New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is an NFL rookie who is already thinking about the smart ways in which he plans spend and invest his millions.
In a recent interview with ESPN at the CC Sabathia Celebrity Softball Game, Barkley says he plans to follow NFL veteran Marshawn Lynch’s financial method. It was previously reported that Lynch doesn’t touch any of his earnings from the NFL and instead lives completely off the money he makes from endorsements.
“When I declared for the NFL draft and kind of realized where I was going to be drafted, that was something I was like, ‘You know what? Kind of want to follow the Marshawn Lynch method. I don’t want to touch that. I want to invest it, put it in the right peoples’ hands and learn as I continue to make investments. And just live off the endorsement deals,'” he told ESPN.
In 2016, Lynch announced his plan to retire from the NFL. At the time, Ian Rapport of the NFL Network reported that the athlete was in good financial standing and hadn’t spent a dime of the $49.7 million he had reportedly made from the league. Instead, Rapport said Lynch had been living off of his endorsement deals, from which he earned an estimated $5 million per year.
Lynch later told Sports Illustrated that while it’s not completely true that he never spent any of his NFL earnings, he is very mindful of how he spends his money.
“Once you’ve seen the lowest of the low, you don’t want to go back,” said Lynch, who has since returned to playing in the NFL. “But, like I told you before, it’s not me — I have a good team and some smart family members around me.”
Following in Lynch’s financial footsteps could be good for Barkley, who who was selected No. 2 in the overall draft by the New York Giants. He is expected to sign a four-year contract worth $31.2 million, making him one of the league’s highest-paid running backs.
Already, he is signed to Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports and has endorsement deals with Nike, Pepsi and Panini America so far. Recently, he used some of his endorsement money to buy his parents a 3,400-square-foot home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. He says purchasing the home was a promise he made his parents when he was a young kid.
“I kind of left it up to my mom. I said, ‘You pick a house that you like and you feel that will be comfortable enough for you and Dad and the rest of the family,'” he tells ESPN. “And she decided on that home. To be able to buy a house is truly probably the best accomplishment I have so far.”
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