Odell Beckham Jr. recently went viral for admitting that an NFL contract worth $100 million isn’t as much as people think. Many immediately began making fun of the wide receiver, amused that he could associate anything negative with $100 million. But Cam Newton has now stepped in to point out that OBJ’s perspective isn’t as outlandish as people are making it sound.
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OBJ made $101.896 million throughout his NFL career. But according to him, after taxes, he made much less. This made it harder for him to budget his money, as he wanted to do a lot of things with it. Things like saving, investing, and of course, spending.
In the initial years of his NFL career, OBJ thought he was doing everything right with his money, yet he ended up spending more than he thought he would. That’s not to say he’s now broke, but he lives more of a budgeted lifestyle now. That’s when Newton jumped in with his input-output theory on what exactly happens when someone starts making a whole lot of money.
“When you get the income, your spending habits change. I get a Ferrari, I make that next week… What people don’t understand is when your income is contingent on your output… If you keep your output basic, but your income is large, you’ll be good… But you have a lifestyle, that’s your output,” Newton professed on 4th&1.
OBJ admitted it himself; he liked to flaunt his money. But that output of spending a ton on jewelry, cars, and other fun stuff has now caught up to him.
“It’s not the money that was already made. It’s your output, bro. And it’s going to catch up to you,” Newton added.
It was a wise statement that the former QB made. He went on to explain that he never thought he’d need a money manager, but now he does, and he also lives on a budget. It was surprising for Newton, though, because he said he was always frugal with his money before he made it to the NFL.
At the end of the day, money is a big reason why Newton still does all of his podcasts.
“That’s why 4th&1 is important, that’s why Funky Friday is important, that’s why First Take is important, that’s why BET 106 and Sports is important. That’s not to say that I’m broke… It’s income,” Newton shared.
All in all, it was an interesting look behind the curtain of how professional athletes spend their money. Some players get handed multi-million dollar contracts and will be fine for the rest of their lives, no questions asked. But, inevitably, some also overspend and don’t budget it correctly, which can lead to them being broke.
If you haven’t, go watch the ESPN: 30 for 30 titled “Broke.” It covers how some athletes struggle with spending once handed large sums of money, often leaving them broke when they retire. Thankfully, Newton hasn’t ended up like this, and that’s partly due to his side gigs, which certainly bring in a lot of money.
