NFL rookies reveal first paycheck purchases
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- Jeremiyah Love (Cardinals, No. 3 pick) plans not to touch his fully guaranteed $53.9M rookie contract, saying he'll live off his ~$600K NIL valuation from Notre Dame and endorsement deals with PayPal, New Balance, and Celsius
- Jadarian Price (Seahawks, No. 32) used part of his $8.7M signing bonus to buy his family a new house in his hometown of Denison, Texas — a goal he'd had since childhood
- Malachi Lawrence (Cowboys, No. 23) cited the widely shared stat that 70% of NFL players go bankrupt after their careers, saying he wants to be in "that 30%" and hasn't spent his NFL bonus yet
- Zachariah Branch (Falcons, 3rd round) invested his NFL earnings in S&P 500 companies and plans to build a real estate portfolio alongside his father Sheva, a Las Vegas realtor
- Zion Young (Ravens, 2nd round) used his first paycheck for house renovations for his parents and now selects one of his 10 siblings each month to pay rent or mortgage for
- Jacob Rodriguez (Dolphins) bought his first-ever mattress — a Tempur-Pedic — after years sleeping on the ground at his brother's apartment and on a 3-inch college mattress
- Carnell Tate (Titans, No. 4) splurged on a Star Wars Lego Ultimate Collector Series set and is currently building the Titanic set, while also purchasing a home in his hometown of Chicago
Why it matters: This draft class is entering the NFL fully formed in the NIL era — Love already earned $600K at Notre Dame and Cisse had "mostly all my stuff" before signing — which is reshaping how rookies handle a first NFL paycheck. The pattern of family-first purchases, real estate moves, and outright saving reflects a generational pivot toward wealth preservation aimed at avoiding the post-career bankruptcy spiral that Lawrence explicitly cited at 70%.
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