Former NFL wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson has made a series of surprising remarks about money in interviews over the last few weeks, including that he once lived at his former team’s stadium for nearly two years.
In an interview with Fox Sports host Shannon Sharpe, Johnson claimed that he saved more than 80% of his career earnings by not buying fancy cars and buying fake jewelry, despite earning nearly $50 million from his playing days.
“Fly private?” Johnson said during the interview. “I ain’t flying private. Spirit, put me on Spirit, exit row, window seat. That’s all I need. As long as I get from point A to point B, I don’t need private.”
He said that an athlete’s goal should be to get to a point in their career where their name becomes bigger than anything they can purchase.
“My name itself, Ochocinco at one point, even still to this day, is bigger than — why am I driving a Ferrari?” he said. “Why am I driving a Rolls-Royce when I’m Ocho? Oh, we talk about jewelry and watches and chains; I never bought real anything when I was playing. Never. What was the point? What am I doing it for?”
“The women don’t deal with anyway because of who you are, right?” he continued. “And then the other women who are really doing their homework, they’ll Google how much you making already. Why am I buying a $50,000 watch? $80,000 watch? What time is it real quick, please? … The time is free. So what am I paying for it for?
“Everybody’s caught up in image and looking a certain way and being rich. It’s me. It’s pointless,” he continued. “You know how hard it is to live like that all the time, consistently, and be fly every day?”
He noted that the previous generation of celebrities all had their time in the sun but they could not sustain it forever because it’s impossible to do.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP
.@ochocinco saved 83% of his salary by flying Spirit & wearing fake jewelry pic.twitter.com/RMC7AYPREa
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 31, 2023
“You gotta remember, I stayed at the stadium the first two years because I didn’t want to spend no money,” Johnson added. “What’s the point? Why are you telling me to go rent a house, go buy a house, or go rent a condo when everything I need is right here in the facility?”
“Showers, cafeteria, TV, couch, gaming system. What’s the point? I was so locked in. It wasn’t about having my own space,” he added. “I needed that one-year lock-in to catch the rhythm. In the second year, I got that rhythm.”
Chad Johnson lived in the stadium for 2 years pic.twitter.com/aA7DXGiCvC
— T.Vickz (@TVickz) February 21, 2023