PHILADELPHIA – NBA shooting guard Bradley Beal, who just signed a $72 million, two-year contract extension with the Washington Wizards, says he's frugal.
Beal, 26, doesn't have to be. He's earned roughly $117 million over his career, according to Spotrac.com. That doesn't include his recent contract extension or revenue from his endorsement deal with Nike, the terms of which weren't disclosed.
After indulging earlier in his career on material things, the two-time All-Star says he has since curbed his spending on cars and clothing, preferring to save his money for the future.
"It gets old eventually," Beal said in an interview after his team beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 112-93, in the preseason finale on Friday. "All the jewelry, all the cars; that s--- gets old."
Beal's $72 million extension with the Wizards adds two years to his five-year, $127 million contract he signed in 2016.
In the first year of the extension, Beal is set to earn about $34 million. The second year is a player-option, which if Beal accepts, will pay another roughly $37 million. Once Beal becomes a free agent again, which could be as early as 2022, he'll be eligible to receive a contract offer worth $270 million from the Wizards, a figure his agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports & Entertainment, confirmed to CNBC.
Beal said he has a team of advisors who oversee his finances while he concentrates on his career. He's aware of how short it could be; the average NBA player's career is about five years. So he's saving all the money he can to prepare for the future generation of his family. Beal and his partner Kamiah Adams announced the birth of their second son, Braylon Elias Beal, on Aug. 30.
"Use it for what you need it for," Beal said. "You take care of your family. You take care of your immediate loved ones. And then you save your money for your family down the line."
Beal isn't the only player to hit the extension jackpot in the NBA.
ESPN reported the Toronto Raptors agreed to a four-year, $130 million extension with forward Pascal Siakam. The deal beats Monday's deadline for teams to secure extensions with players who were drafted in 2016. Sacramento Kings shooting guard Buddy Hield also agreed to a four-year extension, worth $80 million, according to sports news site The Athletic, who also reported Dejounte Murray's four-year, 64 million extension with the San Antonio Spurs.
Young players need to have a financial advisor and accountant they can trust, Beal said, "unless you're dedicated to it every single day, which we're not."
"You have to think," Beal continued, "when we get here, especially as African Americans, we don't make it out of our situations all the time. So when you have [money], you have to get a financial advisor. You've got to have an accountant – make sure you've got your whole team together because if you go into the league blind, you'll be broke."
