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Ryan Broyles setting perfect example for the youth of the NFL

By Ryan Disdier

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Ryan Broyles is not the most talked about player in the NFL. He’s not the fastest or the tallest, and he’s not even the most popular receiver on his team,

However, the 27-year-old player for the Detroit Lions is setting the perfect example for the rest of the NFL from a financial standpoint.

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Recently, Broyles’ monetary master plan has been brought to the attention of the mainstream media, and it’s a plan young players should follow. Essentially, Broyles is taking the money he’s made as a decent NFL player — calling an NFL player, or any professional athlete ‘decent’ is obviously relative — and making sure it translates into a great post-playing life.

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Broyles said he and his wife live off around $60,000 a year. An incredibly frugal amount considering some of the pointlessly frivolous purchases some athletes make. The rest of the money goes to investments, retirement savings and Broyles’ post-football life.

“I studied as much as I could,” Broyles said, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN. “Talked to people wealthier than me, smarter than me. So that definitely helps.”

Rothstein also notes that Broyles, along with Saints running back Mark Ingram, went to Washington D.C. to speak to students about financial planning.

Broyles’ plan is to make the $3 million he’s made in his career last for life. By budgeting his money wisely, only spending most of his money on necessities and cutting out unnecessary purchases, Broyles can relax once his playing days are over.

The former Oklahoma standout isn’t the only player to make smart financial moves, though. Superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski has not touched a single penny from his NFL contracts, instead choosing to live off of his endorsement money. Gronk, of course, signed a $54 million contract with the Patriots, so he has more room for foolish spending. The point is that even the NFL’s stars are making wise decisions.

It’s an incredibly smart move considering the lack of longevity of the average NFL career. According to Statista.com, the average NFL career only lasts 3.3 years. There’s 52 players on all 32 teams during the regular season, meaning there’s 1,664 total, active players during the season.

Out of those 1,664, a small percentage will have lengthy, wealthy careers. Too frequently players enter the league, spend all of their money and are broke soon after their playing days are over.

If you need further proof, go watch the 2012 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary entitled “Broke”. The documentary focuses on how many professional athletes go broke after exiting their respective sport, and the television episode also notes this scary statistic, courtesy of Sports Illustrated: “By the time they have been retired for two years, 78 percent of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress.”

Granted, a large portion of that percentage is made up of role players, but former stars aren’t immune from financial issues, either.

Aug 23, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Vince Young (13) reaches for a fumble during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. Seattle won 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Former first-round pick, Madden cover boy and Rookie of the Year Vince Young filed for bankruptcy back in 2014. He didn’t lose all his money in one night, either. Young had a history of money issues, including spending $5 thousand dollars a week at the Cheesecake Factory, according to Clay Travis of Fox Sports. Essentially, he blew through $26 million dollars, which is more money than most people will see in a lifetime.

Young is just one example, but it happens all the time.

According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, the St. Louis Rams implemented a new method this year to try to prevent stupid spending by their rookies. The Rams only gave their rookies a portion of their signing bonuses up front, in a move to cut down on purchases before the start of training camp.

Beginning in 2013, he Rams didn’t even sign all of their picks until the rookies underwent a “Financial Planning 101” seminar. It’s something that other teams should replicate.

Too often rookies come into the league and are rewarded with contracts consisting of money they’ve never seen before. Players get caught up in the moment and try to enjoy the present as much as possible.

The sad truth is that most players enter the league without a college degree and exit the league without a lot of financial stability, or skills necessary for a non-football job. Not every player can be a J.J. Watt or a Russell Wilson, which in turn means not every player can be rich for life. More players need to start realizing that.

The careers of professional athletes aren’t like the careers of businessmen. Athletes play on borrowed time, and there’s only so long a player can go before injuries and old age start to rear their ugly head.

A player can be a third-round pick and hyped player one day, and a player who never saw the field because of a freak injury the next day.

Players need to start understanding their worth and the importance of budgeting money properly.

In his three-year career, Broyles has only caught 32 passes, 11 fewer than Odell Beckham Jr. had in all of December last year. There are players who have been less successful than Broyles who have spent more money.

Not all of the fault lies with the young players, though, as some of it is just because of bad timing, so to speak. Players are trying to leave school as early as possible, meaning they’re entering the league at ages 20, 21 and 22. Still college-aged kids.

In the future, players need to look at the blueprint the endorsement-less Broyles has set up. Even if the spotlight is shining on a player for a little bit and the bank seems endless, the spotlight eventually fades and the bank account eventually runs dry. Players should start following in Broyles’ footsteps and making sure they’re stable after football.

Let’s talk sports on Twitter: @DisdierSports 

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