NFL player DeAndre Hopkins went back to school to maintain his wealth.
Hopkins is currently a free agent wide receiver who has played 13 seasons in the NFL, according to Athlon Sports. He has earned just over $144 million during his career, per Spotrac. Off the field, Hopkins has been building wealth through a coffee shop he co-owns, Aruma Cafe, in Tempe, AZ, he notes on LinkedIn. His investment portfolio includes Therabody, Whatnot, OLIPOP, and Beyond Meat, among others.
“In 2019 I put money into a plant-based meat company most people doubted. Then it went public and took off. That was Beyond Meat, before the IPO. Plenty of people called it a fad. I looked at it differently. I saw where food was heading, and a brand people would actually get attached to,” Hopkins said in a LinkedIn post.
He is working to build wealth beyond his playing career. That helps explain both his entrepreneurial pursuits and his decision to return to Clemson University. In another LinkedIn post, he revealed he isn’t paying for someone else to manage his hard-earned money. Instead, he went back to Clemson to take finance classes during the offseason while “other guys are training or resting.”
“A 13-year vet sitting in a college classroom, learning how money actually works,” he explained. “Early in my career, it didn’t dawn on me that you have to educate yourself before you hand your money to someone else. I watched teammates make fortunes and lose them because they trusted the wrong people and never learned the game. I didn’t want to be one of them.”
He continued, “So now I do the work myself. I read the deals. I ask the questions that make me look like I don’t know anything, because that’s how you actually learn. I’d rather understand every company I’m in than trust that somebody else does. This isn’t only about sports. Anybody who earns money eventually decides whether to understand it or hand it off and hope. I chose to understand it.”
The learning curve will also benefit Hopkins’ plans to launch his own fund, per LinkedIn.
