Brandon Copeland Shares His Journey From NFL Setbacks To Empowering Athletes With Athletes.org+ More
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
What's up his way up at Angela Yee. I'm Angela
Yee and it's a Wealth Wednesday. So my partner Stacey
Tisdale is here.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Happy Wealth Wednesday, everybody. We have got some winning plays
for you and a financial playbook for you because we
have the honestly incomparable Brandon Copeland with us today, who's
an author, tenure NFL veteran financial literacy advocate. I can't
even founder of athletes that, founder of athletes dot org,
(00:29):
which it's a players association for student athletes, a father
for this third job. We'll talk about all of that,
but jeez, thanks for coming.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Thank y'all for having me. I appreciate being here. It's
one I've been a fan for years and so it's
honored to be here. But too, what y'all do is
extremely needed because you make this stuff digestible, right, So
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
I'm so glad you're here because earlier this week we
were talking about Dwight Howe and what happened to him
when he invested seven million dollars and it happened to
be a scam. The person got him and actually he
just got sentenced on Friday, really the guy who scammed
Dwight Howard. I guess he thought he was investing into
a WNBA team and then come to find out it
(01:17):
went to nothing. And so this has been going on
for years for him. So now the guy's facing I
guess eleven or fourteen years in jail. But that's what's
really hard for athletes, right, sometimes because you want to
do the right thing, and a lot of athletes are
scared to figure out where they should invest their money.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah. Absolutely, I mean I think you have. Years ago,
there was a documentary ESPN came out with thirty for
thirty Broke, and that shined a light changed everything, Yeah,
on topics that have always been discussed of athletes losing
their money or not managing it well. And then once
that came out, that was great because it put a
(01:53):
lot of athletes on like, hey, you know what, I'm
not trying to end up on that documentary again, right,
I don't want to be on the part too the problem,
not the problem. But but ultimately, now you have more
athletes who are like, Okay, I'm gonna be conscious with
my money. I'm gonna ask questions I know about investing.
Now it's it's so much more accessible because the shows
like this and platforms and things of that nature, social
(02:15):
media conferences and all that stuff. But the problem is
when I came into the NFL as a rookie with
the Baltimore Ravens of twenty thirteen, one of the things
they said is the same way you are a pro
football player, there are pro fraudsters out there. They're pro.
There are people who literally wake up every single day
and just figure out how can I take your money?
(02:36):
And again it's hard. You're right, like you said, Dwight,
nobody wants to make an investment and it go to zero,
And so you do the best due diligence you can.
You have your team get around and all that type
of stuff, but no one is succepted.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Ye's immune tool.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yeah. I've had my own issues as well when it
comes to those things as well too, Right, So ultimately,
do the best that you can. You hope you make
enough to be able to put aside that you can
put in things that you don't have to risk it
to to keep creating wealth and creating revenue for yourself
over the long term. But it's sad because there's a
(03:16):
lot of people out there who are mean well and
are trying to do the best buy athletes. But then
there's also a lot.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
That are yeah, and it's sorry, because every investment is
still a risk no matter what it is. There might
be things that you feel like this is fool proof,
there's no way that this won't work, and you never
can predict what can happen. And then sometimes you kick
yourself because you had an opportunity and you didn't take
it because you were like, oh, I don't know about this.
You don't have the right you know, and you can
have the right person advising you, but nothing, like you said,
(03:44):
is full proof.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Even the best investors, the investment firms in the world,
they don't they're not bating one hundred percent, right. Warren Buffett,
the greatest investor of all time, has lost money on
a trade, or in the market, or on a company, right,
and so it happened to the best in the world.
The goal for athletes is for us to understand that,
you know, our earnings potential is limited. Right, you can't
(04:08):
play ball forever, and so hopefully you don't risk money
that you need, like vitally need to live the life
that you want beyond your playing career.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
I saw in your first two years you said you
got fired four times playing in the NFL. And that
is some financial education right there. So Tom, tell us
about that and what that experience tought you.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Yeah, the NFL stands for not for long, and you
learn really quickly that you know. Frankly, I mean, I
was fortunate I had a coach. His name was Wink Martindale,
linebacker coach.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, he ended up being the decoordinated for the Giants
for a bit. Now he's at Michigan. But he was
such a raw, uncut, unfiltered person that it helped me
a lot. There's a lot of coaches who will they
just want to sugarcoat things, just keep things nice in
your face, but ultimately they're not telling you the real
game and how you're really doing upstairs, and then a
lot of things become surprises. But Wink, he was always like, listen,
(05:06):
I'm always shooting to you straight. So the years from
now we could see each other and we could sit
down and have a drink because you're like, hey, I
might not liked what he said, but right. And so
my first few years I got fired really six times,
six times just practice squad up and down. Sometimes it'd
(05:29):
be hey, we need a safety. It's not even your position,
but because we need to get them up to speed
on the playbook, we're going to bring them in early
and cut you today type of thing. And so I
also learned that the NFL, you get paid Tuesday at
four Eastern is when you're guaranteed you're paid for the
following week or the current week. And so I've been
(05:52):
cut like the Baltimore Ravens the first year they cut me.
The first time they cut me was on a Wednesday,
and they're like, hey, you know we want to pay
you this week. We'll bring you back in on Monday.
They didn't call it till ten years later. And then
the Tennessee Titans. One time they cut me at three
fifty six pm on a Tuesday, so they didn't pay
me for the week. I'm gonna go ahead, put you
out there. Tennessee. They had me go through community service
(06:14):
that morning, put on the jersey. They had all of
us rookies and you know, the mascot out there at
the local school doing it, which I'm all for the kids. Anyway,
I would have probably done it if you asked me
but to have me do it and then call me
later and.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Then cut me.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Foremanus, I knew it was a random Tennessee number. My
mind told me not to answer it, but you know
I answered this up anyway. But for literally for ten years,
that was year one. So literally the next nine years,
my family knew, don't call it, text me on Tuesday
before for Eastern and like literally it was that was
just a written rule.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Realize that you lived with that much that players live
with that much stress, and you came at it probably
better prepared than most. I mean, you went to UPenn
Wharton's School of Business, and I know you and I
have spoken before about a lot of financial outcomes. They
happened by making the right choice at the right moment.
And you said, your decision and this goes back to
(07:13):
high school to ask your high school football coach and
your book for a job was a major moment for you. Yeah,
so take us back how you got here before you
take us forward.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Yeah, I think you know. So growing up, my mom,
who's amazing, her name's Angela as well. Yeah, she's amazing.
She was working really hard. We have a brother, both
of us big people. So she was putting two Husky
boys through sports, keeping the fridge full, all of that
type of stuff. But she was budgeting her tail off
(07:44):
to make ends meet. So my mom she was a
master in organization and budget. No one taught her about
investing or any of those types of things, right, but
she was disciplined when it came to no, we can't
do that. We can't buy candy and the checkout out,
we can't. When we go to the McDonald's or whatever
it's dollar menu, don't no drink or nothing. Get the
(08:07):
burger that you need and we'll get everything else at
the house. Right. And that as a little kid was
just kind of like, man, one day, I want to
make so much money, I can buy supersize if I want.
One day, I want to buy all the Milky Ways
and this bad boy if I want.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
I was also buying McDonald's.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Maybe yeah, we'll see my mind and you think like
that back then, But it was just like, man, I'm
going ball so hard that I can buy anything I want. Right.
And I went to high school. I went to a
private high school called Gilman Nice Football School, and the
coach there was just fascinating to me. Every Wednesday in
(08:43):
the summer we would do a little spring football spring
workouts practice and he'd have like forty three pizzas and
I always remember because it would put like one out
of forty three or whatever, and I'm just like, what
is this dude doing that he can buy all these
pizzas every single week consistently and he's not a drug dealer,
he's not a basketball or former football player, Like what
(09:05):
does he do? And so one day as a sophomore,
I go up and ask him, like, Hey, can I
learn from you? Like, I don't know what you do?
What can I learn from you? And he happened to
run a hedge fund and he was one of the
few coaches at the school that didn't teach because he
ran a hedge fund. Now he's a head coach at
University of Charlotte. He still has his family office his
(09:27):
family office now. But he would put kids through school.
He would send kids on like overseas trips and things
like that to give them different experiences. And I was
always just like, I don't know what you do, but
the things that you do, I want to do that
one day as well too. So fortunately he was like
he go get your workouts in and then after your workouts.
Every day in the summer, you can come over to
(09:48):
the office. And that's the first time where I started
seeing Bloomberg terminals and CNBC was on all of the
TVs and you know, the ticker going. I had no
idea what it was saying. But that's what introduced me
into money and really people sitting behind a desk in
front of computers making millions of dollars and that's where
(10:08):
a lot of this stuff, this curiosity for business started.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Wow, that's fascinating that something like that, that's a life
changing thing that can happen having that person in their
life to thank god he wasn't a drug dealer.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Everybody think about that is your decision to ask. Decision
to ask. So you've written this amazing your money playbook,
and I love how you broke it into quarters and
what's the first quarter? So we're going to tackle our financeney.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Even you got it, you gotta earn right, Like, ultimately,
you got to roll up your sleeves and make money
to have the opportunity to put it into things that
make you money, right. And so the art of the
hustle is is first and foremost one mindset, right, like,
I just think of there there's so many people who
(11:04):
I take inspiration from in terms of oh you just
you have something already, but you still want to go
get it, you still want more. It was the same
mindset that helped me be great in football, but now
for me it's translated over the money. And I just
ask any reader what is your mindset around money? And
you got to think about do you have a survival mindset?
(11:26):
Do you have a thrive mindset? Do you have a
limited mindset? Are you willing to roll up your sleeves
and go get it? Are you willing to work harder
than the next person than the person next to you,
but then also work even more hard to figure out
how I don't have to work as hard. Right. One
of the most fascinating things to me was I sat
(11:46):
down with a one of my Jets teammates years ago,
guy named Steve McLennon, and we were doing an interview
and he was like, man, people always talk about dream chasing,
dream chasing. We dream chaser right, twenty four to seven,
grind all day, no day is off. No no. He
was like, man, at some point you got to catch
the dream, Like I want to catch the dream so
that I can actually enjoy all my hard work. And
(12:07):
so first and foremost they are that the hustle is
getting your mind right, evaluating things you went through as
a child, to figure out if you need to unlearn
some of those money traumas so that you can actually
evolve and elevate beyond that. And in order for you
to even have a chance to do the other things,
you got to earn money.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Like I said before, that's interesting to talk about because
there's people who I know who are like, I don't
care if I'm passionate about this and not. I just
need to figure out how to make money and the
right things to do. And then there's people who are like,
I'm only doing the things that I'm passionate about and
that will at some point make me some money, you know,
And I always wonder, like, what's the balance between those things?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, I think you got to know what It's different
for every person, right and for me, I'm a guy
who I genuinely want to like what I do right,
Like I've one of the most pivotal experiences for me
is I interned at ubs Union Bank of Switzerland's right
up the street a summer intern there for two years,
(13:07):
and one time I was talking with one of my
mentors who was killing it by all societal standards, and
you know, we get into this conversation and somehow we
get to happiness, and I'm like, so are you happy,
And he literally is just like looks down, looks out
the window, looks back down, says no, I'm not happy.
(13:29):
He's like, I can. I got three daughters. He had
his daughter's picture frames right there, is like, I got
three dollars. I can buy them anything in the world
that they want. But I'm pushing around bullshit, I'm not happy.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
As the author of the book The True Cost of Happiness,
I will say it's important to find what you're passionate
about because you're going to run.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Out of energy. You'll burn it. But then there's some
people who don't want any emotional tie at all. They
don't want any emotional tie to their business, right And
and I guess that's why I say it's different.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Learned because some people are good with making a ton
of money, and maybe they don't love what it is
that they do, but being able to have that to
show for it is something that makes them satisfy.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Like I'm a real life example. There's I've seen so
many people talk about vendom machines. You guys have talked
about vendom machines and things like that. We at the
local YMCA. There's all these kids there. My sons go
there and play basketball and things like that. There's no
vendom machines. And I'm just sitting there like, well, hey,
if I ever wanted to start a vending machine business,
here here it is. So I got the owners or
(14:32):
the leaders contact information, talk to them this weekend. I've
already talked to multiple people about their experience running it.
He said, just send me an email and let's see
what we can do. Cool. I'm not passionate about vending machines.
I am passionate about making money. But I understand how
to take this business and treat it for me like
real estate and make it into another business side.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Give you money to explore your passion. If you want
to give yourself financial freedom, be able to do that.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Well, let's get to the second quarter.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Go ahead. We only got to the person.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
All right, second quarter.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Power growth, power growth, power growth. But that's investing. I
think that I always tell people when I started I
started teaching at penn University of Pennsylvania while I was
playing with the Jets. And one of the two biggest
lessons that I learned as I was studying up to
be able to confidently go in there and be a
professor was one, you got to understand taxes and tax
(15:26):
strategy is so important. That's your biggest bill. Two one
of the biggest lies in the world was put your
money in the bank. Put your money in the bank.
Put your money in the bank. And for me, I
don't know about you guys, but I grew up and
everybody's like, put your money in bank. Put your money
in the bank. Put your money in the bank.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
And bank account.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Yeah, put it in a bank account, right, And ultimately
the bank takes your money and they go out and
they grow it and then they give you back a
little percentage of it. And so for me, the power
growth is understanding investing and trying to invest for yourself
as your income grows, invest for yourself in different layers
and levels. So one, when I'm investing, I'm investing for
a old, older, gray hair version of me that doesn't
(16:02):
want to do anything, that just wants to sit on
the porch and chill. Right, So that's retirement investing. What
money am I putting away for an older version of me? Too?
I'm also investing for the immediate, more immediate future. This
is liquid investing. I call it active investing, where you
can take money in and out of it, you know,
two years from now, three years from now, six months
(16:24):
from now, if you want to, and if you choose.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
To absolently, great for that exactly.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And sometimes even having that liquid available if you're trying
to do something, they need to see a certain amount
of liquid available that you.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Can actually touch, that you can actually touch and feel.
And then also, you know, another thing that people neglect
at times is just investing in yourself, investing in your
own development, investing in what you want to be and
who you want to be five years from now. I mean,
we spend the beginning of our lives going through so
much education in different formats to become the people that
(16:57):
we are, and then we just put that on because
life starts life, and you gotta be a father, you
gotta work, you gotta do this, you gotta do that.
But what investments are you making on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual,
basis that are going to lead you to the person
you want to be ten years from now.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Okay, we are moving into the third quarter, folks and
coaches saying commitment to smart spending.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Yeah, yeah, so that's the toughest part. Say, right, as you.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
Agreed as you, Yeah, as you earn more, yeah, you
spend more, you a lot more and you and you, yeah,
you spend more. You feel like you should spend more.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
More in taxes, you owe.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
More in taxes. And then you also you feel like
you deserve it as you as you should. You worked hard,
you put in the sacrifice. Well, why would I do
all of that to live the same way I was
living two years ago? Right, And so that's the toughest part, right,
is how do you quote unquote keep the same energy
(18:00):
as you continue to evolve your financial game plan? Real
life example, my wife and I we're moving to Houston.
We are building our forever home. Right now, they just
put up the drywall. Shout out to y'all, keep working hard,
We appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Is on time.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I'm just curious, I know how hard so far?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Yeah, so far it is time? Right, But but yeah,
so that's going. But you know, wife and I we
have to come back and we can afford the crib.
We're good. But it's like, but let's just challenge ourselves,
right like we were getting we spend a little too
much over here, Right Like, let's let's create a budget,
Let's lock it down and guess what now that additional threshold,
we're just gonna keep putting it into an investments into investments. Right.
(18:44):
Creating simple challenges for yourself can help you stay committed
to your future and long term goals. And one of
the best things to do if you feel like, hey,
I'm I'm by myself. I don't have a partner or
spouse to answer to. I don't I don't I I'm
twenty two years old. I don't really I don't really
know what I want to be or where I want
(19:05):
to be ten years from now. One of the things
I always do I do for myself, but I always
say is you should find you yourself an accountability buddy
or an accountability group, And these are people that you
are going to literally check in with whatever cadence you
feel is acceptable to make sure that you're sticking to
the goals that you set for yourself, because ultimately you
(19:28):
can't afford it alone. Yeah, and you can't afford to.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Be wrong on this and the right accountability person because
there are some people who are secretly in competition with you,
and you have to be able to be honest too,
because certainly at times some people aren't honest with you.
Like I know, people would be like, I got paid X,
Y and Z for this, and you're like, no, you didn't,
you know, but they'll try to make you feel bad
about your financial situation or make you you know, it's
(19:51):
just a matter of having the right people around you.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
I think that is so important to your point.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Absolutely, you got to find the right people around you,
and you also got to find people who aren't just
just going to nod their head yes, said everything that
you say. And so as if you're looking for this
accountability group, you either find someone who who has lived
what you've are, has lived what you are looking to
live before, so to speak, right, they've made some decisions
(20:16):
about business or family that you want to do someday
or for me, I always try to find people who
literally look at the world totally differently than I do.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
So it's really important. I have a mastermind and a
lot of the women in it want to be partnered
for an accountability partner with people who have a similar
financial background. Right, I'm like, no, yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
I want somebody that's looking at it totally. I'm a
risky person. I am. I will bet on me all day,
every day. Right, My accountability one of my main accountability buddies,
he's super conservative, he is. I'm putting it in index
funds and I'm just letting it ride and I'm not
doing anything else to it, and I'm not going to
touch it for another thirty years, right, Van guard v Right,
(21:00):
that's his thing. No disclaim, don't sue us here, but
that's what I do to make sure I keep myself
in check. Because as you do good, it's easier to
get more and more pulls at you that take you
off the path to success.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
So we're taking our accountability partner into the fourth quarter. Yeah,
and we got the promise a legacy.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, legacy legacy. Everybody talks about, well not everybody, but
a lot of people talk about generational wealth. And I'm
doing this for my kids and that is phenomenal. Right,
And so one in the book, in your Money Playbook,
we go through what are some of the most crucial
things you should do to make sure that you're structuring
your legacy, your state plan properly, but also the things
(21:47):
that you should think about as well too, within that
whole conversation and a whole discussion on top of that, though,
one thing that I've found that a lot of people
miss or forget is actually spending the time with your
children to actually make sure that they're prepared to handle
this the pressure that you're handing over to your children
(22:11):
by handing over assets for example, Right, do they know
how to deal with those assets? Do they know how
to deal with uncomfortable conversations? Do they know how to
deal with I mean, there's a curse to the lottery
winner for a reason, right, there's a curse of being
in the spotlight for a reason. And not that you're
handing that to your children, but you are also, you know,
(22:33):
for some of us, the first time in history, handing
over a responsibility to them that you want to make
sure that they understand. You want to make sure it
doesn't crumble them or.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Crush that because I think about it, if I had
made a lot of money when I was younger, somebody
else is telling me this too.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
I don't know where I'd be right now, because you might.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Have you know, it could end up being something negative
for you if you don't know how to handle it
at the time.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
But people have such a hard time talking about this,
And I put this a lot on older generations because
when you talk to young generations and coaching mentoring collectors
I have with younger generations is really hitting me how
so many of them are saying they're not having kids
or stuff because they're carrying the weight of the one
day I'm going to be financially responsible for my parents
(23:17):
and their parents aren't doing things like Will's estate plans.
People don't like thinking about those things. Talking about those things.
You can be the best, save money for your kid,
to pass on generational wealth. Your whole life just takes
one in one instant. I always tell Angela, like, all
of a sudden, my father needed around the clock healthcare,
and all of a sudden.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
That's money gone.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
And they know how much money they have, and your host,
their whole retirement is gone from there.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
And my friend had her mom that was you needed around.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
The clock care and she was like Angela, she had
all this money and her retirement is all gone.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah, just because of that fact, and people don't realize
that they're leaving their kids with the hot mess.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
But how do you that's tell my mom, I was like,
please take If you don't, I'm gonna have to do
it because she's like whatever, it's like too much, I can't.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I'm mad.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I'm gonna have to deal with Trust me. It doesn't
just go away and disappear. Let's handle that now.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
How do you? What do you say to people to
get them over that? Not wanting to look at it,
not wanting to talk to her kids about it.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Not But yes, I will say it's it's tough right again.
One thing I've learned, and I'm sure you all have
learned it as well too, is like you you can
lead a horse to water, but you can't force them
to drink, like the old adage says. And it's like,
I'm going to tell you need to have the conversation,
like there's so many people who also talk to me
about like, you know, I was awkward having these types
(24:39):
of money conversations with my partner and my spouse. What
are y'all married for? Then? What's going on here? Right? Like?
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Ultimately comfortable with uncomfort. People are so afraid of.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
It and uncomfortable for back walk in the bathroom after
you poop, and it thinks like that we should be
able to have a nice conversation.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
What are we doing?
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Nobody said that.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
It's like, what are we really talking about then? Right, Like,
I mean, yes, they're uncomfortable conversations. Yes, no one wants
to have it. I don't like to have it at all, right,
but I know I need to have it. I know
I have to do it, and I know that most
of the best things in life usually there's a wall
of discomfort that you have to push through to make
(25:21):
them happen. And you can either decide to avoid it
and avoid the conversation, and unfortunately you will. The probability
says that you will leave your family dealing with guessing
what you wanted to happen with all your money when
your assets the government will likely take a third of
(25:42):
it as well too.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
And you need to tell your kids these things like
this is what's going to happen this.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Yeah, you need to have the conversation.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
As being left to you if it's not done in
the proper way.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Absolutely, And the thing is too you know, and I've
seen it in my own family. Is you know when
that unfortunately somebody passes away and if they don't have
their their affairs in order per se, then now the
children start to guess, and then that guests scene turns
into debates, and then that debates turns into art the
arguments what you think that such and such wanted done right?
(26:18):
And then that splinters the family even more.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Now you're not talking to your own family members. That
happens in real estate all the time. There's all these
brownstones in Brooklyn that a family member, you know, the mom,
the dad left to the kids and they have to
split it up. One person wants to sell, two people don't,
or one person's living there and they feel like they
should be able to content. It's just so much drama
that can happen. And the easy, the easiest way that
you can make that better is to make sure you're
(26:42):
very clear and what should happen.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
And now with technology apps, you can do an outline
of a will in fifteen years. Yes, I mean it's
incredible how much that blows up. But before you get
out here, let's talk about people who have lots of
money athletes.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Yeah, and after that organ but made you even.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Start tell everybody about athletes.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Yeah, so athletes dot org founded by my co founder
now Jim caval and long story short, college athletes have
produced an amazing industry for a lot of people to
get wealthy and make money, and a lot of people
enjoy a lot of people get entertained by it as
well too. Unfortunately, the people get the shortest end of
(27:23):
the stick as well are college athletes. Right. It was
got Shabbaz Napier when they won the national championship years ago,
said the confetti was dropping. They're like, man, how do
you feel? He's like, hey, this is cool and all,
but I got to go home to bullsh after this, right,
And so my thing with college athletes and just in general,
it's like, how do you reward the people who are
(27:46):
producing front line everything.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
The reason why you're making all this money is these
people and they was breaking news today? Can you tell
us that breaking news shound out while we were recording this?
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Yes, So there's a monumental historic case House versus Ncublea.
Grant House is a swimmer. Former swimmer at Arizona State
University sued the Ncublea with a bunch of college athletes
and basically said, you all owe us money for utilizing
our name, image and likeness without our permission. And so,
for the first time in history, the NCUBA has settled
(28:19):
with athletes and agreed to pay athletes directly from their schools.
What that means is the University of Syracuse athletes will
be able to get a check from their schools Alabama. Yeah, exactly, exactly,
And this is huge. It's monumental because those are the
people who are reaping all the benefits and rewards, right
(28:42):
the contracts that happen with the conferences, the multi billion
dollar contracts. College football playoffs alone just did a I'm
gonna say, eight year, seven point eight billion dollar contract
right now. That seven point eight billion dollars is split
amongst the schools, the conferences, et cetera. Well, some of
that should be able to go to the athletes that
are actually on the field getting injured, getting hurt and
(29:03):
putting their their livelihoods and their careers on the line.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
For the supression door, dealing with their families not you know,
it's crazy that you can have that added stress of
having to be concerned about, you know, your family and
yourself and paying for things. This is something that it's
going to be really helpful because there's a lot of
kids who also skipped.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
College or it shaned you there for four years.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Yeah, right, Just so we were talking about that earlier.
It's I have a child who's a student athlete, and
when he started just a year ago, you know, everyone
was going for a year and then trying to get
an NBA contract. Oh No, people are coming to college.
They're wanting to stay in.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
College and also make some money getting.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
They're getting paid six figures. They're entrepreneurial, they're starting businesses.
So I see how those top ticket guys are making
millions and millions of dollars in college that we were
had a show a couple of months ago and we
brought up how American parents are spent what was it,
four hundred forty four billion, forty billion dollars a year
(30:05):
on youth sports, twenty percent of them forty billion out
of parents' pockets, twenty percent of them. We are taking
second jobs in overtime. The superstars are benefiting from this.
But how is this going to trickle down to the
people who actually made these money making athletes?
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Yeah? I think that, well, trickle down to the parents
or like it.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
It seems like it only benefits a few elite athletes.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Because there's going to be some students that don't make
it into professional sports absolutely, you know, also obviously the
majority of them will.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Yeah, yeah, well I think that that's so even coming back, So,
what athletes dot org is, because I explained how the
money working with the settlement was. What athletes dot Org
is is a players association for college athletes. And when
I was in the NFL, we had the NFL Players
Association actually just came from the MBPA, the National Basketball
Players Association. That is the group every pro league has
(30:58):
a union and a players association for that just advocates
and protects the interests of the players. What that players
Association does is it helps create standard contracts, minimum salaries,
minimum guarantees, things of that nature. College athletes don't have
any of that right now, which is why you see
so many college athletes who are being promised money that
(31:20):
they're never actually going to ever receive.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
That's crazy.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Yeah, I mean that's happening all the time. Unfortunately, you
see so many I get whenever I had seven surgeries,
eight surgeries, excuse me, while playing in the NFL, and
whenever I had an injury, I was able to go
to another doctor, a second medical opinion, to make sure
that what they were saying was right. College athletes don't
have that right right, and so for us, our job
(31:45):
is to organize the athletes and allow for them to
sit into their own many negotiations, not many, huge, multi
billion dollar negotiations against their schools so that they can
make sure that they're getting the maximum value that they
should get from this deal. So next year follow twenty
twenty five, every school will be able to pay up
(32:06):
to twenty two point one million dollars or twenty three
point one million dollars to their athletes. That year it'll increase,
but up to twenty thirty four to twenty thirty four,
it'll crease up to about thirty three million dollars per school.
So this is over twenty billion dollars that the top
schools will be able to share with their athletes over
the next ten years alone. It's a huge opportunities of
(32:29):
renaissance for athletes to be making money before they ever
go to the league. And if they don't go to
the league, they.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Can they still be good at college and they'll be
college educated. Yeah, college is popular or good.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Amen. But to get to your point, like like you said,
the stars, the stars are the stars, right, Like that
is there's only one Lebron and there's only one Stacy Tisdale.
There's only one Angelie, right, like y'all are going to
eat right, it is what it is. There's certain people
who are who are up there. I was an undrafted
free agent. I was bottom of the totem pole in
in the NFL. But because I had minimum contracts, because
(33:04):
I had certain protections in place that wouldn't allow the
team to get over on me, I've been able to
change my family's life forever as a result of some
of those structures in place. Again, right now there is
no structure. So when college athletes actually have that organization
called Athletes dot Org, that is their protection. It's going
(33:25):
to continue to move the needle for everybody.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
You're so smart, you're a financial literacy advocate educator, and
you also have a foundation beyond the basics. Talk about
that and how people can actually work with you in
your curriculum and everything.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Thank you, No, I appreciate it. Beyond the basics, bTB.
That is the foundation of my wife and I started
years ago. It was to help young people realize their
full potential. Always tell people, I thank you, thank you
for the compliment that I'm smart. I appreciate it. God
gave me ambition unlike any other. He gave me curiosity.
(34:01):
He gave me brains as well too. But I am
smart enough to also know. I just happened to be
in the right places at the right time to have
mentors like my coach who said, yeah, come on, I'll
show you this. To be able to go to a
school like Penn and the Work School of Business, and
to come home one summer and while I was back
home doing a couple of odd jobs, but training when
(34:24):
I came home, when I came back to school, and
everybody's like, man, I interned at this company. In turn
this company, I was like, you know what, I'm giving
me an internship too. I'm trying to go with ubs.
Let me see, right. So I had exposure and a
lot of There are a lot of people in this world,
young people especially, who have so much ambition, so much talent,
but they don't have exposure anyone that'll take the blinders
(34:44):
off of them. And so that's what we specialize in
and that's what we do, and we do this through
we use certain tent pole events. We have football camps
in the summer. Of course I'm a football player, so
I got to do that. But then we also have
an event coming up soon actually called December to remember
Remembers of shopping spree for kids across the country. We
last year we did eleven different cities, over twenty NFL
(35:07):
players were involved in different team cities, and we took
over seven hundred and fifty kids shopping, gave away over
one hundred grand. That's amazing, So all those kids, and
so this year we're gonna do the same thing. But again,
all of those are like catalysts to find the right
kids who have that spark, that ambition and they want
more for themselves. And then how can we provide more
(35:29):
infrastructure and support around them to give them opportunities to
shadow people who are in in the field of their dreams.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah, that would definitely put a spark that like it
did for you.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Excellent.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Well your Money playbook, which by the way, was number
one on Amazon, so congratulations on that. It's only been
out for not even a month yet.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
Yeah, not even a month month later on the spreet So.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
People can go to Amazon to get that.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Yeah, you go to your Money Playbook dot com and
you can purchase it. There's multiple places you can get
it at. But yeah, your Money Playbook dot Com.
Speaker 4 (36:01):
And the baby came the same week that this was.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
His accounts already set up.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
There you go, go and follow Brandon at b cope
fifty one.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Yeah, this was amazing. I got to ask you one
last thing. What was your favorite city to play in?
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (36:17):
What was your favorite team?
Speaker 3 (36:18):
So I'm gonna give you two answers. One New York,
New York. You know it's nothing like New York. Baltimore,
that's where you're That's where I'm from, Baltimore Ravens and
yeah you couldn't. That city just knows football, like especially
a defensive player. You're treated like an offensive player in Baltimore.
(36:38):
So I mean, not treat like Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
But when we all say a collective prayer before you
go for my New York football team, give those to
the Giants yesterday.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
All right, Well, thank you so much your Money Playbook
How to Earn More, Build Wealth, and to Win it Life.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Brandon Copeland, thank you so much for joining
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Us way up
What's up his way up at Angela Yee. I'm Angela
Yee and it's a Wealth Wednesday. So my partner Stacey
Tisdale is here.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Happy Wealth Wednesday, everybody. We have got some winning plays
for you and a financial playbook for you because we
have the honestly incomparable Brandon Copeland with us today, who's
an author, tenure NFL veteran financial literacy advocate. I can't
even founder of athletes that, founder of athletes dot org,
(00:29):
which it's a players association for student athletes, a father
for this third job. We'll talk about all of that,
but jeez, thanks for coming.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Thank y'all for having me. I appreciate being here. It's
one I've been a fan for years and so it's
honored to be here. But too, what y'all do is
extremely needed because you make this stuff digestible, right, So
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
I'm so glad you're here because earlier this week we
were talking about Dwight Howe and what happened to him
when he invested seven million dollars and it happened to
be a scam. The person got him and actually he
just got sentenced on Friday, really the guy who scammed
Dwight Howard. I guess he thought he was investing into
a WNBA team and then come to find out it
(01:17):
went to nothing. And so this has been going on
for years for him. So now the guy's facing I
guess eleven or fourteen years in jail. But that's what's
really hard for athletes, right, sometimes because you want to
do the right thing, and a lot of athletes are
scared to figure out where they should invest their money.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah. Absolutely, I mean I think you have. Years ago,
there was a documentary ESPN came out with thirty for
thirty Broke, and that shined a light changed everything, Yeah,
on topics that have always been discussed of athletes losing
their money or not managing it well. And then once
that came out, that was great because it put a
(01:53):
lot of athletes on like, hey, you know what, I'm
not trying to end up on that documentary again, right,
I don't want to be on the part too the problem,
not the problem. But but ultimately, now you have more
athletes who are like, Okay, I'm gonna be conscious with
my money. I'm gonna ask questions I know about investing.
Now it's it's so much more accessible because the shows
like this and platforms and things of that nature, social
(02:15):
media conferences and all that stuff. But the problem is
when I came into the NFL as a rookie with
the Baltimore Ravens of twenty thirteen, one of the things
they said is the same way you are a pro
football player, there are pro fraudsters out there. They're pro.
There are people who literally wake up every single day
and just figure out how can I take your money?
(02:36):
And again it's hard. You're right, like you said, Dwight,
nobody wants to make an investment and it go to zero,
And so you do the best due diligence you can.
You have your team get around and all that type
of stuff, but no one is succepted.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Ye's immune tool.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yeah. I've had my own issues as well when it
comes to those things as well too, Right, So ultimately,
do the best that you can. You hope you make
enough to be able to put aside that you can
put in things that you don't have to risk it
to to keep creating wealth and creating revenue for yourself
over the long term. But it's sad because there's a
(03:16):
lot of people out there who are mean well and
are trying to do the best buy athletes. But then
there's also a lot.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
That are yeah, and it's sorry, because every investment is
still a risk no matter what it is. There might
be things that you feel like this is fool proof,
there's no way that this won't work, and you never
can predict what can happen. And then sometimes you kick
yourself because you had an opportunity and you didn't take
it because you were like, oh, I don't know about this.
You don't have the right you know, and you can
have the right person advising you, but nothing, like you said,
(03:44):
is full proof.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Even the best investors, the investment firms in the world,
they don't they're not bating one hundred percent, right. Warren Buffett,
the greatest investor of all time, has lost money on
a trade, or in the market, or on a company, right,
and so it happened to the best in the world.
The goal for athletes is for us to understand that,
you know, our earnings potential is limited. Right, you can't
(04:08):
play ball forever, and so hopefully you don't risk money
that you need, like vitally need to live the life
that you want beyond your playing career.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
I saw in your first two years you said you
got fired four times playing in the NFL. And that
is some financial education right there. So Tom, tell us
about that and what that experience tought you.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Yeah, the NFL stands for not for long, and you
learn really quickly that you know. Frankly, I mean, I
was fortunate I had a coach. His name was Wink Martindale,
linebacker coach.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, he ended up being the decoordinated for the Giants
for a bit. Now he's at Michigan. But he was
such a raw, uncut, unfiltered person that it helped me
a lot. There's a lot of coaches who will they
just want to sugarcoat things, just keep things nice in
your face, but ultimately they're not telling you the real
game and how you're really doing upstairs, and then a
lot of things become surprises. But Wink, he was always like, listen,
(05:06):
I'm always shooting to you straight. So the years from
now we could see each other and we could sit
down and have a drink because you're like, hey, I
might not liked what he said, but right. And so
my first few years I got fired really six times,
six times just practice squad up and down. Sometimes it'd
(05:29):
be hey, we need a safety. It's not even your position,
but because we need to get them up to speed
on the playbook, we're going to bring them in early
and cut you today type of thing. And so I
also learned that the NFL, you get paid Tuesday at
four Eastern is when you're guaranteed you're paid for the
following week or the current week. And so I've been
(05:52):
cut like the Baltimore Ravens the first year they cut me.
The first time they cut me was on a Wednesday,
and they're like, hey, you know we want to pay
you this week. We'll bring you back in on Monday.
They didn't call it till ten years later. And then
the Tennessee Titans. One time they cut me at three
fifty six pm on a Tuesday, so they didn't pay
me for the week. I'm gonna go ahead, put you
out there. Tennessee. They had me go through community service
(06:14):
that morning, put on the jersey. They had all of
us rookies and you know, the mascot out there at
the local school doing it, which I'm all for the kids. Anyway,
I would have probably done it if you asked me
but to have me do it and then call me
later and.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Then cut me.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Foremanus, I knew it was a random Tennessee number. My
mind told me not to answer it, but you know
I answered this up anyway. But for literally for ten years,
that was year one. So literally the next nine years,
my family knew, don't call it, text me on Tuesday
before for Eastern and like literally it was that was
just a written rule.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Realize that you lived with that much that players live
with that much stress, and you came at it probably
better prepared than most. I mean, you went to UPenn
Wharton's School of Business, and I know you and I
have spoken before about a lot of financial outcomes. They
happened by making the right choice at the right moment.
And you said, your decision and this goes back to
(07:13):
high school to ask your high school football coach and
your book for a job was a major moment for you. Yeah,
so take us back how you got here before you
take us forward.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Yeah, I think you know. So growing up, my mom,
who's amazing, her name's Angela as well. Yeah, she's amazing.
She was working really hard. We have a brother, both
of us big people. So she was putting two Husky
boys through sports, keeping the fridge full, all of that
type of stuff. But she was budgeting her tail off
(07:44):
to make ends meet. So my mom she was a
master in organization and budget. No one taught her about
investing or any of those types of things, right, but
she was disciplined when it came to no, we can't
do that. We can't buy candy and the checkout out,
we can't. When we go to the McDonald's or whatever
it's dollar menu, don't no drink or nothing. Get the
(08:07):
burger that you need and we'll get everything else at
the house. Right. And that as a little kid was
just kind of like, man, one day, I want to
make so much money, I can buy supersize if I want.
One day, I want to buy all the Milky Ways
and this bad boy if I want.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
I was also buying McDonald's.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Maybe yeah, we'll see my mind and you think like
that back then, But it was just like, man, I'm
going ball so hard that I can buy anything I want. Right.
And I went to high school. I went to a
private high school called Gilman Nice Football School, and the
coach there was just fascinating to me. Every Wednesday in
(08:43):
the summer we would do a little spring football spring
workouts practice and he'd have like forty three pizzas and
I always remember because it would put like one out
of forty three or whatever, and I'm just like, what
is this dude doing that he can buy all these
pizzas every single week consistently and he's not a drug dealer,
he's not a basketball or former football player, Like what
(09:05):
does he do? And so one day as a sophomore,
I go up and ask him, like, Hey, can I
learn from you? Like, I don't know what you do?
What can I learn from you? And he happened to
run a hedge fund and he was one of the
few coaches at the school that didn't teach because he
ran a hedge fund. Now he's a head coach at
University of Charlotte. He still has his family office his
(09:27):
family office now. But he would put kids through school.
He would send kids on like overseas trips and things
like that to give them different experiences. And I was
always just like, I don't know what you do, but
the things that you do, I want to do that
one day as well too. So fortunately he was like
he go get your workouts in and then after your workouts.
Every day in the summer, you can come over to
(09:48):
the office. And that's the first time where I started
seeing Bloomberg terminals and CNBC was on all of the
TVs and you know, the ticker going. I had no
idea what it was saying. But that's what introduced me
into money and really people sitting behind a desk in
front of computers making millions of dollars and that's where
(10:08):
a lot of this stuff, this curiosity for business started.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Wow, that's fascinating that something like that, that's a life
changing thing that can happen having that person in their
life to thank god he wasn't a drug dealer.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Everybody think about that is your decision to ask. Decision
to ask. So you've written this amazing your money playbook,
and I love how you broke it into quarters and
what's the first quarter? So we're going to tackle our financeney.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Even you got it, you gotta earn right, Like, ultimately,
you got to roll up your sleeves and make money
to have the opportunity to put it into things that
make you money, right. And so the art of the
hustle is is first and foremost one mindset, right, like,
I just think of there there's so many people who
(11:04):
I take inspiration from in terms of oh you just
you have something already, but you still want to go
get it, you still want more. It was the same
mindset that helped me be great in football, but now
for me it's translated over the money. And I just
ask any reader what is your mindset around money? And
you got to think about do you have a survival mindset?
(11:26):
Do you have a thrive mindset? Do you have a
limited mindset? Are you willing to roll up your sleeves
and go get it? Are you willing to work harder
than the next person than the person next to you,
but then also work even more hard to figure out
how I don't have to work as hard. Right. One
of the most fascinating things to me was I sat
(11:46):
down with a one of my Jets teammates years ago,
guy named Steve McLennon, and we were doing an interview
and he was like, man, people always talk about dream chasing,
dream chasing. We dream chaser right, twenty four to seven,
grind all day, no day is off. No no. He
was like, man, at some point you got to catch
the dream, Like I want to catch the dream so
that I can actually enjoy all my hard work. And
(12:07):
so first and foremost they are that the hustle is
getting your mind right, evaluating things you went through as
a child, to figure out if you need to unlearn
some of those money traumas so that you can actually
evolve and elevate beyond that. And in order for you
to even have a chance to do the other things,
you got to earn money.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Like I said before, that's interesting to talk about because
there's people who I know who are like, I don't
care if I'm passionate about this and not. I just
need to figure out how to make money and the
right things to do. And then there's people who are like,
I'm only doing the things that I'm passionate about and
that will at some point make me some money, you know,
And I always wonder, like, what's the balance between those things?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, I think you got to know what It's different
for every person, right and for me, I'm a guy
who I genuinely want to like what I do right,
Like I've one of the most pivotal experiences for me
is I interned at ubs Union Bank of Switzerland's right
up the street a summer intern there for two years,
(13:07):
and one time I was talking with one of my
mentors who was killing it by all societal standards, and
you know, we get into this conversation and somehow we
get to happiness, and I'm like, so are you happy,
And he literally is just like looks down, looks out
the window, looks back down, says no, I'm not happy.
(13:29):
He's like, I can. I got three daughters. He had
his daughter's picture frames right there, is like, I got
three dollars. I can buy them anything in the world
that they want. But I'm pushing around bullshit, I'm not happy.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
As the author of the book The True Cost of Happiness,
I will say it's important to find what you're passionate
about because you're going to run.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Out of energy. You'll burn it. But then there's some
people who don't want any emotional tie at all. They
don't want any emotional tie to their business, right And
and I guess that's why I say it's different.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Learned because some people are good with making a ton
of money, and maybe they don't love what it is
that they do, but being able to have that to
show for it is something that makes them satisfy.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Like I'm a real life example. There's I've seen so
many people talk about vendom machines. You guys have talked
about vendom machines and things like that. We at the
local YMCA. There's all these kids there. My sons go
there and play basketball and things like that. There's no
vendom machines. And I'm just sitting there like, well, hey,
if I ever wanted to start a vending machine business,
here here it is. So I got the owners or
(14:32):
the leaders contact information, talk to them this weekend. I've
already talked to multiple people about their experience running it.
He said, just send me an email and let's see
what we can do. Cool. I'm not passionate about vending machines.
I am passionate about making money. But I understand how
to take this business and treat it for me like
real estate and make it into another business side.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Give you money to explore your passion. If you want
to give yourself financial freedom, be able to do that.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Well, let's get to the second quarter.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Go ahead. We only got to the person.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
All right, second quarter.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Power growth, power growth, power growth. But that's investing. I
think that I always tell people when I started I
started teaching at penn University of Pennsylvania while I was
playing with the Jets. And one of the two biggest
lessons that I learned as I was studying up to
be able to confidently go in there and be a
professor was one, you got to understand taxes and tax
(15:26):
strategy is so important. That's your biggest bill. Two one
of the biggest lies in the world was put your
money in the bank. Put your money in the bank.
Put your money in the bank. And for me, I
don't know about you guys, but I grew up and
everybody's like, put your money in bank. Put your money
in the bank. Put your money in the bank.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
And bank account.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Yeah, put it in a bank account, right, And ultimately
the bank takes your money and they go out and
they grow it and then they give you back a
little percentage of it. And so for me, the power
growth is understanding investing and trying to invest for yourself
as your income grows, invest for yourself in different layers
and levels. So one, when I'm investing, I'm investing for
a old, older, gray hair version of me that doesn't
(16:02):
want to do anything, that just wants to sit on
the porch and chill. Right, So that's retirement investing. What
money am I putting away for an older version of me? Too?
I'm also investing for the immediate, more immediate future. This
is liquid investing. I call it active investing, where you
can take money in and out of it, you know,
two years from now, three years from now, six months
(16:24):
from now, if you want to, and if you choose.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
To absolently, great for that exactly.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And sometimes even having that liquid available if you're trying
to do something, they need to see a certain amount
of liquid available that you.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Can actually touch, that you can actually touch and feel.
And then also, you know, another thing that people neglect
at times is just investing in yourself, investing in your
own development, investing in what you want to be and
who you want to be five years from now. I mean,
we spend the beginning of our lives going through so
much education in different formats to become the people that
(16:57):
we are, and then we just put that on because
life starts life, and you gotta be a father, you
gotta work, you gotta do this, you gotta do that.
But what investments are you making on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual,
basis that are going to lead you to the person
you want to be ten years from now.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Okay, we are moving into the third quarter, folks and
coaches saying commitment to smart spending.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Yeah, yeah, so that's the toughest part. Say, right, as you.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
Agreed as you, Yeah, as you earn more, yeah, you
spend more, you a lot more and you and you, yeah,
you spend more. You feel like you should spend more.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
More in taxes, you owe.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
More in taxes. And then you also you feel like
you deserve it as you as you should. You worked hard,
you put in the sacrifice. Well, why would I do
all of that to live the same way I was
living two years ago? Right, And so that's the toughest part, right,
is how do you quote unquote keep the same energy
(18:00):
as you continue to evolve your financial game plan? Real
life example, my wife and I we're moving to Houston.
We are building our forever home. Right now, they just
put up the drywall. Shout out to y'all, keep working hard,
We appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Is on time.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I'm just curious, I know how hard so far?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Yeah, so far it is time? Right, But but yeah,
so that's going. But you know, wife and I we
have to come back and we can afford the crib.
We're good. But it's like, but let's just challenge ourselves,
right like we were getting we spend a little too
much over here, Right Like, let's let's create a budget,
Let's lock it down and guess what now that additional threshold,
we're just gonna keep putting it into an investments into investments. Right.
(18:44):
Creating simple challenges for yourself can help you stay committed
to your future and long term goals. And one of
the best things to do if you feel like, hey,
I'm I'm by myself. I don't have a partner or
spouse to answer to. I don't I don't I I'm
twenty two years old. I don't really I don't really
know what I want to be or where I want
(19:05):
to be ten years from now. One of the things
I always do I do for myself, but I always
say is you should find you yourself an accountability buddy
or an accountability group, And these are people that you
are going to literally check in with whatever cadence you
feel is acceptable to make sure that you're sticking to
the goals that you set for yourself, because ultimately you
(19:28):
can't afford it alone. Yeah, and you can't afford to.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Be wrong on this and the right accountability person because
there are some people who are secretly in competition with you,
and you have to be able to be honest too,
because certainly at times some people aren't honest with you.
Like I know, people would be like, I got paid X,
Y and Z for this, and you're like, no, you didn't,
you know, but they'll try to make you feel bad
about your financial situation or make you you know, it's
(19:51):
just a matter of having the right people around you.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
I think that is so important to your point.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Absolutely, you got to find the right people around you,
and you also got to find people who aren't just
just going to nod their head yes, said everything that
you say. And so as if you're looking for this
accountability group, you either find someone who who has lived
what you've are, has lived what you are looking to
live before, so to speak, right, they've made some decisions
(20:16):
about business or family that you want to do someday
or for me, I always try to find people who
literally look at the world totally differently than I do.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
So it's really important. I have a mastermind and a
lot of the women in it want to be partnered
for an accountability partner with people who have a similar
financial background. Right, I'm like, no, yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
I want somebody that's looking at it totally. I'm a
risky person. I am. I will bet on me all day,
every day. Right, My accountability one of my main accountability buddies,
he's super conservative, he is. I'm putting it in index
funds and I'm just letting it ride and I'm not
doing anything else to it, and I'm not going to
touch it for another thirty years, right, Van guard v Right,
(21:00):
that's his thing. No disclaim, don't sue us here, but
that's what I do to make sure I keep myself
in check. Because as you do good, it's easier to
get more and more pulls at you that take you
off the path to success.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
So we're taking our accountability partner into the fourth quarter. Yeah,
and we got the promise a legacy.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, legacy legacy. Everybody talks about, well not everybody, but
a lot of people talk about generational wealth. And I'm
doing this for my kids and that is phenomenal. Right,
And so one in the book, in your Money Playbook,
we go through what are some of the most crucial
things you should do to make sure that you're structuring
your legacy, your state plan properly, but also the things
(21:47):
that you should think about as well too, within that
whole conversation and a whole discussion on top of that, though,
one thing that I've found that a lot of people
miss or forget is actually spending the time with your
children to actually make sure that they're prepared to handle
this the pressure that you're handing over to your children
(22:11):
by handing over assets for example, Right, do they know
how to deal with those assets? Do they know how
to deal with uncomfortable conversations? Do they know how to
deal with I mean, there's a curse to the lottery
winner for a reason, right, there's a curse of being
in the spotlight for a reason. And not that you're
handing that to your children, but you are also, you know,
(22:33):
for some of us, the first time in history, handing
over a responsibility to them that you want to make
sure that they understand. You want to make sure it
doesn't crumble them or.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Crush that because I think about it, if I had
made a lot of money when I was younger, somebody
else is telling me this too.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
I don't know where I'd be right now, because you might.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Have you know, it could end up being something negative
for you if you don't know how to handle it
at the time.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
But people have such a hard time talking about this,
And I put this a lot on older generations because
when you talk to young generations and coaching mentoring collectors
I have with younger generations is really hitting me how
so many of them are saying they're not having kids
or stuff because they're carrying the weight of the one
day I'm going to be financially responsible for my parents
(23:17):
and their parents aren't doing things like Will's estate plans.
People don't like thinking about those things. Talking about those things.
You can be the best, save money for your kid,
to pass on generational wealth. Your whole life just takes
one in one instant. I always tell Angela, like, all
of a sudden, my father needed around the clock healthcare,
and all of a sudden.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
That's money gone.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
And they know how much money they have, and your host,
their whole retirement is gone from there.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
And my friend had her mom that was you needed around.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
The clock care and she was like Angela, she had
all this money and her retirement is all gone.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah, just because of that fact, and people don't realize
that they're leaving their kids with the hot mess.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
But how do you that's tell my mom, I was like,
please take If you don't, I'm gonna have to do
it because she's like whatever, it's like too much, I can't.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I'm mad.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I'm gonna have to deal with Trust me. It doesn't
just go away and disappear. Let's handle that now.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
How do you? What do you say to people to
get them over that? Not wanting to look at it,
not wanting to talk to her kids about it.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Not But yes, I will say it's it's tough right again.
One thing I've learned, and I'm sure you all have
learned it as well too, is like you you can
lead a horse to water, but you can't force them
to drink, like the old adage says. And it's like,
I'm going to tell you need to have the conversation,
like there's so many people who also talk to me
about like, you know, I was awkward having these types
(24:39):
of money conversations with my partner and my spouse. What
are y'all married for? Then? What's going on here? Right? Like?
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Ultimately comfortable with uncomfort. People are so afraid of.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
It and uncomfortable for back walk in the bathroom after
you poop, and it thinks like that we should be
able to have a nice conversation.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
What are we doing?
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Nobody said that.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
It's like, what are we really talking about then? Right, Like,
I mean, yes, they're uncomfortable conversations. Yes, no one wants
to have it. I don't like to have it at all, right,
but I know I need to have it. I know
I have to do it, and I know that most
of the best things in life usually there's a wall
of discomfort that you have to push through to make
(25:21):
them happen. And you can either decide to avoid it
and avoid the conversation, and unfortunately you will. The probability
says that you will leave your family dealing with guessing
what you wanted to happen with all your money when
your assets the government will likely take a third of
(25:42):
it as well too.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
And you need to tell your kids these things like
this is what's going to happen this.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Yeah, you need to have the conversation.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
As being left to you if it's not done in
the proper way.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Absolutely, And the thing is too you know, and I've
seen it in my own family. Is you know when
that unfortunately somebody passes away and if they don't have
their their affairs in order per se, then now the
children start to guess, and then that guests scene turns
into debates, and then that debates turns into art the
arguments what you think that such and such wanted done right?
(26:18):
And then that splinters the family even more.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Now you're not talking to your own family members. That
happens in real estate all the time. There's all these
brownstones in Brooklyn that a family member, you know, the mom,
the dad left to the kids and they have to
split it up. One person wants to sell, two people don't,
or one person's living there and they feel like they
should be able to content. It's just so much drama
that can happen. And the easy, the easiest way that
you can make that better is to make sure you're
(26:42):
very clear and what should happen.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
And now with technology apps, you can do an outline
of a will in fifteen years. Yes, I mean it's
incredible how much that blows up. But before you get
out here, let's talk about people who have lots of
money athletes.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Yeah, and after that organ but made you even.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Start tell everybody about athletes.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Yeah, so athletes dot org founded by my co founder
now Jim caval and long story short, college athletes have
produced an amazing industry for a lot of people to
get wealthy and make money, and a lot of people
enjoy a lot of people get entertained by it as
well too. Unfortunately, the people get the shortest end of
(27:23):
the stick as well are college athletes. Right. It was
got Shabbaz Napier when they won the national championship years ago,
said the confetti was dropping. They're like, man, how do
you feel? He's like, hey, this is cool and all,
but I got to go home to bullsh after this, right,
And so my thing with college athletes and just in general,
it's like, how do you reward the people who are
(27:46):
producing front line everything.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
The reason why you're making all this money is these
people and they was breaking news today? Can you tell
us that breaking news shound out while we were recording this?
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Yes, So there's a monumental historic case House versus Ncublea.
Grant House is a swimmer. Former swimmer at Arizona State
University sued the Ncublea with a bunch of college athletes
and basically said, you all owe us money for utilizing
our name, image and likeness without our permission. And so,
for the first time in history, the NCUBA has settled
(28:19):
with athletes and agreed to pay athletes directly from their schools.
What that means is the University of Syracuse athletes will
be able to get a check from their schools Alabama. Yeah, exactly, exactly,
And this is huge. It's monumental because those are the
people who are reaping all the benefits and rewards, right
(28:42):
the contracts that happen with the conferences, the multi billion
dollar contracts. College football playoffs alone just did a I'm
gonna say, eight year, seven point eight billion dollar contract
right now. That seven point eight billion dollars is split
amongst the schools, the conferences, et cetera. Well, some of
that should be able to go to the athletes that
are actually on the field getting injured, getting hurt and
(29:03):
putting their their livelihoods and their careers on the line.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
For the supression door, dealing with their families not you know,
it's crazy that you can have that added stress of
having to be concerned about, you know, your family and
yourself and paying for things. This is something that it's
going to be really helpful because there's a lot of
kids who also skipped.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
College or it shaned you there for four years.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Yeah, right, Just so we were talking about that earlier.
It's I have a child who's a student athlete, and
when he started just a year ago, you know, everyone
was going for a year and then trying to get
an NBA contract. Oh No, people are coming to college.
They're wanting to stay in.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
College and also make some money getting.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
They're getting paid six figures. They're entrepreneurial, they're starting businesses.
So I see how those top ticket guys are making
millions and millions of dollars in college that we were
had a show a couple of months ago and we
brought up how American parents are spent what was it,
four hundred forty four billion, forty billion dollars a year
(30:05):
on youth sports, twenty percent of them forty billion out
of parents' pockets, twenty percent of them. We are taking
second jobs in overtime. The superstars are benefiting from this.
But how is this going to trickle down to the
people who actually made these money making athletes?
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Yeah? I think that, well, trickle down to the parents
or like it.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
It seems like it only benefits a few elite athletes.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Because there's going to be some students that don't make
it into professional sports absolutely, you know, also obviously the
majority of them will.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Yeah, yeah, well I think that that's so even coming back, So,
what athletes dot org is, because I explained how the
money working with the settlement was. What athletes dot Org
is is a players association for college athletes. And when
I was in the NFL, we had the NFL Players
Association actually just came from the MBPA, the National Basketball
Players Association. That is the group every pro league has
(30:58):
a union and a players association for that just advocates
and protects the interests of the players. What that players
Association does is it helps create standard contracts, minimum salaries,
minimum guarantees, things of that nature. College athletes don't have
any of that right now, which is why you see
so many college athletes who are being promised money that
(31:20):
they're never actually going to ever receive.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
That's crazy.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Yeah, I mean that's happening all the time. Unfortunately, you
see so many I get whenever I had seven surgeries,
eight surgeries, excuse me, while playing in the NFL, and
whenever I had an injury, I was able to go
to another doctor, a second medical opinion, to make sure
that what they were saying was right. College athletes don't
have that right right, and so for us, our job
(31:45):
is to organize the athletes and allow for them to
sit into their own many negotiations, not many, huge, multi
billion dollar negotiations against their schools so that they can
make sure that they're getting the maximum value that they
should get from this deal. So next year follow twenty
twenty five, every school will be able to pay up
(32:06):
to twenty two point one million dollars or twenty three
point one million dollars to their athletes. That year it'll increase,
but up to twenty thirty four to twenty thirty four,
it'll crease up to about thirty three million dollars per school.
So this is over twenty billion dollars that the top
schools will be able to share with their athletes over
the next ten years alone. It's a huge opportunities of
(32:29):
renaissance for athletes to be making money before they ever
go to the league. And if they don't go to
the league, they.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Can they still be good at college and they'll be
college educated. Yeah, college is popular or good.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Amen. But to get to your point, like like you said,
the stars, the stars are the stars, right, Like that
is there's only one Lebron and there's only one Stacy Tisdale.
There's only one Angelie, right, like y'all are going to
eat right, it is what it is. There's certain people
who are who are up there. I was an undrafted
free agent. I was bottom of the totem pole in
in the NFL. But because I had minimum contracts, because
(33:04):
I had certain protections in place that wouldn't allow the
team to get over on me, I've been able to
change my family's life forever as a result of some
of those structures in place. Again, right now there is
no structure. So when college athletes actually have that organization
called Athletes dot Org, that is their protection. It's going
(33:25):
to continue to move the needle for everybody.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
You're so smart, you're a financial literacy advocate educator, and
you also have a foundation beyond the basics. Talk about
that and how people can actually work with you in
your curriculum and everything.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Thank you, No, I appreciate it. Beyond the basics, bTB.
That is the foundation of my wife and I started
years ago. It was to help young people realize their
full potential. Always tell people, I thank you, thank you
for the compliment that I'm smart. I appreciate it. God
gave me ambition unlike any other. He gave me curiosity.
(34:01):
He gave me brains as well too. But I am
smart enough to also know. I just happened to be
in the right places at the right time to have
mentors like my coach who said, yeah, come on, I'll
show you this. To be able to go to a
school like Penn and the Work School of Business, and
to come home one summer and while I was back
home doing a couple of odd jobs, but training when
(34:24):
I came home, when I came back to school, and
everybody's like, man, I interned at this company. In turn
this company, I was like, you know what, I'm giving
me an internship too. I'm trying to go with ubs.
Let me see, right. So I had exposure and a
lot of There are a lot of people in this world,
young people especially, who have so much ambition, so much talent,
but they don't have exposure anyone that'll take the blinders
(34:44):
off of them. And so that's what we specialize in
and that's what we do, and we do this through
we use certain tent pole events. We have football camps
in the summer. Of course I'm a football player, so
I got to do that. But then we also have
an event coming up soon actually called December to remember
Remembers of shopping spree for kids across the country. We
last year we did eleven different cities, over twenty NFL
(35:07):
players were involved in different team cities, and we took
over seven hundred and fifty kids shopping, gave away over
one hundred grand. That's amazing, So all those kids, and
so this year we're gonna do the same thing. But again,
all of those are like catalysts to find the right
kids who have that spark, that ambition and they want
more for themselves. And then how can we provide more
(35:29):
infrastructure and support around them to give them opportunities to
shadow people who are in in the field of their dreams.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah, that would definitely put a spark that like it
did for you.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Excellent.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Well your Money playbook, which by the way, was number
one on Amazon, so congratulations on that. It's only been
out for not even a month yet.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
Yeah, not even a month month later on the spreet So.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
People can go to Amazon to get that.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Yeah, you go to your Money Playbook dot com and
you can purchase it. There's multiple places you can get
it at. But yeah, your Money Playbook dot Com.
Speaker 4 (36:01):
And the baby came the same week that this was.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
His accounts already set up.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
There you go, go and follow Brandon at b cope
fifty one.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Yeah, this was amazing. I got to ask you one
last thing. What was your favorite city to play in?
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (36:17):
What was your favorite team?
Speaker 3 (36:18):
So I'm gonna give you two answers. One New York,
New York. You know it's nothing like New York. Baltimore,
that's where you're That's where I'm from, Baltimore Ravens and
yeah you couldn't. That city just knows football, like especially
a defensive player. You're treated like an offensive player in Baltimore.
(36:38):
So I mean, not treat like Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
But when we all say a collective prayer before you
go for my New York football team, give those to
the Giants yesterday.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
All right, Well, thank you so much your Money Playbook
How to Earn More, Build Wealth, and to Win it Life.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Brandon Copeland, thank you so much for joining
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Us way up
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Angela Yee
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