NFL Players' Podcast

In this episode of the NFL Players' Podcast, Sam Acho, Zach Miller, Jeff Locke, and Riccardo Stewart pick up where last episode's Rich Paul conversation left off: is $200 million actually enough to build a 1Hundred Year Family? The guys break down the three things that separate athletes who build real multi-generational wealth from those who don't — integration (getting your whole team rowing in the same direction), specialization (working with advisors who only serve athletes), and the real numbers behind "ultra wealth," including the estate tax most players never see coming. It's a raw, locker-room breakdown of what it actually takes to make your money outlast your career, and then some.

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• Website: https://www.athletefamilyoffice.com/
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Chapters
[00:00] Recapping the Rich Paul question: is $200 million enough?
[00:02] Stats Say No: Jeff Locke on the hard truth about generational wealth
[00:03] What Is a Family Office: Why it should be an athlete's first hire
[00:04] Integration: Getting your whole team rowing in the same direction
[00:05] The Wealth Strategist: Why you need a quarterback, not "a guy"
[00:07] Specialization: Why athlete-specific advisors change everything
[00:09] Ultra Wealth: What "$30 million net worth" really means
[00:11] Peace of Mind: What it feels like when the plan finally works
[00:13] How to reach the AWM team

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.

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": A
client of ours comes to us and says,

"Just signed a contract, guaranteed
two hundred million dollars.

Do you think I will be able to
secure multi-generational wealth

and have a 1Hundred Year Family?"

Just your quick answer.

Jeff Locke "The Professor": Stats say no.

Looking at family offices for
generations, trying to pass on to

two, three, four generations, all the
data says, you're not gonna do it.

That's the gut.

It's really hard.

We'll talk about it.

You get the right team in place, you hit
all these things you're supposed to hit

along the way, you can do it, but the
deck is against you to make it happen.

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": Hey,
I want to welcome you guys back to

another episode of the AWM NFL Podcast.

My name is Ricardo Stewart.

I got the privilege of being
your host, and, um, I'm here

with my friends and coworkers.

We got Zach Miller, The Truth;
Sam Acho, The Mayor; and then

Jeff Locke, The Professor.

So if you listen into our previous
episode, we, we, we took, um, an interview

with Rich Paul that was flying around
social media, and particularly the,

the question was that he brought up
is like, is two, $200 million enough?

And what Rich Paul was saying
is how he tries to convince some

of his clients and athletes that
how fast $200 million can go.

And we talked about that, of going,
okay, just to give people perspective

of, like, that really can happen,
and it really could not be enough in

terms of transferring generational
wealth to the third generation.

today's episode, I want to
talk about can it be enough?

Like, shouldn't 200 million be enough,
and what are some of the things

that need to happen for, for, for an
athlete to be able to be successful

in having multi-generational wealth?

And we're talking multi-generational
wealth, fourth, fifth generation.

And so we want to jump into that, and our
phrase here with AWM is 100-year family,

meaning thinking about what your family
would look like 100 years from now, which

is very, very, very difficult to do.

And so I want to step back
and look at the big picture.

And in the big picture, I want
to talk about a few things.

I want to talk about one,
what is the big picture?

Specialization, ultra
wealth, peace of mind.

And so I'll start first before
jumping all the way in is, Jeff,

just what's your first quick thought?

Just, we're gonna get into it, but your
first thought when you hear A client of

ours comes to us and says, "Just signed a
contract, guaranteed two hundred million.

dollars Do you think I will be able
to secure multi-generational wealth

and have a 1Hundred Year family?"

Just your quick answer.

Jeff Locke "The Professor": Stats say no.

Here's my quick answer, right?

Looking at family offices for
generations, trying to pass on to two,

three, four generations, all the data
says you're not gonna do it, right?

that's, that's the gut.

It's really hard.

We'll talk about it.

You get the right team in place, you hit
all these things you're supposed to hit

along the way, you can do it, but the,
the deck is against you to make it happen

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach":
Yeah, I think that's important.

So when we step back, the first
thing I said is big picture.

Jeff, that's perfect.

You mentioned family office.

We understand that most of
our listeners have never even

heard the phrase family office.

Family offices are typically relegated
for people that are ultra net, um,

ultra high net worth, and they are
more than just financial advisors.

And so if you think about it, a
family office is basically your go-to

team for keeping the bigger picture
organized and life and finances and

it- as your life gets more complex.

It's lef- it's less about having what
people call an FA and m- or a guy,

and it's more about having a unified,

Zach Miller "The Truth": Well, I
see you in the part of understanding

your priorities, understanding your
capabilities, how you think, what it's

like, how your business is focused.

So that goes far beyond
making an investment.

Well,

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach":
your traditional

Zach Miller "The Truth": only focuses

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": is gonna
help you focus on everything and how to

Zach Miller "The Truth":
everything around your portfolio.

Family office will still
help you focus on everybody.

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": the
different complex things in your

life so that they're unified.

That's a tax strategy,
estate planning, insurance,

Zach Miller "The Truth": have

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach":
entities, private

Zach Miller "The Truth": the opportunity

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach":
your nonprofits, et cetera.

So before thinking about
multi-generational wealth, your first hire

or new hire should be a family office.

And so I'm, I'm gonna shut up and
go on, that's the big picture.

Zach, when it comes to the word
integration, to achieve multi-generational

wealth, um, there, there are key
players on your team that you need.

How important is integration when it
comes to building a hundred-year family?

And I ask you this question because
you've been in this position, and

you've been fragmented, and you've
been integrated, so I feel like

you're the best person to speak to it

Zach Miller "The Truth": Yep.

Integration is, it's simply having
everyone you work with playing on

one team, and that's your team.

I had it the other way, where
essentially I had all these people

in different places, not on my team.

They were either on their own
team or had their own, um, things

they wanted to accomplish that
conflicted with what I wanted, too.

And so you know how you're watching film,
your, a guy's … You know, you see a

guy at the position make a mistake and
your coach wants you to learn from that?

Well, I made those mistakes.

So all those things that happened,
we don't let our players go

and make those same mistakes.

And so what's, what's most important
in that situation is, in my

opinion, it's the wealth strategist.

That's what Jeff does.

If you don't have a wealth strategist
on your team and you just have a

guy, you don't have the quarterback
that's executing the game plan.

You have to have that person that
gets things done in the right way,

knows what they're talking about,
can do everything an advisor does.

The only thing they're not doing is being
the, the head coach setting the strategy.

Um, but they are the most
important position on the field

if you want a 100-year family.

They will be the one that
coordinates the second most

important position, which is the CPA.

If you don't have an in-house CPA,
you're just not getting tax planning.

Tax planning is not tax compliance.

Filing taxes keeps you compliant
with the IRS, and that's it.

If you actually want to save money
on taxes and, and not just keep

getting crushed in taxes, you
have to have that in-house tax

team that is actually integrated.

I had it the other way.

It doesn't work.

A tax person not with your team
doesn't work for any NFL player.

And the last one is investment team.

Like Rick was saying, if you have just a
financial advisor and he's picking stocks,

he's just worried about investments,
you're missing the bigger picture.

You're missing the plan of the
100-year family, and they're

not advising on NFL benefits.

They're not advising on private
investments, and those are major

pieces that are not getting done within
your plan that is also coordinated

with everything your money touches

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": Love that.

I love that.

You see the big picture,
you need a family office.

then specially, in terms of
integration, you gotta be integrated.

This next one is specialization.

Jeff, this one's for you.

And, and I love to say this, "Mo money,
more problems," like Notorious B.I.G.

said, but it's really more
money, more complexity.

And with complexity, it
necessitates clarity.

So specialization plays a big part.

And the reason why I chose
you, Jeff, on the field in the

NFL, you were a specialist, so

Zach Miller "The Truth": Do you understand

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach":
what that means.

Zach Miller "The Truth": what

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach":
so what does specialization play

Zach Miller "The Truth": that means?

So it's not just

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach":
in building a 100 year family?

Jeff Locke "The Professor": Yeah, I was a
punter and kicker, I didn't go to the same

coach Zach went to for tight end skills.

I didn't go to the same coach you guys
went to for DB and linebacker skills.

right?

I even didn't listen to my special
teams coach when he tried to

tell me how to kick a football.

He's doing the schemes,
not the technique, right?

So translating that to our world
is most financial advisors, most

FAs out there, 99% of FAs are built
to serve the average person with a

couple million bucks that is trying
to retire and make it last 30 years.

Right?

That's what they do all day, every day.

If they get to work with a
family like yours, they're

lucky and it's exciting, right?

But they're not specialized in doing it.

That's where different.

A family office actually for athletes,
is all we do all day, every day.

High income earners make all your
money in 10 to 15 years, and you want

it to last for 100 years, not 30.

We specialize in doing that.

A firm built to do that, people like us
trained to do that all day, every day.

So you can't just go with
anyone random, right?

You gotta have people that actually
know exactly what you're going

through, your family's going
through, and are trained to handle it

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": Yeah.

Well, we've been waiting
to hear from the mayor.

Sam, big picture, integration,

At some point, all those things are
great, but you gotta have money.

And so I wanna talk about
like just that ultra wealth.

so money matters when it comes to building
a hundred-year family, and we've talked

about the big picture and how we need all
these other components, but how does…

Like what, what, one, how much is ultra
wealth and what is ultra wealth and is two

hundred million enough and what challenges
does ultra wealth bring upon NFL athletes?

Sam Acho "The Mayor": I love that
question, Ricardo, because a lot

of people wanna build generational
wealth or multi-generational wealth,

but to your point, you actually need
a certain level of money, wealth,

income generated to be able to do that.

Uh, definitionally, people use
the word ultra high net worth, and

all that means is a net worth of
thirty million dollars or more.

That's not a contract of
thirty million dollars.

That's a net worth.

That means your contract's probably
gotta be seventy-five million dollars

or more because of taxes and even
your-- think about living expenses.

And so you wanna talk about ultra
wealth or the ultra wealthy, right?

That's probably a seventy-five
million dollar contract, right?

That's not just like, uh, maybe
you might get it, maybe you don't.

It's actually money received, a
hundred million dollars or more.

Those are the kinda numbers that you start
thinking of when you say, "Okay, I could

actually build multi-generational wealth."

But you can't just stop there.

Once you have that resources, once
you have the, you know, the funds,

that's when you actually do need…

Even before then, you need a team,
but you need a team to be able to go

and implement, uh, different things
that maybe people who don't have

ultra wealth aren't worried about.

For example, an estate tax.

If you're married and making over
thirty million dollars, you and your

spouse t- combined, there's gonna be
a, an estate tax that's, uh, forty

percent of anything above that if
you don't do the proper planning.

So when you get to that ultra wealthy
conversation, you're just in a

different atmosphere, stratosphere.

There's different conversations
that you're having that other people

aren't, that you need to actually
plan for properly to pass that j- that

wealth down to multiple generations

Riccardo Stewart "The Coach": So we'll,
we'll get a chance here to land the plane.

And again, we're taking this two hundred
million, one hundred million, and we're

thinking about NFL athletes who are gonna
earn this in a, in a particular window.

Typically, when they get into the
NFL, they're not thinking about it.

It's an idea.

At some point it becomes to
being a reality or at least

a question if it's reality.

I can go back years ago when we had one
of our first NFL clients and they were

retired, and they, they looked at us and
they said, "Hey, do we have enough money?

That, like, do-- are we
gonna have to go get a job?"

And it's a husband and a wife,
and they have, uh, four kids,

they're just try-- excuse me.

They have three kids, and they're
just going, "Do we have enough?"

we looked at them and said they did.

And mainly there, there was a plan
that needed to be put in place, all

of the things we've talked about,
but they wanted that peace of mind.

That's the last thing I wanna talk about
is when you have all of these things

working for you in a family office, and
there's integration and specialization,

you have the ultra wealth, what type
of peace of mind does that bring?

And Jeff, if you can land the
plane and just give us and

provide us an answer for that.

Jeff Locke "The Professor": Yeah,
we've talked about it a bit.

I think Zach mentioned it.

It's of the peace of mind
comes from sitting on the

same side of the table as you.

There's a lot of people out there,
try to do this piecemeal and, you

know, hire a CPA and an insurance
person, a couple investment people,

you got a lawyer somewhere else, right?

Try to do it piecemeal, being pulled
in so many different directions, right?

You have someone on the same
side of the table as you when

you hire a family office.

You have this wealth rowing in the
same direction your actual goals.

And the peace of mind, I also think
about as, like, actual experts

that know your situation, It's not
just, like I talked about, some

guy that helps the average person.

It's people that have been in your
shoes, we do all day, every day is

think about how to get you to 100
years with your wealth and what

you've earned with your money.

So that's the peace of mind.

It's not, it's not my team
handles everything, right?

It's my team of experts is rowing
in the same direction that I am

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

Let me step back, try to recap.

One, yes, we do believe two hundred
million dollars does put you in the

position to have the opportunity
to achieve a hundred-year family.

Jeff started off letting us know the
stats say that actually it doesn't happen.

Meaning to do what you say you wanna
do to achieve multi-generational ge--

uh, wealth is unbelievably difficult.

And so you gotta have a family office
where there's integration, where

there's specialization, so that you
have your ultra wealth continues to

grow and that you have a peace of mind.

If you don't, might wanna start first with
looking into what is a family office and

why the heck do athletes don't have them.

Um, we would love to be able
to provide resources for you.

We'd love to be able to answer
any questions that you may have,

and so please shoot us a text.

You can reach out to us.

Our number is six zero two nine
eight nine five zero two two.