I was reading Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback yesterday and a little bit of personal finance slipped it way into what is the best weekly football read there is. Due to the summer off-season, the NFL slows down a little and Peter King took a vacation. Writing in his place was the Indianapolis Colts’ recent high draft pick from Stanford, Coby Fleener.
It is a very well-written article and in it Fleener goes into detail about the orientation the NFL has for rookies. What really caught my eye was that they got Adam “Pacman” Jones and Terrell Owens to talk on a stage to the rookies. This was a shining example of getting a pair to show players what not to do.
“Pacman” was the first defensive player taken in the 2005 draft and showed remarkable talent in two things, playing football and occupying the backseat of police cars. Repeated incidents, including a shooting, lead to numerous suspensions. When he got back on the playing field karma seems to have caught up with him in the form a couple of neck injuries that ended a season and slowed him down in another. He still seems to be playing football, which was a surprise to me. He’s certainly not a factor that opposing teams prepare anymore.
Terrell Owens is a little more well known. He had a very productive career, but one in which he had been traded or simply released many times because of disagreements with ownership. Many people witnessing his antics have concluded that’s bipolar.
With this background knowledge in mind, Adam “Pacman” Jones was telling rookies about the things that he regrets in his time in the NFL. Fleeney didn’t report on how many hours the talk went on, but at one point “Pacman” Jones “regretfully recounted spending $1 million in one weekend” and Terrell Owens turned to him and said, “Man, you crazy!”
For the first time in my life, I’ve heard what a crazy person thinks is beyond crazy. On the flip-side of things, I can’t imagine what “Pacman” Jones’ life was like. He estimated that 90 percent of his childhood friends in Atlanta are now either dead or in jail. I wish I could have connected with him and said, “Hey, here’s a chance to use that money to save some of those friends.” I’m betting that a few people tried to tell him that along the way, but he might not have listened. After all, it’s his money, and if he wants to go to the strip clubs and make it rain money, that’s his business. However, in just a few years he’s talking to the rookies telling them about how much he regrets spending that money.
Unlike many of my articles, I don’t have any practical advice here for the average reader. Unless your rich uncle Brewster puts you in the situation to spend millions, you and I will probably never see that. However, if you do find that situation, I suggest you put the money to good use. At the very least, set aside a few dollars for star NBA players who can’t afford lenses for their glasses. Also, please get Katy Perry some Ambien.
You’d think his main regret would be instigating a riot that left a man paralyzed (resulting in a recent $11.6 million judgment against Pac Man).
Yeah, he might not have been as open about talking about that one since it’s pending appeal (I think).
Just a fact checking FYI…Brewster was the beneficiary of the money (Montgomery Brewster). The rich uncle was Rupert.
Right you are. It has been too long since I’ve seen it.
This may surprise many (including me), but the novel Brewster’s Millions was written in 1902 and ten movies have been based on the novel (including 3 Indian movies).
Here’s a link to the Kindle version of the book. It’s a public domain book and is available for free.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RKT58Y/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002RKT58Y&linkCode=as2&tag=thecasobs-20
I knew there were at least several movies. I didn’t think there were 10.
I also read this story about Terrell Owens and Adam Jones. I think it’s great that someone in the NFL is trying to keep these rookies from blowing all of their money in spectacular fashion. A lot of these guys have never had much money and have no idea how to manage it.