Money Confidential

— -- It's 2014, and we've now seen decades of bankrupt athletes who serve as cautionary tales for current athletes. Recent examples such as Jack Johnson and Tyron Smith have to be anomalies, right? Not so much, based on a recent Confidential survey of 37 pro athletes from the four major sports leagues. In fact, most athletes we spoke with described a nonstop barrage of monetary requests from family and friends.

In the past year, how many times have you been asked for a loan by friends and family?

Average answer: 25.5 requests

NBA player: "Actually, I don't get asked for loans. I just get asked, 'Can I have?'"

NBA player: "I don't give out very many loans anymore, because only about 20 percent got paid back. That was a painful lesson from my first year."

MLB player: "That's a major off-the-field problem for us with family and friends -- everybody is looking to get a little piece of you. Your salary is posted online, so everyone knows what you're making and thinks you're rolling in dough."

NFL player: "It happens all the time. And if it's from friends and family, you can save yourself a lot of heartache by not calling it a loan. If you consider it a gift, once in a while, you'll be pleasantly surprised that someone pays you back."

Of all the loans you have ever given out to family and friends, what percentage have been paid back?

Average answer: 27.6 percent

NBA player: "I'd rather just chalk it up as a loss as soon as I give it to you."

MLB player: "I'd say about 10 percent. This year I have been asked for at least five loans. The smallest one was for $1,000. The biggest one was $12,000. They just assume you have money to hand out."

NHL player: "I've been repaid about half the time, which I consider lucky, believe it or not."

Do you agree or disagree with this statement: More money, more problems.

Agree: 59 percent; Disagree: 41 percent

NFL player: "True. People see that we make a minimum of $500,000, and they're like, 'Oh God, you're rolling in money.' They always think you have money to hand out."

NFL player: "Agree. All that glitters isn't gold. You always think something someone else has will be better than what you have. But when you get it, it's not that big of a deal."

Yes or no: Having our salaries published causes major problems in athletes' lives.

Yes: 72 percent
No: 28 percent

NFL player: "Totally, especially on the social scene. I've seen people meet a player, then Google if he was even a football player. Everything comes up -- his latest contract, where he went to college."

NBA player: "Yes. Your friends and family think they know your finances, know how much money you should have and how much money you should give them."