We’re reviewing some of the smartest and dumbest moves by professional athletes!
5 - Marshon Lattimore Marshon Lattimore is a cornerback for the
New Orleans Saints.
When he was drafted by the Saints back in 2017, he signed a 4 year, $15.3 million dollar
fully guaranteed contract as a rookie.
It was all fully guaranteed since he was a first round pick.
Fast forward to 2020.
The Saints had a 5th year option to pay him $10.2 million dollars for his 5th season.
They decided to use that option in early 2020.
This means so far.
Marshon’s earned roughly $25.6 million dollars in the NFL!
In his GQ interview about how he spent his first million, Lattimore seems to be relatively
financially savvy with his money.
Even though he signed a guaranteed deal of over 15 million dollars on his rookie contract,
Marshon realized that things can change quickly in the NFL.
He knew the way his money was coming in isn’t lasting forever.
But before we go into our opinions on what’s smart and dumb purchases, here’s our disclaimer.
First of all, we’re not financial advisers, so don’t take this as financial advice.
Second, ultimately, at the end of the day the value of what someone gets back with what
they spend their money on ultimately is up to them.
We’re not giving opinions on what’s quote, “worth it” to a specific athlete.
But instead, we’re giving our views on what can actually be recouped on what they spent
on themselves.
With that out of the way, let’s get into some of these purchases!
As a rookie, Marshon’s base salary was just $465 thousand dollars.
But remember, he did get paid a $9.3 million dollar signing bonus.
To most people, that would feel like winning the lottery!
But Marshon didn’t really go off the rails in the first year.
In fact, his worst financial decision he admitted to on spending his first million dollars was
the 120 thousand dollars he spent on chains and jewelry.
Most of that money he spent is money he’s NOT getting back, since selling any custom
jewelry means pennies on the dollar!
What about the smart financial moves?
The smartest thing he did was actually leasing his teammate Vonn Bell’s Mercedes.
He decided to do that after he wanted to buy a Rolls Royce Wraith.
But his older teammates talked him out of buying a car that costs more than half his
first year’s salary!
He can afford that car now, but back on his rookie contract, he really couldn’t afford
it.
He made the much smarter decision of taking over Bell’s car note for a year.
Later on, he went on to lease a new Range Rover, which is typically the smarter move
than buying, if he likes to keep his cars current with the year.
The rest of his purchases on the million are iffy, but understandable.
For example, he bought a reasonable house for his mom for 500 thousand dollars.
He also bought her a car for 35 grand.
These types of purchases to take care of mom and dad are completely understandable, if
not commendable.
However, one of the main things all athletes, and really, anyone, should look to do is to
minimize their liabilities.
Hopefully he’s made sure his mom can afford the property taxes for the house and the car,
or else he’s going to have to pay that himself.
It’s funny how someone has to also be able to afford a big gift!
He also spent 80 thousand dollars on designer clothes for himself.
Dropping close to 100k on clothes seems excessive, but a lot of luxury clothes can recoup money.
It all depends on what he bought.
Some limited edition designer brands can actually go up in value after buying it, such as Louis
Vuitton Supreme collaborations.
And if he actually bought designer clothing used, something we doubt, he can recoup most
of the money!
A general rule for luxury designer clothing is that it can recoup around 50% of what it
cost brand new.
This is much higher when compared to fast fashion clothing brands such as H&M and Zara.
The money paid for fast fashion is money that’s basically a sunk cost!
Marshon also bought a Rolex for 25k, which can actually be a decent investment.
That’s because Rolexes hold their value and limited edition Rolexes can easily appreciate.
He also went on vacation with his boys for 5k, which is something he can easily afford
with what he was getting paid.
What we liked also was that he was smart enough to realize that he didn’t need to fly in
a private jet, and he confessed that he was looking for the cheapest flights!
Overall, we think that Marshon seems to be relatively smart with his spending.
If buying chains and jewelry for 120k was his dumbest purchase, he’s doing something
right.
We’ll give him a B- on what he spent on his first million!
As far as his mindset on saving and money management overall?
We’ll give him a B- as well.
He seems to understand that he has a small window to make a high income in the NFL and
that he has to be careful with his money.
But he didn’t say how much he’s actually saving in his interview with GQ.
Let’s hope he’s been saving and investing at least half his income!
4 - Will Hernandez
Will Hernandez is a guard who plays for the New York Giants.
When he was drafted back in 2018, he signed a 4 year $7.45 million dollar contract that
included a signing bonus of roughly $3 and a half million dollars!
So far, Will’s earned 5.9 million dollars on his rookie contract.
However, he may not get the full value because his status with the Giants in 2021 is up in
the air.
Because he was picked in the 2nd round, only the first two years of his contract are guaranteed.
Will himself said that he knows that his income can end any time so he knew how important
it was to save money.
Hopefully, he’s saved a lot of money like he said he would.
In his interview with GQ on how he spent his first million, he said he saved 70% of his
money.
If he did save 70%, then really, none of his purchases are dumb decisions.
That’s because he’s spending well within his means.
It means that he’s setting himself up for an early retirement and if he just put his
money to very conservative investments, he’ll never have to work again.
Even if he can’t recoup any of the money he spent, it won’t matter.
So what were some of Will’s worst purchases?
In his GQ “My First Million” interview, he said that he bought a bidet.
In case you don’t know what that is, it’s the toilet that shoots water you know where.
He just loved it when he used his first one at a casino in Vegas!
But did he need to pay $4500 dollars for a toilet with a bidet built in?!
Most likely not.
He could have easily bought a bidet from Toto that goes on a regular toilet for just around
500 bucks.
What makes this toilet extra special that’s worth the extra 4 thousand dollars?
He’s definitely not recouping that extra 4k he put in!
He also bought a life-size Batman figure for $3000 dollars that he happened to see in a
comic book store.
This was an impulse purchase.
He also bought a $1000 dollar infinity gauntlet.
That was another impulse purchase!
Collectibles generally get back pennies on the dollar unless they’re limited edition.
It’s more or less money that he’s not getting back.
Another really bad spending decision he made on a whim was spending a lot of money at Nobu
for a sushi dinner for just 4 people.
It can be ALMOST understandable if it was a special occasion.
But this was just a random night.
He didn’t look at the menu prices at Nobu, a notoriously expensive restaurant.
All of a sudden he ran the bill up to a whopping three thousand dollars!
It’s true, Nobu has really high quality sushi, but he could have had a sushi dinner
on the same tier of quality probably for 500 dollars.
That extra 2500 dollars he spent for Nobu, he probably couldn’t have tasted the difference.
This is especially since he confessed that he just started eating sushi.
3 thousand dollars for Hernandez in the grand scheme of things isn’t that much.
But 3k here, 3k there consistently can add up quickly, and it can easily just become
part of the lifestyle for someone!
So what were his smartest financial decisions?
He bought some proper upscale dress clothes for around 20 thousand dollars.
This is a necessary expense for him so he can look proper when he travels with the team.
He also needs it for appearances, which there are plenty of for him in a market such as
New York city.
If he bought the right clothes, they become investments that can last him a lifetime.
The rest of his purchases fall into the “it depends” category.
For example, he bought a Nissan GTR for 115 grand plus another 10 grand on upgrades.
This isn’t that bad if he’s planning on keeping the car for life.
But if he’s planning on getting rid of it in a year or two, he should have just leased
it.
He dropped 20k for his living room setup which isn’t excessive for something that he’s
going to be enjoying everyday.
He bought a big tv, a big couch, an Xbox, a PS4, and a massage chair to enjoy all his
new toys in.
But these are things that would get pennies on the dollar if he tried to sell it.
Then the rest of the first million he spent went to his family.
He bought a 5 point 0 mustang for his little sister for $45 thousand dollars.
He also bought his dad a 2018 Silverado truck for $68 grand.
There was a family trip to Hawaii for almost 12 grand.
And then he spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 700,000 to 800,000 dollars on a house in
Vegas for his parents!
When it comes to giving to other people, these are decisions only the giver can properly
judge whether it’s worth the money or not.
Again, hopefully his family members can afford the taxes associated each year.
Because if not…...you know who's on the hook for it.
If it were us, if our parents needed a house, we’d buy a decently nice place in Vegas
for around $300 thousand dollars.
Then we’d put the rest of the roughly $400k or 500k in investments that pay dividends
for the parents.
Those dividends can easily cover the taxes and repairs on the house with money leftover
most likely.
But that’s just us.
Overall, we think that Will Hernandez has been a little risky with his spending, especially
being a second round pick on his rookie contract.
His future is up in the air ever since he got COVID and became a back up at his position
in late 2020.
We’ll give him a grade of C+ on what he spent his first million dollars on even if
it’s the last contract he gets.
He could have done better, but it was probably above average when compared to the average
athlete.
But, we’ll give Hernandez an A in money management overall IF he was actually able
to save 70% of what he’s earned!
3 - Laremy Tunsil
Laremy Tunsil is an offensive tackle for the Houston Texans.
However, when he first came into the league, he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins.
He signed a 4 year, $12.45 million dollar contract on his rookie deal, with all of it
fully guaranteed since he was a first round pick.
Since his first contract, he’s gone on to sign a 3 year 66 million dollar contract with
50 million dollars guaranteed!
So he’s definitely made a lot more money since his rookie contract.
AND he represented himself and negotiated his own deal.
He had full leverage on his side, so he was able to save a LOT on the agent fees.
So how smart was he spending his first million?
Let’s go through his interview with GQ.
He says that he goes over his spending each month with his financial advisor.
He says that he saves 80% of his income, and then blows the rest on whatever!
Just like with Will Hernandez, if this is true, then it kind of really doesn’t matter
what he buys with that 20%, because he’s spending well within his means.
So let’s assume that he’s spent only 20% of his income.
20% of his huge number he’s made still lets someone blow a serious amount of cash!
How many of his purchases can be sold for close to what he paid?
Let’s go through some of his worst purchases first.
He bought a Lamborghini Urus SUV.
And he customized it with a purple and cheetah mink interior for 300k!
We don’t need to tell you that not many people are going to like this customization.
When he’s done with the lambo, he’ll probably be able to sell it for maybe around 40% what
he paid when it’s all said and done.
But the Lambo truck wasn’t his worst purchase.
It has to be his Richard Mille watch he paid 200 thousand for!
He said that he didn’t want to be just like everyone else with a Rolex or an Audemars
watch.
He wanted to be different with a Richard Mille on his wrist.
However, the thing is, this watch isn’t worth the huge price tag.
Right now it’s the hot watch to have, but we’re willing to bet these watches aren’t
going to hold value to anywhere close to what he paid years down the road.
What were his smartest financial decisions?
What were some of the things that are going to hold value for the longest?
Nothing really.
Maybe his Kaws collection?
He’s dropped roughly 50 thousand dollars for 12 Kaws figures.
Of course, these are hot right now.
But the resale on these collectibles could go in any direction in the future.
However, the nicest financial decision Laremy has made is his donation of 250 thousand dollars
for COVID relief to the city of Houston.
That’s a really nice way of Laremy to give back to the city he plays for.
The rest of his financial decisions with his first million were for his mom and his little
brother.
He bought his mom a Bentley Continental for 200 thousand dollars.
He bought his little brother a 2020 G-Wagon for 150k.
Again, only he knows if giving that to his family is worth it.
And with how much he’s made, he really doesn’t need to worry about the taxes for these things.
Overall, we think that Laremy Tunsil is doing an absolutely fantastic job with his money
by saving 80% of it.
His worst spending decision overall was easily the Richard Mille watch.
That’s something that he’ll probably regret buying in the future when they go out of style
like Jacob and Company watches.
It’s a 200 thousand dollar watch that may recoup somewhere around $50k in the future
when he’s done wearing it.
And this is why we give him an overall grade of D on how he spent his first million.
A lot of what he spent on himself is money he’s not gonna be able to get back if he
had to sell.
But if he’s saved 80% of what he’s made, he’ll never have to worry about it.
But when it comes to saving and understanding finance, it’s absolutely an A+.
Also, it’s definitely a flex that he saved a lot of money being able to negotiate his
own second contract.
2 - Dwayne Haskins Free Agent Quarterback Dwayne Haskins is easily
a cautionary tale where everything can go wrong really fast for a young athlete that
has a seemingly bright future.
He was drafted 15th overall by the Washington Football Team in 2019 to be their franchise
quarterback.
Just 2 years later, he became a Free Agent who’s future in the NFL is very much in
doubt.
Haskin’s first NFL contract was a 4 year $14.4 million dollar contract that was fully
guaranteed since he was a first round pick.
Despite being on the hook for the full contract amount, Washington still decided to cut him
after just 2 years in the league.
Things can quickly change for professional athletes if they’re not performing as expected,
AND they aren’t professional in their conduct!
What he spent on his first million all of a sudden became exponentially more important
since his next contract isn’t promised, and it practically has zero chance to be considered
a big contract in the NFL.
Haskins said during his GQ interview that he saved 70% of his income.
If that’s true, he’ll definitely still be doing well financially.
So what were some of Haskins worst decisions?
The worst financial decision he made wasn’t shelling out 250k for the Bentley Bentayga.
It was paying 10 thousand dollars for someone to paint a mural in his basement!
Those murals he had painted with his favorite people definitely aren’t going to add value
to the house when it’s time to sell.
It’s just another sunk cost.
Then there’s the chain that he made with his initials for 10k.
That’s another 10k he isn’t getting back!
He also was paying for a personal shopper to help him FIND ways to spend his money on
fashion!
This is easily his most unnecessary expense!
What were the smart decisions he made?
Maybe his purchase with the Patek Philippe?
This is a classic brand watch where the resale value is high.
He paid 60k for the Patek, which isn’t that astronomical for the most well known high
end watch that holds its value and may appreciate.
The rest of his first million dollars was spent on paying for the education for his
sister, some vacations, some expensive but necessary dinners for rookie hazing, and then
for…..taxes.
The fact that he counted the taxes towards the one million dollars shows a little bit
of financial savviness.
However, he DID buy his mom a house for 750k, which wasn’t counted in his first million.
Overall, it seems like Haskins hasn’t really spent too ridiculously on his first contract.
His spending became much more of an issue ever since he got cut from the Washington
Football team.
There were some iffy choices right off the bat such as spending 250k on the Bentley and
10k on the jewelry.
Also, the personal shopper was just completely unnecessary, because he obviously wasn’t
spending that much time focused on being a quarterback.
But him accounting for taxes in spending his first million brought him up a little bit.
We’ll give him a B- on how he spent his first million.
But as far as money management goes, if he did indeed save 70% of what he’s made in
the league, then it’s easily an A.
1 - Adrian Peterson AP is a slam dunk first ballot Hall of Fame
running back when he’s finally retired from the game.
And that’s the reason why he’s made almost a HUNDRED AND THREE million dollars alone
from salaries and bonuses in 14 seasons in the NFL!
But sadly, the most likely reason why he’s still trying to play is because he needs money.
Bad.
Recently in January of 2021, reports came out that he couldn’t pay back a loan he
took out for 5.2 million dollars a few years ago.
What he owes has since ballooned to at least 8.3 million dollars ever since he started
defaulting on his payments!
Peterson didn’t pay back the loan by the initial agreed-upon date of March 1st, 2017.
His creditor, DeAngelo Vehicle Sales, LLC, had actually been working with Peterson on
payments for the loan.
In 2019, Peterson negotiated and signed a settlement agreement that was a great deal
for him if he could follow through.
Peterson was supposed to make two $50,000 dollar payments on October 18th and Halloween
of 2019.
He was then supposed to make a $2.25 million payment on November 11th in 2019.
Then he was supposed to make a final $25,000 dollar payment within 10 days of his contract
being picked up for the 2020 season.
If Peterson defaulted on the settlement agreement, he would have to pay the entire amount of
the initial loan plus interest!
Of course, that didn’t happen.
If he made all the payments, it meant that he would have paid less than 2 and a half
million dollars to settle the debt.
But instead, because he couldn’t pay it, the debt more than TRIPLED!
He’s now on the hook for the full 8.3 million dollars!
Adrian Peterson is the latest athlete who is THE cautionary tale.
If he had focused more on saving his tens of millions of dollars instead of focusing
on spending it, he wouldn’t be in the financial situation he’s currently in.
Supposedly he lost a lot of his money from bad investments.
But even if investments do go to zero, it still doesn’t put someone in debt.
They have to WILLINGLY take out loans to be in debt.
But Peterson is famous for his lavish spending.
His 30th birthday party in 2015 is still talked about today.
He supposedly spent millions of dollars on just that one party, despite him getting close
to the end of his career.
The level of insanity for this party is too much to list.
But here’s just one example of the excess spending he did for this birthday party.
Peterson paid for first class travel for over 300 of his guests, AND he paid for all their
5 star hotel rooms!
Spending millions of dollars for a party for just one night is easily the worst way to
spend a million plus dollars on this list.
The grade is an F for the money spent on this party.
Overall, we also have to give Adrian Peterson a grade of F in his overall money management.
It takes a lot of reckless spending to go into debt after making over a hundred million