Chris Paul Was Offered $100K By His Agent When Going To The NBA, But Here’s Why His Parents Insisted That He Should Accept $25K
When Chris Paul was drafted to the league he turned down a substantial amount of money.
The NBA player had been drafted in 2005 as the No. 4 draft pick by the New Orleans Hornets, Fox News reports. He was just 19 years old at the time.
During an interview with Forbes, Paul mentioned he had just $151 in his bank account as a college student at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, when he entered the league.
One of his earliest actions was to bring on board a financial advisor, which ultimately resulted in him receiving an upfront offer of $100,000. However, his parents interceded, leading Paul to accept nearly a quarter of the initial offer.
“My financial advisor who we hired, they said they would send me $100,000 and my parents said, ‘No that’s too much,'” he told Forbes.
During an appearance on “The Shop,” he elaborated further stating, “You know what happened? I was at Wake in Winston. I went to the bank right up the street just so I could see what the statement looked like, right? ‘Cause we young, we don’t know. We ain’t never had no money like this. I went and got the statement that said $25,151… No education came along with it.”
Paul would go on to splurge his earnings at the Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem and even recalls buying a BMW 750.
The athlete would then see a meteoric rise in career earnings, currently totaling an astounding $389.9 million, according to Spotrac.
Understanding the importance of financial literacy during his childhood years, Paul now allocates his time off the courts to this mission. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, he partnered with Black-woman-owned fintech bank Goalsetter, Oakland Fund for Public Innovation, and Nike to introduce financial literacy to 1,400 Oakland, CA-based middle school students. As a result, they gained access to valuable resources such as a savings account through Goalsetter’s app, along with $40 worth of Nike stock directed to their Goalsetter investment account.
“Empowering our youth with the knowledge and tools to secure a financially sound future is not just a commitment, it’s a necessity,” Paul said in a press release provided to AFROTECH™. “We owe it to the next generation to lay the groundwork for financial success, ensuring they’re equipped to make informed decisions that will shape their lives and communities for the better. It’s about more than just understanding money; it’s about building a foundation of wisdom that will serve them for a lifetime.”
