Young athletes face higher wealth-loss risk as litigation rises

Record athlete earnings and rising U.S. jury awards are increasing demand for international asset protection, with Southpac Group expanding in California to serve advisors and high-net-worth clients. The trend is especially relevant for young athletes whose rapid wealth growth is moving into real estate, private companies and other exposed assets.

Why it matters: - Young U.S. athletes are accumulating wealth faster than many asset-protection plans were built to handle. - Record earnings, private investments and real estate holdings can create multimillion-dollar exposure in lawsuits, failed deals and commercial disputes. - Rising litigation awards in the U.S. are making that risk more expensive for high-net-worth clients. - The shift is driving more demand for international trust and company structures among attorneys and wealth advisors.

What happened: - Southpac Group says it is seeing more inquiries from U.S. advisors who work with professional athletes, entertainers and other high-net-worth clients. - Southpac Group is expanding its California presence in response to that demand. - The New Zealand-headquartered firm establishes and administers international trust and company structures holding about US$4 billion in assets. - The company operates outside the United States and says it has no U.S. corporate nexus.

The details: - The world’s 50 highest-paid athletes earned an estimated US$4.1 billion over the past year, more than double the US$1.9 billion earned by the comparable group in 2017. - More than half of those athletes are under 30. - Their combined off-field earnings reached a record US$1.1 billion. - The minimum income needed to make the 2026 list of the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes rose to US$54.6 million, more than twice the US$26.1 million cutoff a decade earlier. - The average age on the list is now 30, and 26 of the 50 athletes are under 30. - The number of corporate jury awards worth US$10 million or more jumped 40.7% in 2025. - Combined awards exceeded US$25.6 billion in 2025. - New Cook Islands trust registrations increased about 89% over the past two years, from 229 in 2022-23 to 433 in 2024-25. - Southpac figures show Nevis trust registrations rose about 68% over the same period. - Southpac was the first trust company licensed in the Cook Islands and helped develop the jurisdiction’s original asset protection legislation. - Southpac says it has established more than 4,000 Cook Islands trusts over about four decades and now administers more than one-third of active Cook Islands trusts. - The company’s California focus reflects the state’s concentration of wealth in sports, entertainment, technology, real estate and private business, along with elevated litigation exposure.

Between the lines: - The wealth profile of elite athletes is looking more like that of entrepreneurs than salaried workers. - As income rises quickly, the risk often shifts from the playing field to the deals, investments and business relationships that follow. - International asset protection is increasingly being treated as a planning tool, not just a last-ditch defense. - Southpac is positioning itself as a specialist provider for advisors who already know a client’s broader financial picture. - Experts say these structures should be set up with independent legal and tax advice.

What’s next: - Southpac is likely to keep targeting U.S. advisors as athlete, entertainment and entrepreneur wealth grows more complex. - California is likely to remain a major market for asset-protection services because of its mix of wealth and litigation risk. - More athletes may turn to international structures as endorsement income, equity stakes and private investments expand beyond playing contracts.

The bottom line: - Rapid wealth growth is creating a bigger asset-protection gap for young athletes, and advisers are increasingly looking overseas to close it.