Proposing to a cheerleader, putting on a fake HOF jacket, the river dance, and changing his name to his jersey number in Spanish. Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson was a showman in the NFL. One would think that someone with such a big personality and such a love of theatrics would also be susceptible to a love of spending, too. But not Ochocinco.
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A couple of years ago, before he joined Shannon Sharpe to co-host their own podcast, Nightcap, Ochocinco came on Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast to discuss everything from football to financials. What he revealed about his frugal spending habits came as a shock to many.
“The kids, I allow them to do the designer and the nice stuff, because I done saved what, 80, 83 percent of my salary. So it’s okay. And I have stuff comin’ in already. So life is good because I was able to sustain and keep most of my wealth that I made when I was playing.”
Ochocinco did note that at some point soon, his kids are going to have to get off his “payroll” and do their own thing. In their father, they certainly have a great example of how to go about doing that thing in a financially savvy manner. The Cincinnati Bengals legend said that he used to live at the team facility until his 3rd year in the NFL.
“I stayed at the stadium the first two years, because I didn’t wanna spend no money. What’s the point? [Head coach] Marvin [Lewis], walked up in my third year. Why are you telling me go rent a house, go buy a house, go rent a condo, when everything I need is right here in the facility at Paul Brown [Stadium]. Showers, cafeteria, TV, couch, gaming system. What’s the point?”
Squatting at the Bengals’ home field wasn’t the only way that Johnson was able to save. He earned just short of $49 million in NFL salary playing in the league from 2001-2011. He’s still got a lot of that money over a decade later because he didn’t care about luxury. He even openly committed the sin of wearing fake bling.
Ochocinco: Why am I driving a Ferrari? Why am I driving a Rolls-Royce and I’m Ocho? We talk about jewelry and watches and chains…
Sharpe: It’s easy for you to do that now Ocho, because you had the jewelry, you had the cars.
Ochocinco: No, no, no, no. Never bought real anything when I was playing. Never. What was the point? I went to Claire’s!”
Ochocinco somewhat kept up appearances with his fake Claire’s jewelry. But he wasn’t hiding behind anything when he was taking budget Spirit Airlines flights rather than flying private like most of his peers.
“I ain’t flying private. Spirit. Dougie, what I fly? Put me on Spirit. Exit row. Window seat. That’s all I need. Long as I get from point A, to point B. I don’t need private.”
That willingness to forego short-term pleasures, comfort, and luxury for long-term wealth is something that Ochocino would love to impart to the next generation. There aren’t many current or former pro athletes with his staunch record of frugality. He also interned at Morgan Stanley. So, he actually has a bit more knowledge of what it takes to be financially literate than the average layman as well.
