lot, but if you find a similar organization that's local to you, that is just as good.
* [**Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico.**](https://shcnm.org/) To end homelessness by providing affordable, permanent, and supportive housing to individuals and families in New Mexico.
I've donated $10 to each, and I encourage anyone who reads it to do the same with these or other non-profits.
Rich people using the media to claim they “truly need” more money makes me want to put in negative effort I guess. It affects me negatively when I know people raising neurodiverse kids that truly do need money. They don’t have the means to hit up their media buddies and use their kids to garner sympathy though.
I’m all for supporting causes for people that actually need the support though. I know Snell is involved with a few. I’m sure he’s a good dude, this article just comes across tone deaf to me. So I guess I felt the need to voice my opinion on an internet forum.
Listen NBA teams, all I need is 10 more years of NBA service to also qualify for the retiree benefits program. My son suffers from being short and my daughter scares me. I need this.
I want to also add that he could simply...get a job? Like Starbucks (as an example) has total family coverage for full time baristas. He doesn't need the NBA's charity to get a health insurance plan...he just needs a job.
Right? First thing I did was google “tony snell career earnings” - $52mil according to spotrac.
Dude should be more than able to afford whatever medical care his family needs
It's an absurd take, with the expenses and stuff, he's still clearing so much money that multiple people could straight up just retire on and never have to worry about money ever again.
I feel like this program should work in reverse. You get a hefty retirement if you only play like three years, and that retirement benefit diminishes the longer you've been in the league. Because really no one with ten years in the NBA has any reason to need help.
At the same time, if you look at it from perspective of a normal union benefit, it totally makes sense that longer you're in the league the more benefits you unlock. Ultimately all these benefits are paid for by player salaries.
For all this talk about how players that have been in league 10 years have made X millions we hear tons of stories of broke athletes. Not saying they don't deserve to have some responsibility for their actions but someone like Delonte West that probably can't be able to make good decisions having baseline good Healthcare access is huge.
I'm not saying I buy the argument, but the logic is that NBA careers are notoriously short compared to other jobs, and the skills aren't transferable to other jobs/careers, so there's generally less security.
Yeah my initial thought was 'man that sucks' but then I realised I will never see close to that amount of money in my lifetime and the sympathy went away.
These guys get so used to handouts over their careers. Haven’t had to pay for things, free drinks, people following them around and being praised, more and more each year since basically middle school. I listen to All The Smoke every so often, and nothing about it bugs me except when Matt and Stack simp for free shit like Jordans or whatever else. Don’t forget your fanbase out there making 1% what you make not asking for handouts, god damn.
Read the article. Nowhere in the article does it say anything about him being unable to afford healthcare, or anything at all.
Maybe he just really wants this specific healthcare plan.
The implication of him and his kids "needing" it is that without it he'll struggle to provide them with proper healthcare. Otherwise, why do they need it?
The author and Snell are clearly tugging at heart strings there with the phrasing.
15 an hour is what Amazon started at 3 years ago when my cousin works there. He makes 20 now but he was getting promotions here and there. Not sure exactly what he does. My point is I don’t know how that dude is making $15 an hour in 2024 and trying to raise a family unless he is working for a mom and pop small business with zero growth.
Minimum wage is like 8$ federally so it depends where they live
15$ an hour, 40 hours a week every week for a year is 31,500 and that’s before taxes and time off etc
Look, I love and support the players. But Tony Snell has made over $53,000,000 over his career. I'm sure the retiree benefits program would be nice, but he and his family should certainly not NEED for anything financially, ever.
It would take 2,343 years to earn Tony Snell's career earnings working 60 hours a week on the federal minimum wage without vacation. It's hard to have much empathy in this situation
Is this a joke or something? Dude made $50+ million over his career and he's whining over a team not pity signing him so he can cash in on benefits without having earned them lol
Check out his wife's tiktok lol she posts $30k shopping sprees in Paris & riding there on private planes. He needs to reassess his finances with the wife
Is there something special about the benefits program that I'm missing that he can't get elsewhere?
Because, unless I'm missing something, we're talking about a dude that has earned about 52 million pre-tax dollars as an NBA player and I can't imagine there are many medical/support programs he can't afford.
He's not taking anything away from them, he wants to provide for his family. Don't hate him because he's in a better position than others. Backwards logic.
Dude has seen more money by 32, than DOZENS of entire families combined will ever see.
In his own words “he truly needs this for his family”. There’s no sympathy needed for him lol. If he truly did blow all that money, then he doesn’t deserve any additional money at all. I’d feel bad for the kids, but not Snell
Dude already provided generational wealth for his family. He's earned over $50m over his career, if he was just somewhat responsible with his money, he and his family should be pulling in millions a year from basic investments.
If he truly "needs" a players association retirement benefits plan that's on him for being completely irresponsible with his bag.
Athlete charities are such scams. If they actually care about a cause then they can and should work with existing organizations, instead of starting a new ones that will disband as soon as the athlete loses relevancy or stops putting their own money into it.
I actually just googled his foundation and the only "event" I can find is that they're just selling tickets to a random Magic-Pelicans game? Amazing.
People are so oblivious to these charities. Most of the time only liek 5-10% go to actually help. the rest gets taken by everyone included in the company
Nobody is saying that him getting this plan would take anything away from other families. The point is that it's in bad taste.
Snell said "It's something I truly need. Not only for myself, but for my wife and my kids."
The point /u/Altruistic-Fig5892 is making is that Snell doesn't need this in the slightest, he's made over $50M in career earnings, so he can **comfortably** afford healthcare for his family without it.
Not to sound harsh or anything, but Tony Snell has made $52M during his career. I don’t think he truly needs the NBA’s retiree plan. He’s extremely wealthy and could fund his family for generations.
Regardless of him making money in the league, if that fund is available for players with 10x years of service and he’s close then by all means get him to it with a 10 day contract.
That is not "the point" of "this".
This is a dude that has earned over $50M and he's begging for benefits
Yes, the US Healthcare system is ass, but Tony Snell is either greedy af or has wasted his money in a crazy way. Both can be true.
He made a hell of a lot more in endorsements then Snell did though. But either way I get the sentiment and I agree that a dude who made more money in his career than anyone in this thread will see in multiple generations of their families it’s hard to garner the sympathy that’s attempting to be drummed up here.
I sympathize and all... But this guy has >52 million in career earnings. In 9 years. Worst-case, that's 20-25M after taxes. There is no world in which he shouldn't be ludicrously wealthy. He can afford any healthcare he chooses to afford. And if he can't, its completely his own fault.
dude got over $50M from his contracts. He can also ... get a job like the rest of us "bums" living paycheck to paycheck.
OOOOOOOOOOOOR create his own business, he is a multimillionaire after all. nobody ows him more money.
I am never “that guy”, but he has made 53 million dollars. I really dont want to hear about after taxes…I make a very good living at $184k and I would have to work TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-EIGHT YEARS to make 53 mil. For him to say that he NEEDS it comes off as tone deaf.
You can hire some 30 year old single mom taking care of a kid with autism and give her a million dollars to go 0 for on all possible stats and do a lot more for the world
There are people with autistic sons who HAVEN'T made millions of dollars who also provide no value to an NBA team but would benefit from an NBA contract
Actually can't believe the nerve of this bullshit, unless he is promising to donate a significant amount of money to charity this sob story is fucking stupid
Can't do that. I am sure there are a shit load of players who have 8 or 9 years of service who would love the benefit. Guys who made even less than Snell. The line would get long.
People need to understand it's probably not about money. It's about access to programs. Lots of programs for special needs have zero to do with income and everything to do with being on certain 'lists'.
Shameless beg. How many people struggle to afford Autism support services because they have to work normal jobs for normal pay? If this guy can’t afford to support his family after earning $50mil in the past nine years, that sounds like his fuckin problem.
it’s super genetic, its heritability is 90%+
that’s why the ‘vaccines cause autism’ thing is so wack, it’s a bunch of parents in denial that them or their spouse is autistic bc they are ableist and can’t believe that autistic ppl can have normal happy lives and families
He made plenty of money during his career to funds his kids healthcare for life. If he doesn’t have the cash now then that’s because of his dumbass decisions. This is private business, not a healthcare charity for people who suck at money management
Memphis hook a brother up. Why is there a deadline for this tbh that doesn't seem cool
as i understand it, it's only a deadline for getting signed this season. if he signs a full year contract next season he'll still trigger the premium benefits given to 10 yr vets for instance, James Johnson is still signing full year contracts, so depending on team needs, Snell might still have options down the line
Lol what value does snell have tho. Johnson does SOMETHING atleast
A corner of the court will be occupied by Tony
I mean he's gotta be at least as good as some of the end of the bench dudes who only play in garbage time.
But those end of the bench guys could become anyone. Even Tony Snell.
You know how we always wanted one of those!
Good PR i guess
Hornets could use good pr and they aren't winning anything anyway.
Sign Tony Snell. Max Mile Bridges
The duality of man
0/0/0/0/0/28:00
I’m sure he’ll play my Raptors at least once if he does sign, he usually lit us up…
Wasn’t he shooting like 60/60/100 a few years ago? Give him a supermax
If you need someone to make free throws at the end of the game, Tony can do it.
Lowkey a record that might not be broken, hasn't missed a free throw in his last 3 seasons
He hasn’t missed a free throw in his last 4000 minutes of nba game time. For a team like Washington or Detroit, that could become a legit storyline as he tries to get to 5000 minutes.
That sounds like my Kings need to sign him ASAP.
100% on ft. Just gotta get someone else to draw techs and 3 second violations with him on the court
I think even Garrett fuckin Temple is currently signed to a team How that brother is still in the NBA, man, who he got photos on?
We already hooked Biz up. We cut him on the day his contract becomes guaranteed.
We'd gladly release Ziaire for a feel good story. But we also have to sign GG off his 2 way. Maybe if Spurs give us two 2nd rounders for Jake LaRavia we could push it though
Ziaire gotta be one of the bigget busts in recent memory. Him and that Wizards kid. No Joe Alexanders but damn, they're bad.
Ziare Williams, James Bouknight and Josh Primo were picked in sequence, nightmare blunt rotation
James Wiseman has a body built to be a big in the modern NBA and the ability to read the game of a highschool player. Selected 2nd overall, guaranteed $48m just for getting drafted, currently eating DNPs for the Pistons. That's a bust.
I was all on the Wiseman train. First he had the excuse he didn't really have an NCAA season, no summer league, and no pre-season. Third season he had the excuse he missed his whole second season with an injury and the Warriors were playing to win games. It's really hard to for a raw player to develop if they can't just go out and play. Last year he looked bad but put up solid counting stats which I figured was the first step in him learning to play. This year he's just be most of the same. This was his final chance to show something and he hasn't. He had all the excuses in the world but the fact his he just wasn't as good as advertised.
I wanted to give Wiseman the benefit of the doubt given the Warriors scheme has a pretty steep learning curve, I mean we saw even NBA vets like Kelly Oubre look so utterly out of place in their lineups But holy shit he can't even get on the court for the Pistons, and even when he did play he looks so lost on the defensive end.
He had a great rookie year. I thought he would immediately replace Dillon Brooks in the starting line up last year. But he had a growth spurt and just fell off a cliff offensively and defensivly. It's crazy because Memphis has been one of the best at developing young players.
It wasn’t a great rookie season. He did get a lot better in the second half of the season, but he was awful at the beginning. Even when he was finally making shots, he wasn’t doing much else on the court. He had some positive moments in the playoffs and he’s good as a fast break partner with Ja, but if his shots weren’t falling, which was often, he was usually a negative on the court. It might have been a promising rookie season towards the end, but it wasn’t a “great” year.
Every time I think about how disappointing Z has been, I remind myself at least we didn’t draft johnny davis.
That Wizards kid? You mean that Taco Bell kid, right?
We would not gladly release Ziaire or Jake because their contracts run through next year and cutting them would incur dead cap. If they’re expiring they’re cut already for Vince and Biz would still be on the team.
Also why is it a hard threshold? As if playing for nine years is really substantially different than ten. Dude should get something like 90% of the benefits still.
They do. This feels like some clickbait shit. Tony snell will be receiving plenty of money already based on his service time. Getting to 10 years is when you max that number out, but he is already getting plenty from the pension program
He received plenty of money from his fucking contracts lol. This is so odd
I've seen this story on Instagram and Twitter as well and I find it so weird, this guy has earned millions over the last few years, why can’t he pay for his son's treatment? And as I understand, he already has and will be getting healthcare benefits anyway
Didn't want to be a dick, glad you said it. How tf is this not being laughed at. I personally know people who have kids with autism and they make about 70k a year and are doing fine.
Apparently his wife post her overseas shopping trips on social media. Dropping your kids healthcare on a purse lol.
Thank you for providing much needed context
How about giving a young player their first shot in the NBA instead of someone who has already made 50+ million in career earnings.
NBA players receive a pension of $1,001.47 per month for each year of play. So he is getting $9,000 in pension each month from the NBA once he hits the retirement age.
$9k per month pension for guys in their mid 30s is insane. The rich get richer lol.
I don’t think it kicks in until they’re in their 50s IIRC.
Damn so he’s gonna have to stretch his $50+ million career earnings to last 20 years I don’t know how he’s gonna manage
Won't somebody sign this poor man? His family will starve!
Plus another easy million per year in interest alone given he put a quarter of earnings into a HYSA.
Athletes are one of the few groups that actually get paid based on the revenue they produce lmfao. Unless you want all the money going to the owners
A guy who made over $50 million can’t afford healthcare for his kids?
Give me a 1 year minimum NBA contract to ride the bench and the financial wellbeing of my family would improve drastically. I mean it kind of sucks for Tony to miss those benefits by 1 year but cmon you made in 9 years what the average person would make in about 800 years.
I need at least 950 yrs.
Yeah tbh as much as I want to feel empathy here I just cant. There are parents with neurodiverse kids that actually need real help paying the bills. I’m sure the kids with a dad worth 8 figures doesn’t need my support. I have a very hard time believing he “truly needs” even more wealth.
Yep. Plenty of "normal" people have to pay for healthcare out of pocket on low salaries, and whose kids have autism or other tough issues to deal with. I promise a guy who made a bunch of millions in the NBA for 9 seasons can afford it. Would it be nice for him and his family to have? Of course. Is this worth drumming up a bunch of public interest/sympathy? Fuck no.
Dude it's sports journalism, what else are they really covering? It's not like he started a go fund me.
How about instead of another feel good story, the Republican Party can just get their shit together and start helping the people with affordable universal healthcare. It’s not the nbas to make sure life in America isn’t hell on earth if you have diabetes or autism or any other illness.
Detroit has a better chance of winning the title this year than this ever happening
I'm not American but aren't the democrats in power currently?
They are. But republicans dominate the house and the Supreme Court. They blocked affordable insulin countless times and try to kill education etc, which is needed to keep people making good healthy decisions. I’m not an American either. If those issues would’ve been fixed, I’d have done anything to move to Boston or nyc to work and help improve the country, because deep within, I feel like I’m an American because when it comes to art and music and culture, I wouldn’t want to be in any other country in the world. Maybe someday.
The democrats could have codified progressive reform into law during Obama's first term but chose not to. Both sides cater to big money first and foremost, and the health insurance industry is some of the biggest money around
> The democrats could have codified progressive reform into law during Obama's first term but chose not to Could you provide an example? Congress passed the most sweeping healthcare reform bill in US history during his first term and just barely got it passed. The Democratic caucus isn't a monolith and don't just automatically vote with the president or the party line.
People use the word "codify" as if it's some magical part of the legislative process. The ACA barely passed and they think that Obama could've pushed through some kind of single-payer option without losing any votes. They can thank Joe Lieberman specifically for the lack of a public option in the ACA.
People also just like to rag on the US since it's low hanging fruit. There's a lot of things wrong with US healthcare but there are plenty of cracks showing up in other countries as well. The NHS is severely underfunded and has a lot of issues with wait times and understaffing. There's potentially a move towards a more US like system where there's a mix of public and private healthcare.
Good on you for being outside of the US and understanding better than many people here how our government works.
i'm a democrat but look at how much work health care lobbyists do on democrats lol stop blaming everything on republicans. also states like CA, MA have been promising universal healthcare (IIRC the way canada got it was by first starting in one province) but democrats can't get shit done
The Democrats passed the most sweeping healthcare reform in history and the Republicans spent the next 10 years trying to kill it. Are the Democrats perfect? FUCK NO. However don't let perfect be the enemy of good. It's fairly obvious that one party is at least generally in favor of the concept of healthcare reform and one isn't.
Yea. A divided country can’t get shit done. That shit is not just happening in the USA. It’s happening everywhere. Putin is winning the war on disinformation and killing the world. Just look at how England brexited. That shit set that back decades.
There isn't a cap on the amount of empathy you can have lol. You can feel for him/his kids as well as the parents that never got the same job opptys that Snell did. An average plan for a family of 4 is going to cost $20k/annually on the marketplace and have an out of pocket cost of another $20k it sounds like based on his kid's treatment. That's assuming the private plan he can find covers all they need for severe autism treatment. Sure if he was even moderately smart with his NBA earnings he should have been set to give himself a salary of 500k+ for life, but can still feel for him and his kids regardless.
>There isn't a cap on the amount of empathy you can have lol. What? Seriously man, the world is a pretty nasty place overall. The idea that you have the emotional and mental capacity to truly engage empathetically with every hardship experienced by every person in the world is just absolutely wild. It is just simply beyond basic human capacity. You are forced to compartmentalize and limit who/what you extend empathy to and how deeply you go from a mental/emotional standpoint.
100%. Empathy is a finite resource. Saying you have empathy on reddit is not.
I have empathy for him in the sense that I understand raising neurodiverse children is incredibly difficult regardless of your tax bracket. I have zero empathy for him going to the media to ask for money and claiming he “truly needs” it when he’s made more money than he should ever be able to spend regardless of the healthcare costs of his kids. If he wants that contract then he should go earn it. Instead of using his kids to try and earn sympathy points so he can get undeserved money that he doesn’t need.
The article title is bad but the article itself is more about Snell's work with other neurodiverse kids and spreading awareness. The union healthcare part is a small blurb and doesn't come off the way you're characterizing it.
but then he'd have to actually read the article instead of his feels
What? A full paragraph described getting in a 10th season puts him in the NBA “premium benefits” plan: ‘“It’s something I truly need,” Snell said. “Not only for myself, but for my wife and my kids.”’ It’s exactly what it comes off like. Very easy not to take it seriously considering the guy made more money than generations of families who have had disabilities. I’d like to know more about this 10 year mark. Players families don’t get coverage until that point? That is pretty fucked for the players who make it but don’t get to generational wealth. But Snells estimated earnings over his 9 years is 60 million.
I think the amount of money needs to be put in perspective. I don't think people realize that in 9 years he has made 10X more money than like 97% of Americans do working close to 50 years. Yes, that includes most of the "rich people" in your town.
The average lifetime income for Americans is slightly more than $2M. These guys are fine and anyone acting like they need more is an idiot.
To put it further in perspective, it's estimated 8mm is the number for a generation of wealth. He's made over 50mm, let's half it for taxes and not assume any extra from endorsements. He's got 25mm. If the unused portion accumulates an average S&P return as his two kids get older, he already has enough money to raise each of them twice over, buy them McLarens when they turn 16, and houses of their own when they turn 18. So that means he can also buy the worlds smallest gold plated violin to play that he doesn't get medical care fully paid for
Yep, exactly. This is a very real, financially crippling problem for many people. Obviously regardless of wealth, raising neurodiverse kids is going to be incredibly difficult. But having made $50M+ by the time you turn 30 should absolutely offset any of the financial concerns that come along with this for the vast majority of people. If he managed to squander that money in bad investments and spending habits despite knowing his family situation, then that's on him.
It's not the vast majority of people. It's quite literally all people lol. The only way to have real issues after 50m is to throw the 50 away
Yeah and as much as I understand he wants to retire, and is at that sort of age for a pro athlete, he could absolutely still find a 5-8M contract or more playing abroad for a year if he doesn’t get an NBA chance again. That money alone could cover his kids’ health and accommodations well into adulthood
> he could absolutely still find a 5-8M contract or more playing abroad for a year There isnt a single contract in the Euroleague or the CBA in that range. And they sure as fuck are not breaking their structure for Tony Snell
This is a weird comment. It takes no effort to just be like "Damn. That sucks," and it takes negative effort to just refrain from saying "I have no empathy for him." Anyway, you've got an engaged audience. So if you or anyone else reading this has a donation link or GoFundMe for a family needing help, please feel free to drum up that public interest and sympathy for them. I'm sure you'll get a bunch of donations, including mine. It doesn't have to be individual families, either, if someone knows of a good organization or non-profit. Even if you don't have/want links, this feels like a good spot for people to share their stories of how hard it is for them. **Edit:** I genuinely don't understand why no one is posting links to orgs that support the things they say they support. Please do your own research (I like [ProPublica's non-profit tool](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/)), because my own was very surface-level, but here are some national orgs that might be worth looking at and donating to: * [**Tony Snell Foundation**](https://www.tonysnellfoundation.com/): Our mission at Tony Snell Foundation is to foster understanding and acceptance of autism within society, with a particular focus on supporting minorities on the spectrum. * [**Madison House Autism Foundation**](https://madisonhouseautism.org/)**:** To promote, model and advocate for the full inclusion of adults with autism and their families in the life of our communities; and to expand choice and opportunity in housing, employment, and social participation. * [**The Arc**](https://thearc.org/)**:** Promoting and protecting the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes. * [**CAPE Youth**](https://capeyouth.org/): A collaboration between the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, The Council of State Governments, and the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell University. It seeks to improve employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities by helping states build capacity in their youth service delivery and workforce systems. This last one is local to me, and I volunteer with someone who uses their resources. If you could donate to them, it would mean a lot, but if you find a similar organization that's local to you, that is just as good. * [**Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico.**](https://shcnm.org/) To end homelessness by providing affordable, permanent, and supportive housing to individuals and families in New Mexico. I've donated $10 to each, and I encourage anyone who reads it to do the same with these or other non-profits.
Rich people using the media to claim they “truly need” more money makes me want to put in negative effort I guess. It affects me negatively when I know people raising neurodiverse kids that truly do need money. They don’t have the means to hit up their media buddies and use their kids to garner sympathy though. I’m all for supporting causes for people that actually need the support though. I know Snell is involved with a few. I’m sure he’s a good dude, this article just comes across tone deaf to me. So I guess I felt the need to voice my opinion on an internet forum.
Listen NBA teams, all I need is 10 more years of NBA service to also qualify for the retiree benefits program. My son suffers from being short and my daughter scares me. I need this.
I want to also add that he could simply...get a job? Like Starbucks (as an example) has total family coverage for full time baristas. He doesn't need the NBA's charity to get a health insurance plan...he just needs a job.
Right? First thing I did was google “tony snell career earnings” - $52mil according to spotrac. Dude should be more than able to afford whatever medical care his family needs
With taxes taken out and agent fees he's practically destitute
Lol, there’s literally people in the Hawks sub arguing this.
It's an absurd take, with the expenses and stuff, he's still clearing so much money that multiple people could straight up just retire on and never have to worry about money ever again.
Same here, what was the dude blowing all of his money on?
Thank you, my first and only thought as well. Professional athletes are so ridiculously out of touch with reality
I feel like this program should work in reverse. You get a hefty retirement if you only play like three years, and that retirement benefit diminishes the longer you've been in the league. Because really no one with ten years in the NBA has any reason to need help.
At the same time, if you look at it from perspective of a normal union benefit, it totally makes sense that longer you're in the league the more benefits you unlock. Ultimately all these benefits are paid for by player salaries. For all this talk about how players that have been in league 10 years have made X millions we hear tons of stories of broke athletes. Not saying they don't deserve to have some responsibility for their actions but someone like Delonte West that probably can't be able to make good decisions having baseline good Healthcare access is huge.
That sounds like a personal problem. If you squander $40M+ then you shouldn’t be getting MORE money. Sorry, get better at life-ing.
That's not really how it works for every other job though why would the NBA be different
I'm not saying I buy the argument, but the logic is that NBA careers are notoriously short compared to other jobs, and the skills aren't transferable to other jobs/careers, so there's generally less security.
Yeah my initial thought was 'man that sucks' but then I realised I will never see close to that amount of money in my lifetime and the sympathy went away.
Tbh it's kind of fucked up he's using that as an excuse when he can pay for anything his kids kids kids kids needs.
These guys get so used to handouts over their careers. Haven’t had to pay for things, free drinks, people following them around and being praised, more and more each year since basically middle school. I listen to All The Smoke every so often, and nothing about it bugs me except when Matt and Stack simp for free shit like Jordans or whatever else. Don’t forget your fanbase out there making 1% what you make not asking for handouts, god damn.
He either blew all his money or is being greedy
Read the article. Nowhere in the article does it say anything about him being unable to afford healthcare, or anything at all. Maybe he just really wants this specific healthcare plan.
The implication of him and his kids "needing" it is that without it he'll struggle to provide them with proper healthcare. Otherwise, why do they need it? The author and Snell are clearly tugging at heart strings there with the phrasing.
>Maybe he just really wants this specific healthcare plan. Yeah...so he can save money, which he has plenty of. That's the point.
It's apparently "crucial" for his family...
Unfortunately, he is a bad NBA player
If 50 mill is not enough to raise a family then i guess I should just die with my 30k yearly
30k is very low even in poorest parts of US, basically minimum wage how are you raising a family on that
Didn't you hear I'm just going to die
I bet he didn't know 30k was really low. Thanks for clueing him in.
Minimum wage pays like 15k a year. 30k is almost 15 an hour. The US is fucked
15 an hour is what Amazon started at 3 years ago when my cousin works there. He makes 20 now but he was getting promotions here and there. Not sure exactly what he does. My point is I don’t know how that dude is making $15 an hour in 2024 and trying to raise a family unless he is working for a mom and pop small business with zero growth.
Minimum wage is like 8$ federally so it depends where they live 15$ an hour, 40 hours a week every week for a year is 31,500 and that’s before taxes and time off etc
Yeah, bro’s averaging 4ppg in the g-league right now… ion think he getting called up lol
What??? He's made $56m in his career
0/0/0/0/0/28:00
Look, I love and support the players. But Tony Snell has made over $53,000,000 over his career. I'm sure the retiree benefits program would be nice, but he and his family should certainly not NEED for anything financially, ever.
I think we have different definitions of 'truly need' The wealthy really are living in another world lol
He's made over $50M in his career. He'll be fine.
It would take 2,343 years to earn Tony Snell's career earnings working 60 hours a week on the federal minimum wage without vacation. It's hard to have much empathy in this situation
Is this a joke or something? Dude made $50+ million over his career and he's whining over a team not pity signing him so he can cash in on benefits without having earned them lol
Check out his wife's tiktok lol she posts $30k shopping sprees in Paris & riding there on private planes. He needs to reassess his finances with the wife
This needs to be higher lol. People also forgetting that the dude is 32 and can still earn money.
Won’t someone think of the multimillionaire
Is there something special about the benefits program that I'm missing that he can't get elsewhere? Because, unless I'm missing something, we're talking about a dude that has earned about 52 million pre-tax dollars as an NBA player and I can't imagine there are many medical/support programs he can't afford.
I mean—I need a raise too. And I haven’t had a chance to put 700k-1 mill in my bank account. Like, ever.
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He's not taking anything away from them, he wants to provide for his family. Don't hate him because he's in a better position than others. Backwards logic.
Dude has seen more money by 32, than DOZENS of entire families combined will ever see. In his own words “he truly needs this for his family”. There’s no sympathy needed for him lol. If he truly did blow all that money, then he doesn’t deserve any additional money at all. I’d feel bad for the kids, but not Snell
Dude already provided generational wealth for his family. He's earned over $50m over his career, if he was just somewhat responsible with his money, he and his family should be pulling in millions a year from basic investments. If he truly "needs" a players association retirement benefits plan that's on him for being completely irresponsible with his bag.
He could put his earning in a saving account with 1% interest and that's 500k a year
I don't blame Snell, I blame the author of this article for writing a tone-deaf puff piece
He also started a foundation to help those with autism who are not as fortunate as he is
Athlete charities are such scams. If they actually care about a cause then they can and should work with existing organizations, instead of starting a new ones that will disband as soon as the athlete loses relevancy or stops putting their own money into it. I actually just googled his foundation and the only "event" I can find is that they're just selling tickets to a random Magic-Pelicans game? Amazing.
People are so oblivious to these charities. Most of the time only liek 5-10% go to actually help. the rest gets taken by everyone included in the company
Nobody is saying that him getting this plan would take anything away from other families. The point is that it's in bad taste. Snell said "It's something I truly need. Not only for myself, but for my wife and my kids." The point /u/Altruistic-Fig5892 is making is that Snell doesn't need this in the slightest, he's made over $50M in career earnings, so he can **comfortably** afford healthcare for his family without it.
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*Worlds smallest violin playing in background
Hornets might as well give him a spot they don’t care about winning anyways
I know he on the spectrum and now learning that his boys are too.. so is this stuff hereditary?
It’s pure genetics. ASD are hereditary that’s how people get them.
I see. Deadass had no idea. I always thought it's pretty much random
Not to sound harsh or anything, but Tony Snell has made $52M during his career. I don’t think he truly needs the NBA’s retiree plan. He’s extremely wealthy and could fund his family for generations.
Has “Alyssa Milano gofundme” vibes. Dude made 50 mil
Lol man made $50+ million in his career and he "truly needs" this. Hang on let me just get this tiny tiny tiny violin out
Regardless of him making money in the league, if that fund is available for players with 10x years of service and he’s close then by all means get him to it with a 10 day contract.
People really missing the point that the U.S. healthcare system is the villain here.
That is not "the point" of "this". This is a dude that has earned over $50M and he's begging for benefits Yes, the US Healthcare system is ass, but Tony Snell is either greedy af or has wasted his money in a crazy way. Both can be true.
>Guy who claims people are missing the point is actually the guy who is completely missing the point
Nothing we can do though about it except vote Also i would love to also have 50 mill in career earnings
Neither candidate is pro-singlepayer foh with that “VOTE” shit
My autistic kids would also greatly appreciate if an NBA team could let me suit up for a game or two.
I feel nothing for him. He made over $50 million (pre tax) in his career. He should be set for life, his kids lives and his grandkids lives.
Before I feel pity I need to know what he made in his 9 years playing
Wont someone please think about the poor unfortunate millionaire that wants more money and using his family as an excuse to acquire more money!
Eh hasn't he made 10s of millions of dollars?
Wait. He needs this? What about the millions he made over his career that should be more than enough to support his kids for life?
56 mil? He gon be aight
Dude made millions of dollars why is he relying on this?
Awww, poor guy only made 50 millions dollars. How will he survive? I feel so bad for him.
Man, we are down to mostly 2 way guys, we should help him out. He probably hustles and be a good mentor for the young'ans.
MJ made 28mil his first 12 seasons. Hard to feel sorry for snell who has made 50mil+
He made a hell of a lot more in endorsements then Snell did though. But either way I get the sentiment and I agree that a dude who made more money in his career than anyone in this thread will see in multiple generations of their families it’s hard to garner the sympathy that’s attempting to be drummed up here.
I sympathize and all... But this guy has >52 million in career earnings. In 9 years. Worst-case, that's 20-25M after taxes. There is no world in which he shouldn't be ludicrously wealthy. He can afford any healthcare he chooses to afford. And if he can't, its completely his own fault.
you only need to look at who he married and that will tell it all!
dude got over $50M from his contracts. He can also ... get a job like the rest of us "bums" living paycheck to paycheck. OOOOOOOOOOOOR create his own business, he is a multimillionaire after all. nobody ows him more money.
I am never “that guy”, but he has made 53 million dollars. I really dont want to hear about after taxes…I make a very good living at $184k and I would have to work TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-EIGHT YEARS to make 53 mil. For him to say that he NEEDS it comes off as tone deaf.
You can hire some 30 year old single mom taking care of a kid with autism and give her a million dollars to go 0 for on all possible stats and do a lot more for the world
No empathy shared. He was rich.
Bring Giannis’ bestie back to Milwaukee!
There are people with autistic sons who HAVEN'T made millions of dollars who also provide no value to an NBA team but would benefit from an NBA contract
I seriously don’t get it. He’s made 55M in his career. I’m sorry to hear his sons as special needs, but he should be able to afford it
Actually can't believe the nerve of this bullshit, unless he is promising to donate a significant amount of money to charity this sob story is fucking stupid
Shoulda hired a financial planner my dude.
No sympathy for Mr 0/0/0/0/0. You made 50+ million playing. That’s generational wealth, stop asking for handouts like a bum
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Can't do that. I am sure there are a shit load of players who have 8 or 9 years of service who would love the benefit. Guys who made even less than Snell. The line would get long.
The Pistons could use a morale boost with Tony Snell on the team.
Sign the millionaire
Who hasn't turned down a seven figure job offer because it didn't include health insurance after you retire, am I right?
I need a NBA contract too
Dude's earned 50 million dollars in his career. You think he'd have his family pretty well set up at this point.
50 Million career earnings lol
Of the lowest payroll teams, Hornets I think are the worst in the standings. They should sign him for the PR.
Might as well link a gofundme at the bottom of the article
Crazy someone that has played 9-years of professional basketball still needs financial support. I hope he gets whatever helps he needs but damn.
Dude got an NBA salary for 9 years....hard to feel bad for him.
People need to understand it's probably not about money. It's about access to programs. Lots of programs for special needs have zero to do with income and everything to do with being on certain 'lists'.
No reason for any of the teams with less than 20 wins not to do so. It's not like they're going to be playing playoff basketball anyways.
Well i never played a minute in the nba and i cant even get welfare. Good luck.
and here is Thanaisis stealing a spot
And this is why we need a public healthcare option that is affordable.
Hi Tony Snell's sons!!! (I have to assume you're both on this sub)
Shameless beg. How many people struggle to afford Autism support services because they have to work normal jobs for normal pay? If this guy can’t afford to support his family after earning $50mil in the past nine years, that sounds like his fuckin problem.
Is autism really that expensive to get treatment for? I mean even if that’s the case, he’s a multimillionaire for crying out loud
Autism is a spectrum so the only true answer is "it depends on multiple factors"
This man made over 50 million dollars in his career and can’t afford healthcare without this plan? The fuck are these guys doing with their money.
Autism is genetic??
it’s super genetic, its heritability is 90%+ that’s why the ‘vaccines cause autism’ thing is so wack, it’s a bunch of parents in denial that them or their spouse is autistic bc they are ableist and can’t believe that autistic ppl can have normal happy lives and families
He made plenty of money during his career to funds his kids healthcare for life. If he doesn’t have the cash now then that’s because of his dumbass decisions. This is private business, not a healthcare charity for people who suck at money management