Patriots rookie Joejuan Williams is already prepping for his future
New England Patriots rookie Joejuan Williams is reportedly saving 90 percent of his paychecks to be financially stable for the rest of his life.
Many people may not know who Joejuan Williams is, but the New England Patriots selected him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Williams is a 6-foot-4, 212-pound rookie cornerback out of Vanderbilt University.
Due to the depth and greatness of this New England defense, Williams has only seen the field in three games this season. Something the rookie has noticed since joining the NFL is that your time in the league is not guaranteed, and you can’t take anything for granted… especially the steady paychecks.
According to Jason Hahn of The Boston Globe, the former Commodore claims he is saving nearly 90 percent of his game checks in hopes of setting himself up for the future and a life after the NFL. Here’s what Williams had to say about his savings plan:
"“I’m going to sacrifice now for me to be happy later. I can go buy me a really nice car, I can go buy me a really nice house if I wanted to, I can go buy me a really nice chain or two if I wanted to. But that’s not going to suffice me for when I’m 40, 50, or 60. Who knows when I’m going to need that bread.”"
Williams also said he would like to set up financial literacy programs for people who come from lower-income families:
"“They have a head start in this race. For a lot of public schools in inner cities, it’s not required to take any personal finance classes to graduate or even learn about money in that sense. That’s not the real world. The real world revolves around money. It really puts a lot of inner-city kids who don’t have much at a disadvantage.”"
Considering the amount of money professional athletes make, this is a very wise decision for a 21-year-old to make.
Williams signed a four-year rookie contract worth $6,626,656. Even though he is a first-year player, Williams is aware that $6 million is more than enough money to be set for the rest of your life, and he wants to make sure that he is in fact going to be safe and secure in his future.
Patriots second round CB Joejuan Williams signed a 4-year deal worth $6,626,656, of which two years and $4,130,596 are fully guaranteed. Comes with a signing bonus of $2,839,384. His cap number this year will be $1,204,846
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) May 14, 2019
Williams is not the first athlete to do something like this. In fact, former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski reportedly saved every penny he made from his nine seasons in the NFL, and only spent the money he earned off of endorsements, commercials, and side businesses.
If athletes budget their finances and earnings properly, the players and their families can be set up for generations to come. That’s the message Joejuan Williams is trying to send. He’s trying to show the importance of saving and forming intelligent spending habits when it comes to personal finances… and that you can never start saving too early in life no matter where you come from.
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“I want to be set in the future when I’m not working,’’ Williams explained. “Grind now, sacrifice now, be happy later. I rather live like a prince for the rest of my life than live like a king for my NFL career and then go back to square zero.’’