4 Money-Saving Lessons From the Most Frugal NFL Players

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Some big NFL stars are good at saving money. See which NFL players are winning the game of frugality — and what financial lessons you can learn. 

The Big Game is coming soon, and it’s a good time of year to get inspired by the financial lives of NFL football players. Most people assume that NFL football players live like rock stars, in big mansions with fancy cars. But that’s not always true. Some prominent NFL players are making headlines not just for their big salaries and signing bonuses, but for their frugality and smart budgeting.

What can the NFL’s most financially savvy football players teach the rest of us about personal finance and saving money? Let’s look at a few examples.

1. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers: Save money on rent

Brock Purdy is the surprising star quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, but he lives with a roommate. Purdy and his 49ers teammate, offensive lineman Nick Zakelj, share an apartment to save money on rent. The pro athlete roommates told the Today Show that their lives outside of football are pretty simple; they watch movies and grill out, just like typical young people.

Even though Brock Purdy was mentioned as a possible 2023 NFL MVP candidate, he doesn’t make the biggest bucks in the league. Purdy was the very last player drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft, a position known as “Mr. Irrelevant.” So because of this ultra-low draft position, Brock Purdy’s salary is cheap by NFL standards: “only” $870,000, according to CNBC. When you consider how much he must pay in state and federal taxes, Brock Purdy has a comfortable income, but he’s not a millionaire yet.

Lesson: Getting a roommate to split your housing costs is often a good idea, especially if you live in a high-priced city like San Francisco.

2. Christian Wilkins, Miami Dolphins: Be happy living with less

Christian Wilkins is a star defensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins who earned a 2023 salary of $10.75 million, but he still picks up pennies off the ground and celebrates when he finds an extra dollar. According to the Greenville (SC) News, before entering the NFL, when he was a student-athlete at Clemson University, Wilkins rode his bike everywhere instead of driving a car, and during his last year at Clemson he earned (and saved) $80 a day as a substitute teacher.

Wilkins grew up in a lower-income family that didn’t have much, but he’s grown up with a sense of trying to go through life without having to spend lots of money — even though he now has millions of dollars.

“I’ve always had the mindset of navigating through life with less,” Wilkins told the Greenville News. “It never took me much to be happy. I always had enough internal happiness to not have to spend money.”

Lesson: Try to avoid lifestyle creep. Many people just keep spending more money, the more they earn. If you get a big promotion at work, a bonus, a pay raise, or a one-time windfall, try not to let your lifestyle “creep” beyond your means to pay for it — keep saving for the future and investing for retirement.

3. Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson (retired): Know your worth

Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson was a superstar wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals who earned $48 million during 11 years in the NFL. In a recent podcast interview, Johnson said that he saved 83% of that NFL money. Even though Ochocinco was known for his highlight-reel plays and had a flamboyant personality, out of the spotlight he quietly lived a frugal life.

As a guest on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay Podcast, Chad Johnson said that he saved so much money by living with his grandmother for his first three years in the NFL. He spent his first two seasons in Cincinnati staying at the Bengals’ home stadium, where he got free food, showers, and even video games. Finally, after two years of living at the stadium, the Bengals’ head coach encouraged Chad Johnson to get his own apartment — so he rented a one-bedroom place down the street. Johnson also saved money by flying Spirit Airlines — no private jets. (I hope he at least got elite status on Spirit Airlines.)

Lesson: Chad Johnson didn’t feel like he needed big-ticket items or fancy jewelry to signify his status and his value in life. (Instead of a $50,000 watch, he bought fake jewelry at Claire’s.) He knew he had value for the kind of person he was, and he didn’t have to spend a bunch of money on “stuff” to impress people.

4. Tommy DeVito, New York Giants: Live at home with your parents as long as you can

Tommy DeVito is another unexpected rookie QB success story. He plays for the New York Giants, whose New Jersey team facility happens to be a short drive away from DeVito’s childhood home. While he became a surprise starting quarterback in 2023, DeVito was still living at home with his parents.

“Everything that I need is there at the house,” Tommy DeVito told ESPN in November 2023. “I don’t have to worry about laundry, what I’m eating for dinner, chicken cutlets and all that is waiting for me when I get there. My mom still makes my bed.”

Lesson: Not everyone might get that same level of homemade chicken cutlets and laundry service from their parents. But DeVito is a great example of how, when adjusting to your first job out of college, it can be helpful to save money on rent, and save time and mental bandwidth by living with loved ones.

Bottom line: Some of the NFL’s biggest superstars are also super-frugal. It feels good to save cash out of every paycheck, keep your monthly expenses low, and build a life that means more than money or material things.

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