» NBA players tend to spend up to their paychecks. They and their NFL counterparts are more likely to have an entourage than baseball or hockey players.

» Football players have low pay early in their careers, and although their careers tend to be short, they have high expectations. Couple those facts with the lack of guaranteed contracts, and the footballers tend toward poor decisions and less saving. Most NFL players' careers are over by the time their NBA and baseball counterparts are settling down to big money and mature saving and investing discipline. NFL players also represent less profit for advisers compared to the work involved.

» With guaranteed contracts, baseball and basketball players make for easier planning.

Rudy Molnar

» Compared to most athletes, golfers have extraordinary long careers and usually have middle-class or upper-class upbringing. Figure in those factors and the lag between going pro and making it big, and golfers make excellent savers, investors and clients.

» Athletes from all sports have some things in common. The best predictors of how they'll handle money are whether they were raised by both parents and had parents who worked. How soon they link up with a reputable adviser whom they will listen to also matters. Another thing they have in common: Short attention spans — like doctors, says Orlando financial adviser Rudy Molnar with Ameriprise in Orlando.