Love ND but give me 1 million guaranteed or whatever and ND offers nothing I'm taking the money 💰💰💰💰
I try to stay out of the money discussion, but I don’t think people really understand the reality of the money.
I have dozens of pro athletes in my gym, not counting the pros in combat sports, but NFL, NBA, etc…guys.
They make it clear how it works, especially when you are young.
First off, if you hear $1 million, it’s not $1 million. It’s less.
Second, many owe a percentage to somebody. Even these HS kids have a representative they must pay.
Then you have taxes.
Then you aren’t getting it all up front. You might get a quarter of it to show up.
So if you hear a number like $1 million, the player will actually be looking at around $100-$150k total after the real amount is settled, pay their rep, pay taxes, & divide it into a quarter because they aren’t giving it all to them upfront.
I know that still sounds like a lot of money, but Bowen’s family is middle class, (not hurting), and the money goes fast if an 18 year old has it, so mom is probably controlling it anyways.
If he bets on himself, he would make way more in a few years & have the ace in the hole if he gets injured.
One of my fight teammates played in the NFL for 9 years & by the time I met him he was broke. He walked me through how his public contracts were not what he actually ended up with. Add in he was young & wasted half of it the first couple years (like HS kids will do), & it’s not what it seems.
Most doctors I work with have more money at 30 than the average NFL player who didn’t get past their rookie contract (which is the vast majority of them). And yes, making the money when you are a little older & understanding the value of it is the main factor for that.
Look at a couple of those A&M DL who were supposedly getting huge deals. They weren’t playing (because there were 8 in one class), thus were not getting paid the original amount.
Then there is the other side.
This might be hard for people to believe, but many kids do make the decision money isn’t everything. A lot, I mean a lot of kids, turn down money, family inheritance, free rides to big schools, etc…to join the military. Kids walk away from money to volunteer for special operations & spend, what would be their college year's, multiple years going through hell training, just to get the chance to go fight, for $30k a year.
The point is some kids have a bigger purpose & outlook than money.