Brandon Copeland on Financial Freedom for NFL Players | Zach Miller | NFL Players’ Series #20

In this episode, we’re joined by Brandon Copeland (@bcope51), linebacker for the @atlantafalcons and about to enter his 8th @NFL season, Ivy League professor of Life 101 at @uofpenn, @Forbes 30 Under 30, and established leader in the #morethananathlete movement. Brandon and I discuss what we have learned during our NFL careers about money, investing, and football - including the mistakes we’ve made along the way. 

Brandon and I both have a similar focus of helping to build financial freedom for all NFL players, and as we discuss throughout the episode, the pillars of personal wealth (net worth, human capital, investing, annual spending, after-tax returns) do not have to be over-complicated by Wall Street. Similar to football, keeping it simple is the best strategy.

NFL Players can’t afford to learn at the rate of their own experience; we must learn faster and channel our competitive drive to eliminate the unnecessary money mistakes every NFL Player will make.

Topics:

The story of how Life 101 started and what Brandon teaches in the offseason at his alma mater University of Pennsylvania.https://www.life101.io/Discussing money and how the educational system really drops the ball, not just for athletes but for everyone.Not being afraid to learn and ask questions especially when it comes to money.Getting the right experts on your team matters. You cannot be an expert at everything.Money is just a tool to be used for financial freedom, whether that is to provide for the people you care about, or to make the impact you desire during your life.Treating yourself like a business, and not letting your entourage ruin that businessBrandon’s biggest piece of advice for the newly drafted Rookies (Also check out Kiplinger.com/cope)Vet and demand the best from your advisors, financial advisers & agents. Don’t just rely.Being competitive about spending money is a game you won’t win.How to operate as an NFL Player to retain your wealth, mentally create the right mindset to not fall into this trapBrandon tells his experience day trading options and his maturity as an investor during his investing career and generational investing.Brandon brings up the concept of delayed gratification and being patient when it comes to investing.How Brandon approaches his real estate investments and the constant learning required to become an expert in the space.Tax strategy is often ignored or poorly implemented for NFL Players resulting in less money in the pockets of players.Biggest mistakes as a player when it comes to wealth: including not knowing your net worth, savings rate, and annual spending after tax returns matter and human capital must be common.Brandon’s grandfather, NFL Player & Super Bowl Champion advice he gave to Brandon when he was younger