Joe Burrow was an easy pick for the Bengals at number one overall, earning a $36.2 million deal. However, he never planned to use any of his contract money. Burrow knows that money is valuable and despite having a lot of it, he wanted to ensure his future was secure. So, rather than busting through his rookie contract, and handling his money poorly, he chose to go a safer and smarter route when it came to spending and saving.
Advertisement
Burrow has quickly shown that he was worth the first overall pick, taking the Bengals to the playoffs and even the Super Bowl in his tenure. He’s one of the best young quarterbacks in the game and one of the top quarterbacks overall. Now that he’s winding down on his rookie deal, Burrow will be looking to secure a massive contract. Given how he’s played, there’s no doubt that Cincinnati will be prepared to offer him anything. He’s more than deserved it, and it’s just a matter of when the deal happens now, not if.
Joe Burrow didn’t want to touch any of his $36.2 million
While some players go crazy with their initial contracts, like Ja’Marr Chase, finding ways to spend their first $1 million extravagantly, Burrow wasn’t about to do that.
After signing his deal, Joe Burrow revealed his smart and savvy plan to secure money for his future. “I don’t plan on spending any contract money,” Burrow explained, as reported by bengals.com. “I’m just going to live off the marketing money and let that accrue in my bank account.”
It’s a smart decision, and it ensures that he can save the maximum amount of money while spending his other income to keep up with his daily needs.
Burrow’s plan has been done before, by the likes of Rob Gronkowski and Marshawn Lynch who both said they wanted to live off their endorsement money. With big names like Fanatics, Nike, Bose, and more backing Burrow, there’s going to be plenty of money coming Burrow’s way, so he won’t have to worry.
Burrow has also been taking advice from Peyton Manning who was a big endorsement guy himself. Per CBS Sports, “I couldn’t have appreciated that more,” Burrow said on his conversation with Manning.
“I felt like we were in very similar situations coming in and he felt the same. He just gave me a lot of different advice when it came to marketing, how to handle the huddle, how to handle coaches, how assertive to be in your first year and how you build on upon that. It was a great conversation that I was very glad to have.”
Burrow has been advised to go Tom Brady’s route with his new extension
Burrow’s primary purpose now is to secure his next contract, and there are two routes he can go. One is, of course, to maximize the money he makes and go for a massive Jalen Hurts type of deal.
The alternate is a little more intriguing. Back in his prime, Tom Brady would routinely take less money than he could have made so that the Patriots had more money to splurge on other free agents and teammates. Rob Gronkowski is asking Burrow to follow in Brady’s path.
.@RobGronkowski’s advice to Joe Burrow on his new contract:
Take a team-friendly deal like Tom Brady and go contend every year.
📺: @FanDuelTV | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/0FvOkzyNDv
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) May 17, 2023
It’s definitely a sacrifice to make, and considering the amount of money quarterbacks are making now in the NFL, it would mean giving up a lot, but if it comes at the “price” of winning a Super Bowl, would not be worth it? It’s an interesting conversation to think about, and we’ll find out soon enough what Burrow does.
