Unless the woman is your financial advisor, it should be a definite red flag when money issues come up with a girl you've just met. If, ten minutes after meeting you, she's talking about her car that's breaking down or how she doesn't know if she'll be able to make rent this month, she's in it for the money. That's why she's at the club that night. And that's why she's locked in conversation with you: In search of the guy who can make her money problems go away.

I got lucky. Most hangers-on, or at least the ones who are really good at it, won't make their intentions known right off the bat. Instead they'll build up some trust, and some attraction, usually over the course of several months, and get you thinking with your little head rather than the big one.

Then, just as you're hooked on the good feelings she gives you, she'll get cold and pull the plug. "I don't feel like I can just be with you if there's not a commitment," she'll say. Or, "wouldn't it be easier if I just stayed with you instead of having to come over late at night?" Others will "forget" to take their birth control, in the hopes that the guy will either end up marrying her or at least owing her a healthy portion of his earnings for child support.

No good can ever come of that.

Say Goodbye to your Girlfriend

On the other end of the spectrum, you have the college sweetheart-types that knew you before you made the League. In my experience, sweethearts undergo just as much of a transition period as players do. The new money changes everything, but so, too, does the amount of time you spend together. Those first few years in the League you want to mesh with your teammates as much as possible — you can't have people nagging you about how much time you spend out with the boys.

But unless you're on the marriage track, my advice on sweethearts is simple: save yourself the stress and end things sooner, rather than later.

There are more social opportunities available to you as an NFL player than you can even imagine. You shouldn't feel guilty — or be made to feel guilty — for taking advantage of them.

But the pursuit of good times, I can tell you from experience, shouldn't come at the cost of hurting someone you care about. Which is why I believe it's better to truly start your life anew once you sign that rookie contract. Unless you play in Green Bay, there are probably more women and more beautiful women in your new city than you had back on campus. With so many fish in the sea, you don't want to end up making a chub your main course.