Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Devon Kennard, Former NFL Player, on Paying College Athletes and “Mailbox Money” (Encore)

Episode Date: February 11, 2024

Not only is Devon Kennard a football legend, but he’s also a philanthropist, real estate investor, soon-to-be financial author and now, Money Rehabber! Listen up for his real estate hacks, tips for negotiating contracts, and more. Originally aired 7/9/21 $ Investors: Robinhood has the only IRA that gives you a 3% boost on every dollar you contribute when you subscribe to Robinhood Gold. Learn more at Robinhood.com/boost  $ Want the kiddos in your life to become money masters? Check out Greenlight, the best money app and debit card for families (and get one month free!): http://greenlight.com/moneyrehab $ Is mental health a resolution for 2024? Get 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp at: http://betterhelp.com/moneyrehab  $ The secret to health and wealth is in your gut. Literally. Get 20% off a 90 day bottle of Just Thrive Probiotic and Just Calm. Try it at: justthrivehealth.com and use promo code: MONEYREHAB. $ Want one-on-one money coaching from Nicole? Book a meeting with her here: intro.co/moneynewsnetwork 

I love hosting on Airbnb. It's a great way to bring in some extra cash. But I totally get it that it might sound overwhelming to start, or even too complicated, if, say, you want to put your summer home in Maine on Airbnb, but you live full-time in San Francisco and you can't go to Maine every time you need to change sheets for your guests or something like that. If thoughts like these have been holding you back, I have great news for you. Airbnb has launched a co-host network, which is a network of high quality local co-hosts with Airbnb experience that can take care of your home and your guests. Co-hosts can do what you don't have time for, like managing your reservations, messaging your guests, giving support at the property, or even create your listing for you.

I always want to line up a reservation for my house when I'm traveling for work, but sometimes I just don't get around to it because getting ready to travel always feels like a scramble, so I don't end up making time to make my house look guest-friendly. I guess that's the best way to put it. But I'm matching with a co-host so I can still make that extra cash while also making it easy on myself. Find a co-host at airbnb.com slash host. One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with features like no

maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available Hey guys, are you ready for some money rehab? Wall Street has been completely upended by an unlikely player, GameStop.

And should I have a 401k? You don't do it? No, I never have. You think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn't. Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. Like an old school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg.

The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. Nicole Lappin. As you know, every Friday we talk with a public figure making change in every sense of the word. And along the way has been in or is still in money rehab. Today I'm talking to Devon Kennard, linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals. But like any good money rehabber, Devon doesn't have just one stream of income playing football. He is also a real estate investor and soon to be financial author. Devon, I am so excited to have you on the show and hear about all the football, real estate, all the things.

But first, a quick game of money rehab. Never have I ever. Have you ever played? Never have I ever the drinking? Yeah. Okay. So this is the money financial version of that with no drinking, unfortunately. So never have I ever maxed out a credit card. I have not. Nice. Never have I ever negotiated a contract. I have. Yeah, you have. Never have I ever bought crypto.

I have. Nice. What did you buy? I got into like Bitcoin. I don't got a whole lot, but I dibble and dabble a little bit. It's not really my thing. I stick to real estate. Never have I ever bought a used car. I don't got a whole lot, but I dibble and dabble a little bit. It's not really my thing. I stick to real estate. Never have I ever bought a used car. I have. Nice. Have you bought a new car? Yeah, I bought a new car too. Strategically, because it wasn't going to cost me much more than a used one. So it was like, all right, I might as well just buy it

new. But my rule of thumb is typically I don't buy new. Yes. Yes. That is also my rule of thumb. Buy used cars, run them into the ground, sell them later. New cars are a total waste of money. Never have I ever taken out a student loan. I have not. Never have I ever played the lottery. I've never played the lottery. Nope. Never have I ever cashed in a. Nope. I have not. I have not. This is, I don't know what y'all call it in football, but like what would be the equivalent of a layup? Never have I ever bought an investment property. That's definitely a layup, but I have definitely done that multiple.

definitely a layup, but I have, I've definitely done that multiple. I can't wait to hear more about that. Tell me though, what your relationship was like with money when you were growing up? For me growing up, I, I had a father who played in the NFL and I got to observe a lot and he did pretty well but I um but I was really young when he was actually playing so most of my life he was it was when he was retired and I got to see what I did and didn't want and my parents did well but I always had a desire to do even better and put myself and my future family and generations and I took it upon myself to where I was like my dad did well he was like first generation going to college, getting getting out of the hood type of situation. And like it was I put a lot of responsibility on myself to advance my family much further than that and utilize, you know, the position my dad put put me and my siblings in.

So I was kind of for at a young age, I was kind of my motivation. I don't really know where it came from. That's not like I grew up talking about finances with my family a lot, but it was always like, if my dad could do this, I got to try to do better type of thing. Wow. So what were the things that you wanted to do differently? And what were the things that you wanted to do the same watching him? I liked that he didn't have to get like a full-time stressful job. So he did well enough and was smart enough with his money where he had some jobs and some things he did. But for the most part, he was able to do the things he wanted to do.

So I like that. But I wanted more. I don't I don't know what everything I want yet, but if I want it, I want to be able to do it type of attitude. And what was their relationship with money? Were they strict? Did they spoil you? Was it a little bit of both? They were pretty strict. You know, I grew up in a good community. And anything I really needed or if I really, really wanted, I pretty much had. But they, you know, they didn't just throw money at me ever. And they really, my mom is very conservative. I always joke and say she, you know, she's a penny pincher and she still shops at outlet stores and cuts out coupons and does the whole thing. So, you know, that really taught me to be

kind of frugal with my finances. I mean, rich people stay rich by acting like they're poor and poor people stay poor by acting like they're rich. I think I think she probably taught you really well by doing that. Yeah, absolutely. I always joke and say the richest people I know, you couldn't even tell. Right. The millionaires next door. Is that what you wanted? Did you want to just not be able to tell and have a bank account, but not all the flash that goes with it? I've never been super into the flash. I mean, at this point in my life, in my career, there's certain things that I, that I like, but it's all within reason, depending on how much money you're making, what your situation is, um, and all that. So for me, it was, there were things that I've wanted, but I w I w I'm okay

with delayed gratification. So I rather, I rather be able to splurge and buy things with passive income than, than earned income. So, you know, I play football for a living. My dollars have to work just as hard as I work. Just as hard as I work for them, they got to work for me. So that was kind of my mindset. And once I'm generating enough passive income, if there's things I want to splurge on from time to time, then I've earned that right.

But for me, I had to earn it first. When did you become interested in football? Did you always think that's what you were going to do because of your dad? I always loved sports in general. I actually, if I could, even to this day, if I could, I'd play basketball. But I started growing this way and not vertically. So I was like, I think my genes are kind of dictating but sports was always a passion of mine but I had a lot of um injuries even my senior year of high school and throughout college to where I didn't always know um and it wasn't always like a shoe in that I was going to play

professionally so it really kind of pressed on me to figure out and I had to make a decision do I want to be successful if I end up playing football or do I want to be successful no matter what? And, you know, the vision I had for my life, it wasn't just tethered to football. I wanted to be able to live that life period. So I had to start thinking and operating in a way of like, all right, whether I play zero years or I play 10 years, you know, how am I going to live the life that I want to live? What do you mean it wasn't a shoo-in? You were recruited by more than 40 schools. That's not a shoo-in? But once I got to college, I had a lot of injuries. There was a chance I wasn't going to get drafted into the NFL. And even once I got in the NFL, there's a lot of skepticism of, will he actually play? Will he end up getting cut? All

those things. And I've been blessed enough to play eight years now. It's definitely a blessing. The average NFL career is three years. To make it to eight years and be able to do what I do is definitely something I don't take for granted. It's something that has been a big business. You've referred to college recruiting actually as a business. Can you tell me a little bit more about that? to college recruiting actually as a business. Can you tell me a little bit more about that? It definitely is. You know, you're trying to, just like any other business, you're trying to get the best talent so you can put the best product on the field. And it's generating income.

And, you know, the NCAA and college institutions are using athletes. And I don't know if you saw the reports, but now they're going to start being able to get paid as college athletes. And I think that's great because there's a lot of universities in the NCAA that's making a lot of money on college athletes' backs. And for me, I was like, I know that I'm going to school for free. I'm going to take full advantage of it and try to use them just as much as they're using me to sell tickets and get people to support USC football. That's where I went to college. I was like, I'm going to use them and take advantage of

this free education. So that's why I took school seriously and knocked it out as fast as I could. Do you have a sense of how much USC makes off the football team? When you were there, was there the same movement that players should get paid, college athletes should get paid? Everybody said so. It was ridiculous that I'm at USC and we're dealing with guys who are for sure about to go first round or have NFL careers. And they're waiting for a stipend check for $1,200 and more than half of it has to go to rent in downtown Los Angeles. And then the rest is, you know, we're eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and training table. You know, it's kind of ridiculous to think that's what our lifestyle is like when, you know, we're playing USC football, competing for national championships and bringing in millions of dollars.

I don't know exactly how much, but I know it's a lot. Then you got drafted. You went to play for the NFL. and bringing in millions of dollars. I don't know exactly how much, but I know it's a lot. Then you got drafted. You went to play for the NFL. What was the best piece of financial advice you got when you were being drafted? I don't know if anyone really told me, but I went in immediately with the mindset of like, I'm going to save as much as I can

because I didn't know how long I was going to play. But I looked at it as like, I'm 23 years old. I get a chance to make a lot more money this year than any other 23 year old. So I'm going to save as much as I can and meet as many connections, build relationships and try to leverage myself, put myself in position to be successful. And so that was my mindset. So I know I like, I got made fun of, but as soon as I got drafted, I uh i i had my my high school car shipped out to new jersey because i got drafted back to the giants so

shipped it out and i was driving my high school car for the whole first year and then and then i found um i got a marketing deal that i leveraged myself with the kia dealership because i i drove a kia but my car was having issues. And I like when you asked if I negotiated my own contract, well, that's what I did on my own. I worked out a contract and an agreement with the owner of a dealership and I got to drive a car free for three years. And I didn't buy my first car until I got my second contract and and went to Detroit. So that's kind of where like my my mentality, I had to kind of make sure I was like, I want to put all my money towards investments and savings. And, you know, I could do all the other stuff down the line.

My heart is like bursting. I'm so happy. Hold on to your wallets, boys and girls. Money Rehab will be right back. I love hosting on Airbnb. It's a great way to bring in some extra cash, but I totally get it that it might sound overwhelming to start or even too complicated if, say, you want to put your summer home in Maine on Airbnb, but you live full time in San Francisco and you can't go to Maine every time you need to change sheets for

your guests or something like that. If thoughts like these have been holding you back, I have great news for you. Airbnb has launched a co-host network, which is a network of high quality local co-hosts with Airbnb experience that can take care of your home and your guests. Co-hosts can do what you don't have time for, like managing your reservations, messaging your guests, giving support at the property, or even create your listing for you. I always want to line up a reservation for my house when I'm traveling for work, but sometimes I just don't get around to it because getting ready to travel always feels like a scramble, so I don't end up making time to make my house look guest-friendly. I guess that's the best way to put it. But I'm matching with a co-host,

so I can still make that extra cash while also making it easy on myself. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a time checking account with features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees.

If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bank Corp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly

limits. Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details. Now for some more money rehab. Nerdy question question you talked about the highest tax bracket but how do state taxes work for sports i read that some sports leagues what you make per game is actually subject to state tax in the state that's hosting the game is that true yeah so you get taxed in every in every state that you play in so it gets complicated you got to make sure you have an account that understands that but yeah so um i'm in arizona now when i was playing in new york my checks looked a lot different than they do now in arizona and so even now i joke and i say i hate going to new york to play because because uh you know it looks a lot less than it does when i'm playing in Arizona or other places.

Wow. I mean, it really depends also what city you're playing in. Because if you're making $250,000, is that the starting salary? That looks a lot different and different. Yeah. It's growing up. It's going to be like $550,000 this year. So even bottom of the roster guys are making pretty good money. But yeah, it can look a lot different depending on what city you're playing in and where all your away games are.

You want to be in a good home-based city because you know you're playing home at least eight games. So if you're in a high-tax home stadium, then that really sucks because eight games, you already know you're getting taxed the worst. And then you just got to see where else you're playing from there. Yeah, New York, California, probably. You get paid in other things. But being in Arizona, I like because the tax situation there is much more favorable. In March of 2020, you reportedly signed a three-year $20 million contract. And based on what we talked about, it's not $20 million in your pocket. What was

that negotiation like? That's still, I mean, even with all the taxes and all the stuff taken out, that is amazing. Yeah, it was definitely a huge, huge blessing. And it was actually my second big contract that I signed. I signed one in Detroit. And then it was actually my second big contract that i that i signed i signed one in detroit um and then i was actually released from detroit uh for essentially negotiation reasons i wanted more money and uh and then i signed a new deal with the with the cardinals and uh negotiation went well as soon as i was released from detroit there was interest right away and my agent got to work he did most of the groundwork. I, you know, I'm a firm believer. I, um, I earned, I earned my payday on the football field. I let my agent do his, do his work from there. So he negotiated a good deal.

I had a number in my head that I wanted to hit and he was able to, um, to hit it. And, uh, you know, now, now, you know, I'm get to play home in my hometown. Well, I mean, and then you get paid in just doing that, which is priceless, it sounds like. Yeah, absolutely. So when did you start getting into investing? Was it with real estate investing at first? Yeah, I actually, so I kind of mentioned earlier, but my college career was really shaky. I had some injuries. I had a lot of position changes. I wasn't sure if I was going to play in the NFL and have the kind of career.

I always had confidence, but, you know, there were days where it was like, I don't know if it's going to happen. So I started trying to figure out what else I was going to do. And I met a mentor and he started out as a police officer and a special education teacher. And he bought one property, turned into two, turned into three. And now he has a property management company in California. And him and his partner own over 4,500 units in L.A. And just hearing his story, sitting down, talking with him, that was really inspiring. Because I'm like, if he was able to build that off of a teacher and police officer salary, if I only play one year in the NFL but leverage it right, I can put myself in position and give myself a really good head start.

So that was my mindset. And after my first year, I went to a couple of real estate meetups in Arizona with a partner of mine who used to go to USC with me. And we bought our first property in Indianapolis. And I never looked back after that. So what does that mean? How many properties do you have now? So I now own 15 properties of my own, but I'm also in 40 other syndications. I'm not sure how familiar you are with that, but I'm a limited partner in a few of them. I'm a general partner in big syndications all across the country from apartment complexes, single family homes to senior living to warehouses. I kind of try to reach and touch all the bases in different fields and different industries and, you know, invest and collect what I call mailbox money every month and just push up that, you know, what my passive income is and my mailbox money is every month.

And that's what I've been building out. So a combination of my own personal portfolio and then finding people who are already syndicating really good deals and networking with them, connecting with them, investing alongside them and reaping the benefits. So here's a tip from Devon you can take straight to the bank. I think everybody should adopt the mindset of building passive income, mailbox money, of looking at and creating multiple revenue streams. I think it's essential. I think that's what the new American dream is. There's more ways now to make money than ever before in our society and in life. So everyone should take advantage.

You can have a nine to five job and sell stuff on Etsy that you like making and make some nice chump change. And then that you could start to put into your first investment property and just let things start to feed each other. And you'll be amazed at where you can be five years and 10 years from now if you start doing that. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartMedia. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Catherine Law. Money Rehab is edited and engineered by Brandon Dickert with help from Josh Fisher.

Executive producers are Mangesh Hatikader and Will Pearson. Huge thanks to the OG Money Rehab supervising producer, Michelle Lanz, for her pre-production and development work. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all. Spend my money, money. Spend my money, money, money. Spend my money, money, money.