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Cam Newton, once one of the NFL’s most electrifying quarterbacks, is now facing a challenge off the field: a loss of income.
At 36, Newton’s days as a professional athlete are behind him. He officially retired in 2021 when his one-year, $6 million contract with the Carolina Panthers expired. Now, the former soccer star is candid about the financial realities of life after fame.
“Being in the NFL, everybody knows that in a short period of time you get a lot of money, and being away from the game for three years, those checks don’t come the same,” he said on an episode of the FOX reality TV show, special force (1).
Newton admitted that the sudden drop in income has made it difficult for him to feel like “Superman” to his eight children.
“It hurts me to know I can’t provide like I once did,” the former quarterback wrote on Instagram (2).
In addition to this income drop, Newton pointed to his financial struggles and lifestyle creep for other pro athletes as the main culprits in a video posted on YouTube (3).
But in a dynamic, volatile economy, it’s certainly not just entrepreneurs and professional players who are facing sudden income fluctuations – ordinary workers are also struggling.
America’s unemployment rate continues to worsen, posting the weakest annual job growth rate since 2003 (4) in 2025.
While the Federal Reserve has repeatedly cut interest rates in 2025 to try to support the market, these efforts have not been enough to definitively improve the US unemployment rate. Many factors are to blame here.
On the labor market side, the labor force is aging and shrinking due to less immigration (5).
Meanwhile, employers face ongoing economic uncertainty due to tariffs and rising input costs – making it more challenging to hire more workers. According to a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond along with Duke University (6), about one-fifth of companies say they are cutting jobs because of the tariffs.
There have also been widespread layoffs of civil servants as the US federal workforce has fallen to its lowest level in at least a decade (7).
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Looking for work [are] More desperate, as workers juggle part-time gigs, raid 401(k)s and get on waiting lists for DoorDash (8).
Like Newton, many now face difficult choices and uncomfortable lifestyle adjustments.
If you’re facing or preparing for a sudden dip in income, here are three ways you can strengthen your finances.
Read more: Approaching retirement with no savings? Fear not, you are not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast).
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (9), Americans’ total credit card debt in the third quarter of 2025 was $1.23 trillion. This is the highest balance since the New York Fed began tracking the figure in 1999.
Professional athletes are also not immune to taking on significant debt. Anthony Brown, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver, reportedly filed for bankruptcy in 2024 (10) after paying eight creditors nearly $3 million.
Many households should examine their credit card debt when incomes drop, as these obligations can quickly become unsustainable. Credit card debt is notorious for having extremely high interest rates. For example, according to Bankrate (11), the average rate on credit cards at the beginning of 2026 was 19.65%.
Two of the biggest ways to pay off debt are the avalanche and snowball techniques.
The avalanche method focuses on paying off your highest interest debt first. This can create a cascading effect where, after paying off the big debt, you quickly knock off the smaller ones.
Meanwhile, the snowball method starts with paying off your smaller debts one after the other to build steam. So, once you get into a loan, you put all your resources into paying it off. From here, most financial experts recommend building an emergency fund, then investing as soon as possible. But being debt free is the first and most important step.
After addressing your debt, the next step is to focus on expenses.
If your income changes, activities that were once normal to you—such as vacations, dining out, and shopping sprees—may no longer be affordable. Here, Dave Ramsey’s famous “beans and rice” approach can help pay off debt faster and accumulate savings. Temporarily scaling back to a bare-bones beans and rice budget can give you room to develop the emergency funds you need.
As a rule of thumb, most experts recommend spending at least three to six months’ worth in an emergency fund. If you’re among the 81% of American workers who worry about losing their job in 2025, you’re far from alone (13).
But planning ahead can help you avoid financial stress, should the worst-case scenario come true.
To get started, a high-yield account, such as the Wealthfront Cash Account, can be a great place to grow your emergency funds, offering competitive interest rates and liquid access to your cash when you need it.
A Wealthfront Cash account may offer a base variable APY of 3.25%, but new customers can earn a 0.65% increase in the first three months for a total of 3.90% APY provided by program banks on your uninvested cash. That’s ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s December report.
With no minimum balance or account fees, plus 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds can always be accessible. In addition, Wealthfront cash account balances up to $8 million are insured by the FDIC through program banks.
You can also check out Moneywise’s list of the best high yield savings accounts of 2026 to find options that offer up to 4.05% APY.
Whether you’re an athlete, entrepreneur or employee, it makes sense to set aside a little money each month for investment. Passive income from regular savings can help keep you safe if your career takes an unexpected turn.
You don’t need to invest millions of dollars to grow your wealth. Investing a small portion of your paycheck each month can make a big difference, thanks to compound interest.
For example, investing $50 each week for 20 years would yield $123,821, compounded at 8%. The next step is to choose a place to invest. A popular alternative is the S&P 500, which has delivered an average annual return of 11.1% (14) over the past 20 years.
You can start your journey by investing your spare change from everyday purchases with Acorns.
Acorns rounds up your daily expenses to the nearest dollar and invests the rest in low-cost diversified ETFs. So, your $4.25 morning coffee becomes a 75-cent investment in your future.
If you want to take it a step further, you can invest a large proportion of your paycheck in a low-cost S&P 500 ETF with Acorns.
The best part? You can get $20 bonus investment when you sign up with recurring deposit.
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People (1); @fifthquartercfb (2); @4th and 1 Cam Newton (3); Bureau of Labor Statistics (4); Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (5); Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Atlanta (6); Reuters (7); Wall Street Journal (8); Federal Reserve Bank of New York (9); New York Times (10); Bankrate (11); Quotality (12); Staff Industry Analysts (13); Acorns (14) Curvo (15)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
