There was a point in time, in the 2014 NFL regular season, where Ndamukong Suh was one of the most feared yet one of the most hated defensive players in all of football. The Detroit Lion was at the height of his powers and was in the midst of recording his third All-Pro season, even after stepping on the already injured ankle of Aaron Rodgers.
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As fierce a competitor as there’s ever been, Suh figures to be enshrined in bronze in Canton, Ohio, shortly after he becomes eligible for the NFL Hall of Fame. Nowadays, like many other recently retired players, Suh can be found venturing his way into the world of podcasting, as he’s currently hoping to share his perspective on those 10 years in which he managed to terrorize the league.
According to the five-time Pro Bowler himself, the cost to build a career like his can be a pretty penny. Nevertheless, the NFL’s minimum salary, even 15 years ago, was enough for him to label the investment as a “no brainer.”
“Why would I not give you $60-grand for the entire year to be my full support system? My lowest year, I made three-million bucks, so after taxes, a million and a half. I can’t afford $60,000 to afford one of the best people in the world to help me become the best athlete in the world?”
In Suh’s defense, even though that’s a yearly salary for many, when millions and millions of dollars are involved, all of a sudden, $60,000 doesn’t seem like a lot of money. Considering that his willingness to invest tens of thousands of dollars each year to develop himself physically ultimately produced a Super Bowl ring, a Defensive Rookie of the Year award, and a spot on the 2010s NFL Hall of Fame team, it’s safe to say his financial ‘risk’ paid off.
“The league minimum is $750,000, but I could be making $10 million a year,” Suh explained, before noting that the league isn’t necessarily as helpful in that process as one may think. While speaking with Keith D’Amelio, a human performance specialist, it was suggested that NFL teams are refusing to give players or their trainers access to their own data and physical metrics.
Suffice to say, that doesn’t sit well with Suh. “Boys and girls, professional athletes,” he proclaimed, “you own your data. Request it and just store it at the very least. If not, go find somebody to give it to.”
In a day and age where everything is marketed and algorithmic data points seem to run the world, that’s certainly not bad advice, especially when it could help you become the next great pass rusher of the last few decades. After all, you’ve gotta spend money to make money.
