Even professional athletes are spending big bucks on Mega Millions lottery tickets

If there was one faction of society that wouldn’t be captivated by the $540 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot, you would figure it would be the elite earners, such as professional athletes. But even some of those millionaires are getting caught up in the lottery ticket craze.

SB Nation’s Andrew Sharp points out that a few athletes tweeted about buying thousands of dollars worth of tickets in hopes of striking it big. Wizards forward Chris Singleton is feeling the hype:

In case you think Singleton was joking, he tweeted several more thoughts about why it’s a good investment, saying “I’m dedicated to making more money.”

Raiders safety Michael Huff didn’t spend quite as much money, but he still threw down plenty of cash on the lottery:

I bought $2400 worth….theres no way i can loseRT @marcusmyers How many lotto tickets you buying @Huffy247? Lump sum is up to $349M.

— Michael Huff (@Huffy247) March 29, 2012

Huff signed a $32 million contract including $16 million guaranteed and, as a former first-round NFL draft pick, he’s already made plenty of money. Singleton is a rookie making just under $1.5 million, so he’s less set financially. But these guys need to realize that the odds are about 1:176 million of winning the lottery, and even buying 10,000 tickets won’t improve your chances much.

Any wonder why so many professional athletes end up broke?

UPDATE: Even more athletes are getting in on the lottery ticket buying act.

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