Aug 18, 2026
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Add us on GoogleBarion Brown, the newest wide receiver and return specialist for the New Orleans Saints, has seen the stats. And when it came to his first paycheck from the NFL, he knew the play he was going to run.
Brown might be an offensive player on the field, but financially, he says, he’s playing defense and has no plans to splurge on himself or anyone else with that first check.
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“Nah, I’m a sixth-round guy, man,” he told CNBC. “Gotta save every penny I can get.”
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That’s a smart move. Brown, after all, may have signed a four-year deal with $4.67 million in May, but he was only guaranteed his signing bonus of $294,016. He still has to secure a spot on the Saints’ regular-season roster to earn more.
Even if he gets that, there’s the possibility of injury, being traded or cut, or some other premature career-ending event.
Scary precedent
Career prospects aside, there’s good reason for NFL rookies to be fiscally conservative. Too many players overspend when they receive life-changing money, forgetting that their lives will go on well past their days in the league.
In 2009, a Sports Illustrated report found that 78% of former NFL players were either under financial stress or had gone bankrupt. A 2015 study from National Bureau of Economic Research was a bit less harrowing, but still estimated one in six players filed for bankruptcy within 12 years of hanging up their shoulder pads, despite making $3.2 million a year.
It’s not just the sixth-round picks, either. Terrell Owens, a six-time pro bowler, made an estimated $180 million in his time with the NFL. The year he played his final season was also the year he filed for bankruptcy.
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Avoiding life changes
That’s a fate Brown is trying to avoid. He says he has no plans to change his current lifestyle, saying he has everything he needs and the money he’s making now is meant for “rainy days.”
“You just never know what to expect,” he told CNBC. “Just always having something to fall back on and rely on when the thunder come.”
The path Brown is following is one that’s applicable beyond the NFL. Anyone who sees a sudden cash infusion should take a long-term view, say financial advisors. The smart move is to hold off on any spending until the euphoria of the windfall has faded.
“Don’t be in a hurry to do anything,” said Amit Poddar, senior vice president and market leader at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, in a post on the firm’s website. “Take time to run through the elation and the guilt. And don’t make any big purchases or donations until you get hold of your own emotions.”
A financial plan, created with the help of financial advisors, that factors in your goals, debts and other fiscal information is invaluable.
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Chris Morris is a veteran journalist with more than 35 years of experience at many of the internet's biggest news outlets. In addition to his activities as a writer, reporter and editor, Chris is also a frequent panel moderator and speaker at major conferences, including CES and South by Southwest.
