Why Redskins Players are so Frugal

[use2betrix]

I saw this earlier and found it pretty entertaining. Certainly not what you'd expect but nice to see some mustachianism at a higher level!

http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-redskins-players-are-so-frugal-1452014607

[steveo]

That was good. I like being frugal just for the sake of being frugal.

[soccerluvof4]

Perhaps its just another example of the competitive spirit of professional athletes...?

[fattest_foot]

There was a lot of talk during Alfred Morris' rookie year about that Mazda. I'm glad he's still driving it (when not biking).

I'd say this isn't just a Redskins thing though. I know on this previous season of Hard Knocks there was a Texans player who was driving some old beat up minivan. The other players hounded him about it pretty hard.

I also know the Capitals has a few players who share apartments. It makes sense when you're on the road so much.

[solon]

From the article:

“Maybe someday I’ll have enough saved and I’ll see what I can get,” said starting quarterback Kirk Cousins, who drives a dented GMC Savana passenger van to work. “But it’s better to buy appreciating assets than depreciating. No yachts, no sports cars.”

I'm stunned!

[mikefixac]

I loved the article.

A friend's daughter dated this guy from NFL. On top of all the money he was making he was given loads of free stuff.

After his first year in NFL he blew all his money. My friend who's very smart with personal finance tried to talk to him but it was wasted breath. He's no longer in the NFL and is broke and I believe bankrupt.

[Apples]

I went to Michigan State while Kirk Cousins was there.  He has a great head on his shoulders.  I remember when he and his wife left for Washington, they had pictures of them driving off in their packed up passenger van.  As quoted in the article, he really is aware that the NFL career can be fickle and short, and knows that injuries can quickly end it all.  He comes from a very conservative Christian area, and I'm sure was raised with the expectation to be  modest and save your money.   Glad to know there's other players on the team just as interested in saving money!

[StetsTerhune]

Agree that there's some degree of competetiveness in these guys trying to be the cheapest one on the team, but they're absolutely right to be doing what they're doing. Contracts in the NFL aren't guaranteed, and the expected lifetime earnings of a lot of them probably isn't much more than the people on the forum. If you were gonna get paid a milion per year, but had no idea how long it was going to last before you had to go coach high school football the rest of your life, the smart thing to do is to live like your salary is the investment earnings from that million.

[LiveLean]

I was stunned to read this in WSJ this morning. This is the newspaper that normally celebrates the Kardashian lifestyle, especially in its Friday special Mansion section.

Remarkably, this wasn't even the only NFL frugality-related story in today's WSJ. The "My Ride" feature is on Kelvin Beachum, a 26-year-old lineman for the Steelers who drives a 2007 Chevy Tahoe with 200,000 miles on it. Though MMM would label this a clown car, the article notes that he bought it from his parents in 2012 (after getting drafted) for $9,000. His father owns an auto shop, like his father before him, and Kelvin grew up working on cars and takes meticulous care of his ride. And if you're 6-4, 300 pounds, you're not going to be driving one of MMM's preferred compact cars. Beachum also makes $1.5 million a year and his wife drives a Nissan Versa.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/steel-city-muscle-a-pittsburgh-lineman-and-his-chevy-tahoe-1452011240

[LiveLean]

how long it was going to last before you had to go coach high school football the rest of your life, the smart thing to do is to live like your salary is the investment earnings from that million.

Here in the Tampa Bay area, we have a half dozen ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are coaching high school football. All of them saved and invested well and now, in their 40s, do what they want, which includes coaching high school football. One of the ex-players, who went undrafted out of college but still played in the NFL for 10 years, has a 10-year-old who is one of my son's (public school) classmates and best buds. There's another prominent ex-Buc who used to tell teammates he lived solely on his endorsement money. Even today, ten years after retiring, you still see him in cheesy print and TV ads. But I have no doubt he still has never touched the millions he earned in salary.

Some "regular" high school football coaches grumble about this since these ex-Bucs don't have to worry about teaching a couple high school classes during the day and the coaching stipend is gravy to them anyway. According to this argument, they're taking away jobs. But they saved and invested and now have plenty of time. Another key is that even though none of these guys grew up in Florida, they enjoyed the no state-income tax as players, lived here year-round, and continue to live here.

[use2betrix]

I have seen several times in the past regarding statistics of NFL players and bankruptcy being insanely high. Something like 1 in 6 will become bankrupt. That's what I found great about this article.

It's easy for so many to point and say, "Ha, if I had that money I'd invest and save perfectly." Just like everyone here that makes 30k says they "wouldn't spend a dollar more if they made 500k."

When you grew up poor in bad neighborhoods like how many of these pro athletes did, it's a different story. Unfortunately that didn't help them learn to manage money.

There's a Netflix movie right now about Mike Tyson and Evander Holeyfield and their lives. its very eye opening as to how bad their conditions and environments they grew up in really were.

[honeybbq]

I think this exemplifies how the cultural 'normalcy' of spending can prevail even in small sub-groups. In essence, keeping up with the Jones' (or NOT in this case), is real. Kudos to them.

[xDavidx]

I know on this previous season of Hard Knocks there was a Texans player who was driving some old beat up minivan. The other players hounded him about it pretty hard.

That was Giovanni Bernard of the Cincinnati Bengals.

[greenmimama]

When I read this article on FB I figured it would be up over here. I loved it, it's very nice to see them going so opposite of their peers.

[mpg350]

There was a good 30 on 30 ESPN show about sports starts going broke after retirement a very high number are broke within 3 years.
It was on Netflix it was very interesting.

These frugal NFL players are doing what we are mostly doing just at a very high income level.