NFL and NBA stars earn ridiculous amounts of money throughout their playing careers. However, many still end up going bankrupt. The reason behind that is much simpler than what one may expect. In sheer excitement, they end up spending all what they earn on depreciating assets, without thinking one bit about their futures. NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal did something similar, when he ended up burning all $1 Million from his first cheque in minutes. To avoid getting into a similar situation, many athletes like Mecole Hardman have now started setting a large chunk of their first cheques aside before going on a shopping spree.
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O’Neal has now established himself as a top-tier entrepreneur who has stakes in several high-end businesses. However, it took him some time before ultimately realizing the importance of investing. O’Neal spent every penny of his first paycheck, around $1 Million, within 30 minutes, by making a series of insane purchases including three black on black Mercedes Benzes, and diamond jewelry.
Shaquille O’Neal spent his first paycheck in 30 minutes
Shaquille O’Neal, who can now be seen helping people almost every time he steps out of his house, once completely forgot about paying taxes and even about paying his agent. O’Neal signed an unprecedented $1 Million trading card deal with Classic in 1992, before even making it big in the NBA. However, the money he earned made life even tougher for the gentle giant.
After spending around $450,000 on three black on black Mercedes Benzes, and hundred of thousands more on diamond bracelets, rings, necklace, and earrings, O’Neal got a call from his bank manager who then told him that he still has to pay his agent fee, state taxes, and sale taxes.
In reality, O’Neal netted around $700,000 from the deal, if we take out taxes and compulsory cuts. However, Shaq completely forgot about all that and landed himself in a fix. Thankfully, he was able to recover from the tough situation and is now one of the richest NBA stars in the world.
However, not every athlete is as lucky as Shaq. So to ensure he doesn’t commit the “$1 Million Shaquille O’Neal mistake,” NFL’s star wide receiver Mecole Hardman set aside some money as savings, before going out to buy all sorts of fancy stuff for his parents and himself.
Mecole Hardman also went on a crazy shopping spree, but after saving $300,000
2x Super Bowl champion Mecole Hardman, who started his stint at the highest level in 2019 with the Kansas City Chiefs, got an impressive $5 Million, 4-year rookie deal to start things off. Immediately after receiving the money, he bought his parents a $300,000 house.
Post that, he gifted his dad a $60,000 worth Dodge Challenger Scat Pack, and his mom a $40,000 worth Dodge Durango. Adding more toys to his garage, he then purchased a Dodge Challenger Redeye Hellcat worth $130,000, before buying a customized Jeep for around $35,000, as reported by FOX4KC.
While Mecole did buy loads of other fancy stuff as well with his first Million, he made sure that he had saved at least $300,000 before going on a crazy shopping spree. Mecole recently signed a $4.5 Million one-year deal with the Jets, after his rookie contract came to an end.
