This years first round pick turned down life changing money, FWIW his parents are very wealthy.
So was last years #1 who turned down the offer the year before, wealthy parents.
So it does mean different things to different people.
FYI, the government takes 25% off the top of a players bonus. The government made this madantory a while back. The larger bonuses are paid out in two season or more if negotiated. Mostly because many teams just do not have that cash on hand that time of year.
A player unless he has a lot of expenses needs his bonus money most in the off season. Once again you can make the milb salary work.
Since son had a great college scholarship he walked away with less than 10K in college debt. So although his bonus wasnt as big as he would have liked, he had 3 years of school paid for.
Here is my advice. The chances of anyone reading this will not have a son who will be a first pick in the draft. Dont worry about this stuff, concentrate on getting a good college scholarhship or acadeimc money to leave you not in too much debt. Juniors get money to finish their school, this is negotiable.
Everything else is icing on the cake.
As far as finishing school, most do, mine has money waiting in the MLB college scholarship and HE IS going to use it.
There are many players who take online courses as well so that it wont be too overwhelming when the day comes to hang up the cleats.
To answer the question, there are taxes and also an agents fee that lower the taxes. Many invest in property asap.
There are investment guys that work with athletes and you can turn what you have into $$$. They make a plan for you, and then invest in that plan according to your needs. They also help prevent the player from buying things that they dont need, at least my sons did and still does.