Chad Ochocinco is a NFL great of frugality.
Chad Ochocinco wasn’t named to the Pro Bowl until his third year in the NFL, but he was an All-Pro at being frugal from the second he set foot in the NFL.
A guest on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast this week, Ochocinco explained how as a second round pick he didn’t want to spend any money when he first arrived in the league — so instead he lived inside Paycor Stadium (formerly known as Paul Brown Stadium).
“As a rookie coming into the league, I stayed at the stadium my first two years because there was no point in spending money and wasting money when everything I need is already there.”
The man has a point. Outside of wanting to have you own space, there’s effectively nothing you can’t get at an NFL stadium that you’d have in home. There’s food when you need it. Showers when they’re required. A huge gym when it’s time to workout — and heck, even TVs and film rooms which can be used for entertainment.
The only lingering question remains “where did Chad sleep?” Because NFL stadiums don’t typically have big comfy beds one would think a professional athlete would want for sleepy time. Did he crash on an air mattress on the floor of the locker room? Did he pass out on a massage bed? Did Chad just find a nice sofa to lay his head each night?
Obviously he made the right choice, because whatever he did turned Ochocinco into one of the best receivers of the 2000s — but still, it’s kind of wild to hear about an NFL player being this frugal. It’s also ludicrously smart. It’s great to have self-confidence in one’s abilities, but there was no guarantee he’d get a huge contract extension after his rookie deal.
Ochocinco went on to say he didn’t even get his own place until he’d been in the league for four years. After the first two he left the stadium and moved in with his grandmother.
“I didn’t move out of my grandmother’s house because I was content and used to where I lived. I didn’t move out of her house until my fourth year in the NFL.”
What would you do? If you got dropped into the NFL and went from making nothing to $1.7M (what Ochocinco made in 2001), and you had access to a stadium the way he did, would you bank the cash for a rainy day or live it up? I’d love to say I’d be as frugal and forward thinking as Chad was … but I don’t know.
