When I got to the NFL, my agent told me, "F**k your ‘brand'. Your brand will come from what you do ON the field, not off it." I despise the word ‘brand’. To me, it is an effort beyond your authentic self, and a projection turned...
There is nothing people talk about more and do less than budgeting. Nobody wants to hear about it, and I get that. Yet budgeting empowers the purchases you do make and brings satisfaction for the purchases you avoid. Budgeting gives you a whole new perspective on life...
I had just signed a contract with the NFL and wanted to own the American Dream: I wanted to buy a house. Then the bank and my realtor went crazy on me. Owning a home can be the most satisfying part of the American Dream. And...
When I was in the NFL, people asked me for money almost every day. Old friends, strangers, even family would pop out of the woodwork with their hands out. At first I wanted to help everyone, but after a while I smartened up and learned...
“Knowledge is power.” I’ll never forget the movie Higher Learning (1995), where one of the first black professors I ever saw on television had two favorite phrases: “What’s your plan, Mr. Williams?” and “Knowledge is power.” After my first year in the NFL, when I was...
My first year in the NFL, I found myself $30,000 in debt before I played my first snap. Then boom: before getting my first NFL paycheck, I’d already had my first surgery. These two experiences drastically changed how I viewed money. I decided to make sure that...