An update to a story we reported some time ago about one of the NFL’s best retirement savers, Rob Gronkowski.
In his 2015 book, “It’s Good to be Gronk,” he revealed that he hasn’t touched “one dime of my signing bonus or NFL contract money.” Instead, he’s been living off of his endorsement money since his career started in 2010.
However, this week he told UNINTERRUPTED’s “Kneading Dough” that, while he still saves his NFL salary (which has been as high as $4 million in 2017, according to CNBC) he finally splurged on a big-ticket item.
“When I signed my incentive deal last year, my friend had a chain and I was like, ‘Dang, man, that’s a nice chain,’” he told the show. “I never had jewelry in my life. He let me wear it last year at a party and it made me feel good.”
“So then, in the back of my head, I said, ‘If I hit all my incentives, if I do everything I need to do, get all my bonuses, put all the work in, I’ve gotta finally treat myself. It’s been eight years. I haven’t really bought anything in my career, don’t really have anything luxury like that.”
“I finally went out and bought myself a chain,” he added. “And I love this puppy. … Now I know why people got jewelry. Now I understand why.”
The legendary goofball and namesake of the predictably wild Gronk Party Ship is nonetheless an example of a professional athlete who’s saving for retirement the right way.
The incredibly high rate at which retired professional athletes go broke is by now well-known. Case in point: Warren Sapp made $82,185,056 in his NFL career. He ended up with $826.04 in his bank account.
The stats aren’t new or encouraging. More than 78 percent of NFL stars will file for bankruptcy within five years, with 60 percent of NBA players going broke during the same time period, and baseball players file for bankruptcy four times more often than the average U.S. citizen.
For perspective, Wyatt Investment Research reports that the annual household bankruptcy rate likely hovers around 1.2 percent.
One reason, of course, has to do with the financial education that too many players do not receive. Yet there are signs—however slight—players might finally be getting it, and they come from unlikely sources.
“I live off my marketing money and haven’t blown it on any big-money expensive cars, expensive jewelry or tattoos and still wear my favorite pair of jeans from high school,” Gronk wrote in his book. “I don’t hurt anyone (except Gord with the occasional kick to the groin), I don’t do drugs, I don’t drive drunk, I don’t break the law… I’m a 23-year-old guy just looking to have a fun time.”
And then there’s Marshawn Lynch, also known as a person in the locker room teammates turn to for help with their 401ks.
“Marshawn helps me with a lot of things as far as understanding my worth,” wide receiver Tyler Lockett previously told ESPN.com. “He’s a great guy. Even at practice, he’s helped us with the 401k, talked to us about that. … He helps us with a lot of stuff.”
He probably has a heavy allocation to Skittles, and his advice prowess would naturally lend itself to a financial career after his time with football is done (let’s hope it’s more Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and less Lenny Dykstra).
Another sign of hope? The high-quality of the NFL’s 401k plan.
Research firm BrightScope’s list of the top retirement plans consistently finds the NFL Player Second Career Savings Plan at or near the top.