NFL Players' Podcast

The biggest contract of your life is not the number on the headline. Jeff Locke opens with the math on a $132 million deal: $100 million "guaranteed," about $80 million likely to be paid, and roughly $45 million in your pocket after tax and agent fees.

From there, Sam Acho, Zach Miller, Jeff Locke, and host Riccardo Stewart go around the table on what it actually feels like to get paid in the NFL, and what separates the players who get it right from the ones who get it wrong.

On the wrong side: trusting people you don't need to trust, anchoring your spending to the headline number, and never learning the business of the NFL.

On the right side: living simple and staying a ball guy, building a giving plan before the requests come in, thinking like a CEO about who is on your team and how they get paid, and staying educated instead of handing everything off. Three former players, one former coach, no corporate speak.

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Chapters
00:00 Cold Open: $132 Million Is Really $45 Million
00:30 Welcome: Getting Paid, Getting It Right vs Getting It Wrong
01:32 Zach Miller: What Signing The Big Deal Actually Feels Like
02:52 Getting It Wrong: Trusting People You Don't Need To (Sam Acho)
04:29 Getting It Wrong: Anchoring Your Spending To The Headline Number (Jeff Locke)
05:54 Getting It Wrong: Not Understanding The Business Of The NFL (Zach Miller)
07:42 Getting It Right: Living Simple And Staying A Ball Guy
08:42 Getting It Right: Building A Giving Plan Before The Requests Come In
09:48 Getting It Right: Thinking Like A CEO
10:48 Getting It Right: Staying Educated, Plus How To Reach Us

Creators and Guests

Host
Jeff Locke
Wealth Strategist and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) at AWM Capital
Host
Riccardo Stewart
Former college character coach and Director of Human Capital & Family Leadership
Host
Sam Acho
Director of Human Capital and Impact and an in-studio and game analyst for ESPN.
Host
Zach Miller
Former NFL player and current CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®)

What is NFL Players' Podcast?

The podcast by NFL players for NFL players. Each week, we break down the biggest events in football and how they directly impact a player's career and money.

Join Former NFL Veterans Sam Acho (Bills, Bucs, Bears & Cardinals), Zach Miller (Seahawks & Raiders), Jeff Locke (Vikings, Colts, Lions, 49ers), and college coach, Riccardo Stewart, for a raw and unfiltered conversation about the game, the business, and how players can achieve generational wealth.

Jeff Locke "The Professor": It's
really easy to look at the big number.

$132 million contract.

And when you break down the
contract, devil's in the details.

$100 million says it's guaranteed.

Actually, only $80 million is
likely to be paid, guaranteed-wise,

when you look at the details.

After tax, that's about $45 million, tax
and agent fee, whatever you got going on.

So it's not $132 million.

It's $45 million in your pocket
from this contract you just signed.

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": I'm
gonna welcome you guys back to another

episode of the AWM NFL Podcast.

My name is Ricardo Stewart, and
I'm your host, and I'm joined with

my coworkers and my friends Zach
Miller, Jeff Locke, and Sam Acho.

Guys, we're gonna talk today about
getting paid, and what does it look

like once you get paid to get it
right, and what does it look like

when you get paid to get it wrong.

We've been looking at the headlines.

We've been watching on HBO
in terms of Hard Knocks.

Spoon just got paid.

Highest-paid corner in the NFL
as we speak right now, although

that could change, as we know.

But I wanna just talk about that, and not
necessarily Spoon, but, like, when you

get 100 million or more guaranteed, you
know, like, like, what, what is that like?

So before we jump in, I'm gonna start
with you, Zach, first because, one,

like Spoon, you played for the Seahawks.

Like Spoon, you won a Super Bowl.

Like Spoon, you became the highest-paid
player at your position at one point.

And so what is that like?

Like, what is the feeling?

Like, tell me what it's
like in the locker room

Zach Miller "The Truth": It's, first
of all, it's amazing, very rewarding.

I still remember when I was an Oakland
Raider back in 2010, Bruce Gradkowski, the

quarterback, and I would be next to each
other on the plane, and we'd be looking

at, uh, Richard Seymour's, like, contract,
and it was like 13 million a year.

And so we'd do the math, divide it by
17, and be like, "Dude, he's getting

almost a million dollars a paycheck."

And so we used to be like, "Dude, how
awesome would that be for your, like,

weekly paycheck to be a million bucks?"

And so for me to finally sign that deal,
have to play out my whole rookie contract,

and then, and then, you know, ink the
deal, sign the contract, be, you know,

have the opportunity to make that kind
of money, um, I mean, I was blessed.

Everyone in the locker room
have I mean, they all know how

much you make, uh, so they…

It's, uh, it's fun.

It's a, it's a cool experience and, uh,
you know, I'm just fortunate that if you

put in the work long enough in the NFL
and you're good enough and you're talented

and all those things, you do get rewarded

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": Like,
and so here's what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna kick around the table.

Um, you guys are three former NFL players.

You've seen it.

You've been in rock room- locker rooms.

You've experienced yourself.

And just, you know, just a conversation
of, okay, like what does it look like when

they get that much money and get it right?

And what are some things that
sometimes athletes get it wrong?

And so Sam, I'm gonna
start first with you.

are ways in which you see some
of the athletes get it wrong?

Sam Acho "The Mayor": Get it wrong.

Um, there's a, there's a, a former
teammate of mine who's still playing,

uh, phenomenal player, and one thing that
I've seen in not just him but a bunch

of teammates who have played for a long
time making a lot of money is, um, they

trust people when they don't need to.

Here's what I mean by that.

People are gonna tell you who they are.

It's up to you to believe them or not.

This, this teammate has, like, made
a lot of money, and he knows that

this guy that he's working with
isn't really the best and is kinda

overlooking some things and has made a
couple bad decisions, but he keeps on

giving him the benefit of the doubt.

And I could understand it early on,
but now, like when y- people say if you

knew better, you'd do better, now that
you know better, you realize, oh man,

I, I don't have to just, uh … I'll
use the word, I don't have to sacrifice

the best in the world just to appease
someone else who I know isn't the best.

I could actually make a,
make an upgrade, right?

Make a change.

Just so when I went from high
school to college, right,

the facilities are different.

College to pro, I train different.

I'm investing in my body, uh,
because my body's my money maker.

Let me invest in the right team.

And so the way I've seen that people
get it wrong is they stick with

people who they know aren't fully
competent, but there's a level of

comfort because they know that person.

They've known them for a long time

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": Seems
like what you're saying too is

sometimes you gotta make the hard
decision to, and understand that no is

a complete sentence and move on, right?

same question for you.

Like, where, what other areas
outside of what Sam said do you

see players getting it wrong?

Jeff Locke "The Professor": It's
really easy to look at the big

number, $132 million contract, right?

And that's where you
anchor yourself towards.

When you break down the contract,
devil's in the details, right?

100 million says it's guaranteed.

Actually, only 80 million is likely
to be paid guaranteed-wise when

you look at the details online.

After tax, that's about 45
million, tax and agent fee,

whatever you got going on, right?

And so it's not 132, million it's
45 million in your pocket from

this contract you just signed.

So if you anchor your spending,
'cause you're gonna wanna go

spend, you earned it, right?

You played out your whole rookie deal,
you got this big signing bonus coming, But

if you let spend creep too fast based on
132, million not on the 45 million that's

for sure coming in, you can get in the
spot where the money will last for a while

when you're done playing, but you ain't
gonna achieve that hundred year family.

It ain't gonna be multi
generational So you gotta almost

slow yourself down early on.

Go and buy the things that you've
really wanted to buy, the house for

your family, the new car, those things
that have been on your bucket list,

but don't overextend too soon before
you really see the back end of that

contract and possibly another contract

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": Love that.

Zach, any other ways that you see?

I mean, I know you do, so tell us another
way that you see NFL players get it wrong

Zach Miller "The Truth": think one
of the main things they get wrong

is they don't get educated, and
they don't understand the business,

the business of the NFL, post-NFL.

They don't understand how the money works
once you're done playing, the drop-off

in income, the fact that you're not--
like, you can't s- if you're spending a

lot while you're playing, unless you're
like one in a thousand guys in the NFL,

like you can still outspend that money
like, like Jeff was talking about.

Like, you understand business,
you understand, you know, who's

actually on your team for real
and who's working for themselves.

You understand, you know, when
it's time to get a family office.

You understand all those things.

You understand your
agent's responsibilities.

You understand what it looks like,
uh, how a team even treats you,

how they think about you as a
player, how there's a dollar sign

attached to you and your position.

Once you understand those things, um, most
NFL guys don't 'cause we're just so young.

We don't have…

No one's there educating us.

No one's there helping us out.

Even the agents aren't doing it.

They're not communicating enough about
how the NFL works, how short it can

be, and that's, that part, if you
can just learn as you go in the NFL,

you have the right people helping you
learn, um, you're gonna be way better

off even just a few years in the NFL

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": That's good.

Zach,

Jeff Locke "The Professor": thing
I, only thing I'll add, only thing

I'll add there, Zach, is like
we work with a lot of agents.

I'd say most agents don't
educate their guys, but there are

some agents out there that do.

Like, there's some agents that
really teach their guys the

business of the NFL, right?

And really help you
prep for that life after

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach":
Yeah, no doubt.

I'm gonna stay with you.

Now let's flip it.

Obviously, there's a ton of ways
in which these guys get it right.

I mean, you're living proof of it.

So what are some of the ways that,
that you see athletes, particularly

our clients, get it right?

Zach Miller "The Truth": The, the
biggest thing they can get right is

Not, and this goes to the whole spending
thing, this is living a more simple life.

If you are too out there, and this
includes cars, boats, all of these

things, that money can go quick.

That can go, and you're
focused on the wrong things.

You're not focused on playing football.

You're distracted.

You're not being the
best player you can be.

You're not investing
in your human capital.

You're not improving your physical ability
to go play football, your football IQ.

You're not doing those things if you're
chasing the wrong things as a player.

And so the guys that get it
right, they're focused in.

They're ball guys.

They're focused on being the
best possible football player

they can be, they tend to…

things tend to work out for those guys

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": Love it.

Love it.

Jeff, how about you?

What are other ways that you see
NFL players, and particularly

our clients, it right

Jeff Locke "The Professor": We call
it creating a giving plan, right?

Or a sharing plan, however you
wanna, whatever you wanna call it.

What happens is everyone
knows you signed this deal.

A lot of people that you wanna help or
people that you might not wanna help

that think deserve your help once you've
signed it, The people that end up giving

away too much, not saving enough for
themselves and their core family, are

the ones that don't have a plan before
the questions and the requests come in.

you gotta, like, really
sit down with your team.

The players that we work for do this
really well, is like, "Hey, here's

my giving plan for the next year,
next two years, next five years.

Here's who I wanna give to.

Here's how much makes sense
for me and my family."

So that when the requests come in, it's
not deviating from what you already said

you wanna do and what you can support.

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach":
Sam, take us home.

What are some ways you see
our clients getting it right?

Sam Acho "The Mayor": Biggest way I see
our clients getting it right is thinking

like a CEO, meaning knowing how your
business works, knowing who is on your

team, knowing how they get paid, knowing
how they are incentivized, knowing,

um, just knowing their business as
well as knowing your business as well.

That's one of the biggest
benefits I've seen.

There was a, a, a young man who we
got a chance to work for who had some

inklings that this guy who he had
hired wasn't really for him, and he

had the courage to say, "You know what?

This guy, knowing my business and
knowing his business, he's not for

me, but I found some people who are."

And that's a courageous decision.

That's thinking like a CEO.

That's saying, "Okay, I'm not,
I'm not gonna trust my career to

someone or a group of people who
aren't aligned with my priorities,"

as, as Jeff has said not sitting on
the same side of the table as me.

And so those are the biggest
things that I've seen.

Thinking, acting, speaking,
learning how to be a CEO

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": Yeah.

I guess I would add as, as we close is,
um, something that maybe we haven't really

touched upon is, is the education part.

Is the guys that I see that are getting
it right, they don't just hire people

because they know more than them.

They do go and hire experts.

We would say that because we think
they hired us, and we're experts.

But also, they wanna
continue to be educated.

They don't wanna be left in the dark.

They know that right now their primary
focus is on their family and playing ball.

However, they're not just willy-nilly
saying, "You guys do everything."

They wanna be informed on the
investments we talk about.

They wanna be informed on why umbrella
insurance makes sense for them.

They wanna be informed on why the
estate tax is the way that it is.

They wanna be informed, and they wanna
be educated, and I feel like the ones

that do that, they become truly, Sam,
that, that athlete CEO because they

sit at the very top of their business,
and so they are getting it right, the

professionals on the field and off the
field, which is a beautiful thing to see.

So if you're an athlete, you're an
NFL player, and you're going, "Gosh,

I wanna make sure I lean on the latter
part of this po- of this episode," and

that is getting it right, and you want
resources or questions or so forth,

love to be able to provide that for you.

Um, you can reach out, shoot us a text.

Our number is 602-989-5022