Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade discusses the most significant financial mistake he made in his 16-year NBA career
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Dwyane Wade was drafted into the NBA in 2003. Coming from Marquette, the Miami Heat selected Wade as the 5th pick in the draft. He played 16 seasons in the NBA, winning 3 NBA Championships, a Finals MVP, 13x All-Star selections, and 8x All-NBA selections.
D.Wade had a very successful NBA career, thanks to which, he earned $196 million in salaries. The 6’3 guard was one of the most explosive guards in league history, and he found himself on the NBA 75 team as a recognition of the same.
Apart from his career earnings, Wade also earned through endorsements and other business investments. All of these helped him build a net worth of over $170 million. However, the figure could have been much, much higher. In an interview with Men’s Health in 2020, the Flash shared the biggest financial regret from his NBA career.
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Dwyane Wade regrets not having a financial advisor for his rookie season
Most people enter the NBA either from high school or from college. From making almost nothing(until the NCAA Policy in 2021), these players are suddenly signing million dollar deals. The sudden inflow of this kind of wealth leaves these kids making bad choices, and Dwyane Wade was no different.
In 2003, Wade used to make around $200 in college, and suddenly, he signed a 4-year, $12.3 million deal with the Heat. He earned $2.6 million in his rookie season, Talking about the same, he said,
“Early in my career, I didn’t have a financial advisor,” Wade said. “I didn’t trust anybody, I didn’t know anybody. So I was kinda just doing it on my own, and I had this plan. I’m like ‘OK, if I can save $1 million out of this $2.6 million that I’m making, that’d be good.’ And I think I ended up saving… none. I spent all of it. I went through it. My family had needs.”
“I regret not having someone early in my career to help teach me about all of this money,” Wade continued. “I went from making $200 in college to becoming a millionaire overnight, and I didn’t know what to do with it. Was sending my credit card to people like, ‘Hey, can I get that Bentley?’ I never really reached out to someone and said, ‘Hey, do you think I should get this right now? Do you think I should purchase this house right now?’ I just kinda did it all on my own, and that is not smart people.”
Wade regrets not having saved or invested anything from his $2.6 million rookie salary. If he would’ve done so, maybe his net worth would’ve been even higher!
It’s safe to say though, that despite not investing, Mr. Wade is not suffering.
