Hufanga appeared on the Richard Sherman Podcast and shared what his first big purchase as a pro was.
You’d assume a newly minted pro athlete would blow their signing bonus on a big purchase like a mortgage, new car, or maybe some fancy jewelry, but, like 49ers Rookie Talanoa Hufanga shared, that’s often not the case.
Embed from Getty ImagesHufanga took some time out of his busy week and chatted with former 49er and current free agent Richard Sherman on his podcast and shared the first thing he bought before turning pro.
Check out that clip below.
“First off I’m a very frugal guy, Hufanga explains. “I’m not lying about this, I’m from a farm and I grew up on the lake, up on the water, and in the mountains snowboarding.”
Hufanga grew up and played high school football in the small farming town of Corvallis, Oregon.
“This is right before I get drafted…this is pre-spending draft money…so I’m driving in South Central (Los Angeles) in the hood and I see this tire shop and I’m like, “Man, is that a broken jet ski?” and I’ve always wanted to jet ski my whole life”
“I went into this tire shop and asked, “I want this jet ski” and he’s like, “Why would you want to buy something that’s broken?” and I was like, “My best friend’s a mechanic, and he’s gonna fix it for free.
“So I ended up buying a broken jet ski for $400.”
Hufanga goes on to explain that it wasn’t broken… at all, and just needed a hundred dollar battery.
Hufanga would later go through the draft and eventually sign with the 49ers for a 4-year rookie contract worth $3.7 million with a $240,000 signing bonus (pro-rated annually at $60,000.)
As hinted at, rookie pros are notorious for buying and doing absolutely norm core things when they make it big.
According to Go Banking Rates, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was spotted at a McDonald’s drive-thru after signing a record-breaking contract worth $120M.
Venus Williams literally bought nothing when she won his first Grand Slam Title at Wimbledon in 2000, she took her first paycheck and stick it in the bank.
As far as frugal, first purchases go, Hufanga is in good company.