When the 2019 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night in Nashville, Quinnen Williams is expected to be one of the first college football players to hear his name called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
In other words, Williams is on the verge of earning a multimillion-dollar payday as one of this year's top NFL draft picks. And he already knows how he plans to spend his first NFL paycheck.
"I think I'm going to buy my grandma a car," Williams told TMZ in an interview in January.
Williams, a 21-year-old defensive tackle who played college football at the University of Alabama, is ranked as the second overall player available in this year's NFL Draft, according to ESPN. And a wide variety of mock drafts predicting the order of Thursday's draft have Williams as a likely top-five selection.
That would put Williams in line for a rookie contract worth at least $29 million overall, including a signing bonus of more than $19 million, according to Spotrac's contract projections.
In addition to a car, Williams wants to buy some other shiny gifts for his grandmother, who he says doesn't wear much jewelry now. But he tells TMZ, he wants to change that. "She don't really wear jewelry, so I'll buy her jewelry," Williams says.
But Williams is much less likely to make an expensive splurge on himself, he says. "I'm a real tight guy and I really don't spend money," he tells TMZ. Even when he's making millions in the NFL, Williams plans to keep a lot of the same spending habits.
"I'm going to still be wearing the same Nike [sweatsuits] and stuff like that," Williams says.
William's grandmother, Yvarta Henderson, helped raise Williams and his three siblings after his mother, Marquischa Henderson Williams, passed away following a breast cancer battle when he was just 12 years old.
Ant there's something else Williams wants to do for his grandmother: finish his college degree. Williams completed three years of studying at Alabama before leaving early to declare for the 2019 NFL Draft. But Williams' grandmother is a teacher (as was his mother and multiple aunts), and she made him promise her he would go back to college to complete his degree.
Williams tells NBC Sports that he's "definitely going back" to college, because that's also what his mother would have wanted. "That's something I want to do for myself, but I know she would want me to do that," he says.
Don't Miss:
Why NFL star Richard Sherman drove his $30,000 Dodge Challenger until last year
Use these 3 tips from the NFL draft to hire the best employees possible
Like this story? Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube!
