Business: how do NBA players spend their first million?

Entering the world of the NBA as an athlete through the classic draft, or as free agent who is not drafted, quickly made you a millionaire man.For the vast majority of players entering the best basketball championship, they just have to honor a year of contract to become it.

Afin d’en savoir plus sur la nouvelle vie de ces individus, GQ a mené une enquête. Le média américain a interrogé deux rookies de la cuvée 2019 : PJ Washington (Charlotte Hornets) et Tyler Herro (Miami Heat). Ces derniers se sont livrés sur leurs premières dépenses suite à la signature de leur contrat avec une franchise appartenant à la grande ligue.

Pour commencer, il faut savoir que pour PJ Washington, 20% de ses revenus sont consacrés aux dépenses. Le restant, soit 80%, est placé dans un compte d’épargne et dans différents investissements. Cette attitude rappelle un peu celle de la superstar montante Jayson Tatum, qui a indiqué épargner l’intégralité de son salaire en NBA et ne vivre qu’avec l’argent généré par la signature de contrats avec des sponsors. De son côté, Tyler Herro a procédé à l’embauche d’un conseiller financier pour gérer et placer les sommes importantes d’argent qu’il perçoit sur son compte en banque. Son rôle est d’établir un plan de retraite pour ses clients afin de veiller à leur constituer un patrimoine qui leur sera suffisant pour vivre à travers des rentes… sans se soucier vraiment de leurs dépenses jusqu’à la fin de leurs jours.

1 - Housing

The first area of NBA basketball players is real estate.By generally landing in a new city from where they used to live, they have to get accommodation to live there.In the NBA, unlike the majority of professional championships in Europe, the under-contract player must manage on his own to find accommodation.Aside from traveling outside, of course ... by generally becoming the first millionaire in his family, an NBA player wants to please his loved ones.As a result, he also bought or rents a new accommodation to his parents.

2 - Cars

The second expenditure framework is motorized vehicles.Athletes must actually have a means of transport to make the journey that separates them from their home at the training center and the Arena where they play their home matches.It is well known that young multimillionaire athletes like beautiful things.Cars are no exception to the rule.And this, especially in the United States, where there are not really small racing cars.Herro said he bought a Porsche for the modest sum of $ 140,000.He had to pay an additional cost to personalize it and add tinted windows to it.To have fun, he also obtained a second car.Like the real estate they rent or have, most players are not content to have a single vehicle in their garage.

3 - Clothes and jewelry

Le troisième cercle de dépenses sont les vêtements et bijoux. Le style vestimentaire des athlètes changent lorsqu’ils possèdent un nouveau statut. Les sportifs professionnels portent une attention particulière à leur style. On retrouve un certain nombre de joueurs NBA aux différentes fashion week organisées à travers le Monde. Une fois qu’ils deviennent riches financièrement, ils ne s’habillent plus auprès des mêmes marques. Ils se rapprochent des maisons de couture de luxe.Pouvant signer des contrats de sponsoring avec des sociétés, les basketteurs NBA ont souvent un deal avec un équipementier sportif qui leur envoie des fournitures (chaussures, habits, etc.) gratuitement et régulièrement, ce qui leur fait économiser de l’argent s’ils souhaitent s’habiller façon sportwear.Concernant les bijoux, un certain nombre de joueurs NBA veulent exposer leur réussite et richesse. Ils réalisent ainsi parfois des achats compulsifs qui nuisent à leur santé financière. Effectivement, beaucoup de produits perdent de la valeur dès qu’ils sont déballés ou utilisés une première fois. Herro avoue avoir déjà dépensé 45 000 dollars en bijoux, chaines en diamants, montres et lunettes de soleil.

4 - Employees

The fourth spending sector is the hiring of staff to support them daily in their sporting success. This can concern the recruitment of a chef as a governing cook as well. Nutrition is extremely important to be in shape and perform at the highest level on the short, medium and long term. The longevity of a career can be partly linked to the eating habits of the athlete. Even if NBA franchises all have a regular nutritionist, hiring a personal chef represents an investment in the future. Its mission is to concoct its customers good small balanced dishes according to their energy needs. In this way, players don't have to worry about dining when they are at home. On the move, lunches and diners in restaurants are privileged. In the year, according to information given by the two rookies questioned, a personal chef costs between $ 20 and 40,000.

5 - Tattoos

Le cinquième champ de dépenses sont les tatouages. Près de 90% des joueurs NBA sont tatoués, de façon plus ou moins discrète. Certains en ont le corps recouvert, d’autres comme Kevin Durant font en sorte qu’ils ne soient pas visibles lorsqu’ils portent la tenue d’un basketteur.

6 - pets

Then comes the pets.Dogs and reptiles like snakes are particularly asked by American basketball players to accompany them in their lives.

7 - Entertainment

The rest of the money spent by NBA athletes leaves in their other passions.It can be video games.Many install real play salons at home.They have the full gaming panoply, including game consoles, controllers, helmet and gaming chair.

Some are also passionate about art and buy paintings of painters to decorate their home.Others develop a more or less pronounced taste for wine, etc.In short, everyone has centers of various and varied interests.

With their millions of green tickets, NBA basketball players do not forget to give gifts to their loved ones.They logically wish to please those who have always supported them to arrive where they are today.For the anecdote, a Gucci handbag worth $ 5,000 for his mother is the first thing Tyler Herro bought with his first salary in the NBA.