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David Muhlbaum: Brandon Copeland bærer mange hatte ud over sin Atlanta Falcons-hjelm. Ja, han er en professionel fodboldspiller, men også en ejendomsinvestor og underviser i privatøkonomi. Han har forfulgt den sidste mission en række steder, inklusive hans alma mater, University of Pennsylvania. Men i det sidste års tid har vi været beærede over at have ham sluttet sig til os som medvirkende redaktør. Vi vil indhente professor Cope, også hvad du skal gøre, hvis du får en regning for din COVID-jab.
Velkommen til Dine penge er værd . Jeg er Senior Online Editor David Muhlbaum. Jeg får selskab af min medvært, Sandy Block. Hvordan har du det, Sandy?
Sandy Block: Har det storartet. Jeg får mit COVID-booster-skud på mandag.
David Muhlbaum: Heldige dig. Jeg mener det. Jeg er ikke engang mit sædvanlige sarkastiske jeg. Nå, var det svært at komme forbi?
Sandy Block: Nej, faktisk ringede jeg op... Jeg fik J&J, hvilket betyder, at jeg er berettiget med det samme, og jeg ringede op til CVS i et mål nær mit hus og fik en aftale. Og det er dejligt, for jeg kan måske købe nogle badehåndklæder, mens jeg er der.
David Muhlbaum: Okay.
Sandy Block: Men én ting sprang ud af mig og gav mig en vis bekymring, for da jeg lavede aftalen... Jeg tror, da jeg fik mit første skud, gik jeg lige til et sundhedscenter i Arlington. Da jeg lavede aftalen med CVS, bad de mig om en masse oplysninger om min forsikring, mit nummer, mit gruppenummer. Og jeg tænkte:"Betyder det, at jeg skal betale? Vil mit forsikringsselskab... Får jeg en kopi?" Og mange mennesker har det samme spørgsmål. Dette kom med den første runde af vaccinationer, og jeg formoder, at det vil komme op igen. Næsten en tredjedel af uvaccinerede voksne siger, at de er bekymrede over egne omkostninger, ifølge Kaiser Family Foundation, og de er ikke-
David Muhlbaum: Udgifter til et COVID-skud?
Sandy Block: Ja. At de får en kopi. At de får en regning. Og nogle mennesker er faktisk blevet faktureret, og helt ærligt, i betragtning af tilstanden i vores sundhedssystem, hvornår var det sidste, du fik noget gratis? Jeg mener, normalt er der noget.
David Muhlbaum: Ja. Det virker som en anomali.
Sandy Block: Ja. Det er bestemt en anomali, at der ikke er nogen egenbetaling, der er ingen... Åh, den anden ting er folk, så mange af os har nu høje selvrisikoforsikringer, og folk tænker, "Nå, måske bliver jeg ikke faktureret, men det" vil tælle i min... Jeg bliver faktureret senere, fordi jeg ikke har opfyldt min selvrisiko." Så folk er skeptiske over for dette. Vi er ikke vant til at få noget gratis.
David Muhlbaum: Nå, jeg har ikke fået min influenza-indsprøjtning endnu, og det har jeg tænkt mig, og måske skulle jeg bare prøve mig derovre. Men en af de ting, der slår mig, er, at jeg ser skiltene, der siger:"Gratis influenzasprængninger." Jeg mener-
Sandy Block: Højre.
David Muhlbaum: ... er det nyt?
Sandy Block: Nej. Jeg tror, det er bare for at få dig ind ad døren. Det er... Jeg tror, at-
David Muhlbaum: Og køb nogle håndklæder.
Sandy Block: Ja. Køb nogle håndklæder. Nå, jeg synes, det er lidt uærligt. Jeg mener, i henhold til ACA er forebyggende pleje -- forsikring kan ikke opkræve dig for forebyggende pleje, men jeg formoder, at hvis du går ind på et af de steder og siger, "Jeg har ingen forsikring," ville det måske være gratis. væk.
David Muhlbaum: Okay. Men lad os være tydelige med COVID-skuddet-
Sandy Block: Med COVID-skuddet er det helt gratis. Forsikring-
David Muhlbaum: Så hvis du lige sagde:"Jeg har ingen-"
Sandy Block: Nej, du får din chance.
David Muhlbaum: ... det burde ikke være et problem.
Sandy Block: Du får skuden. Og det er fordi, jeg bare tænker på, hvordan jeg skulle udtrykke dette. Du har allerede betalt for det. Skatteyderne betalte for vaccinationen. Så du har allerede betalt for dit skud. Disse Moderna og Pfizer og J&J giver ikke disse skud væk af deres hjerters godhed. De er subsidieret af os, af skatteyderne.
David Muhlbaum: Okay. Men den person, der sidder der i... Skulle du til Target?
Sandy Block: Mm-hmm. Ja, jeg skal til Target.
David Muhlbaum: Du skal til Target. Den person, der sidder der i Target, hvem betaler for dem?
Sandy Block: Jeg tror, at... Nå, det er et godt spørgsmål. Jeg ved ikke. Jeg ved ikke. Jeg spørger på mandag.
David Muhlbaum: Men fordi det måske har at gøre med, hvorfor nogen i det væsentlige vil blive faktureret, ikke? De formodes ikke... De giver det ikke. Alle giver det væk gratis.
Sandy Block: Ret. Og jeg tror, det er derfor, de beder om dine forsikringsoplysninger. Men takeawayen her er, at de har bedt om dine forsikringsoplysninger, betyder ikke, at dit forsikringsselskab kan opkræve en kopi af dig eller sige, at din selvrisiko ikke dækkede dette. I betragtning af komplikationerne i vores system er nogle mennesker blevet faktureret, hvilket fører til denne bekymring, og det kan ske, fordi udbyderne fakturerer dem direkte i stedet for deres forsikringsselskaber, eller nogen har lige lavet en medicinsk faktureringsfejl, hvilket sker meget.
Men hvis det sker, så lad være med at betale det, for det behøver du ikke. Du bør ringe direkte til din udbyder og bestride gebyrerne. Du kan også ringe til dit forsikringsselskab, og de vil hjælpe dig med at få frafaldet regningen, for det er noget, der... Der er ikke meget, der er klart i disse dage, men det er klart. Vaccinationen er gratis.
David Muhlbaum: Godt. Okay. Gå ud, hvis du kan og få din booster. Lyder godt.
Sandy Block: Eller din første, hvis du ikke har fået den.
David Muhlbaum: Eller din første. Ja. Du godeste. Næste gang vil vi komme til at tale med Brandon Copeland, NFL linebacker og Kiplinger bidragyder, bliv ved.
David Muhlbaum: I dag byder vi velkommen tilbage til Dine penge er værd Brandon Copeland, en mand, som mange kender som en professionel fodboldspiller, der i øjeblikket har skrevet kontrakt med Atlanta Falcons, hvor han er linebacker. Men hos Kiplinger kender vi ham også som en medvirkende redaktør, og det er blot to af de mange jobs, han besidder.
Vi håber, du har set det indhold, han har lavet for os i løbet af det seneste år, videoer om alle mulige emner, rigtige bolte og møtrikker om de ikke så åbenlyse omkostninger ved ejerskab, samt et fascinerende møde med en WNBA spiller og nu holdejer, Renee Montgomery. Ja. Vi vil indsætte links -- Brandon har sin egen side på vores side. Så velkommen tilbage, Brandon, og også med til dette segment er Kyle Woodley, vores senior investeringsredaktør, og en fyr, der kender fodbold bedre end mig, og vi vil også have nogle spørgsmål om Brandons daglige job. Så velkommen, Brandon.
Brandon Copeland: Hej. Hej. Hej. Jeg er spændt på at være tilbage. Forskellen på et år... Sidste år på dette tidspunkt kunne vi ikke engang gå udenfor.
David Muhlbaum: Det er rigtigt.
Brandon Copeland: Nu kan vi gå lidt udenfor.
David Muhlbaum: Ja. Nå, da vi talte sidste år, var du i en hotellobby uden for New England Patriots træningsanlæg i Foxborough, Massachusetts, og i dag er det midt i den ordinære sæson, og jamen, du spiller for Atlanta Falcons. Så jeg har to spørgsmål. Hvor er du lige nu? Og hvor ringer du hjem? Ligesom, hvor er dit hus?
Brandon Copeland: Ja. Nej, jeg er faktisk bogstaveligt talt i Atlanta Falcons spillerlounge lige nu, og mit hjem... Så i løbet af sæsonen har vi en lejlighed fem minutter væk herfra. Jeg prøver at bo så tæt på anlægget som muligt, men mit hjem er nu Florida. Det plejede at være New Jersey, men nu er det Florida. Som de fleste andre forsøger man at lave nogle skattemæssige træk. Smarte træk.
David Muhlbaum: Ja. Du har lige ramt en Kiplinger-klassiker lige der.
Sandy Block: Det er min bane.
David Muhlbaum: Hvorfor nu, alle sammen? Fordi Florida ikke har en...
Brandon Copeland: Statsskat.
Sandy Block: Statens indkomstskat.
David Muhlbaum: Okay. Men Brandon er bogstaveligt talt udsat for det, der er kendt som jockskatten. Sandy, vil du forklare os jockskatten?
Sandy Block: Åh nej. Jeg vil vædde på, at Brandon kan forklare det bedre, end jeg kan, fordi han faktisk skal betale det. Ikke, Brandon?
Brandon Copeland: Ja. 100 % sandet. Ja, nej. Stort set. Faktisk er det sjovt. Jeg startede min egen podcast, Money Music Culture og i denne uge talte vi om det, fordi det bogstaveligt talt ligner det. Hver uge, alt efter hvor vi spiller, bliver vi beskattet. Så uanset om vi spiller i New York, bliver vi beskattet efter New York-taksten. Og hvis vi spiller i Californien, bliver vi beskattet efter Californiens sats.
Brandon Copeland: Vi spiller i London, vi skal betale London-skat. Vi skal betale britisk skat, ikke? Og så hver gang jeg ser på min tidsplan, og jeg ser, at vi spiller Miami Dolphins, fantastisk, Tampa Bay, fantastisk, texanere, fantastisk, ikke? Det er lidt ekstra penge i den check den uge. Og det er altid en god ting for mig personligt.
Sandy Block: Og bare for at tilføje til det, så er det egentlig ikke kun et problem for jocks, selvom du sikkert betaler mere. Det er noget, vi skrev en del om lige efter pandemien, fordi der boede mange mennesker mange forskellige steder, og afhængigt af staten kunne man arbejde i en... Det er over hele kortet med hensyn til regler, men du kan arbejde i en stat i et par dage og skal indsende indkomstskat i den stat. Det varierer virkelig. Og selvfølgelig er I meget offentlige, så det er svært for... Hvis jeg arbejdede i Californien i tre dage, ville de måske ikke bemærke det, men hvis du spiller der, ved de, at du er der.
Brandon Copeland: Ja. Nej, det gør bestemt ondt, at 13 % eller deromkring gik ud af din check. Du tænker, "Mand, jeg ville ønske, vi kunne spille det her på statens bestyrelseslinje eller grænselinjen. Kan vi ikke spille det her i Washington?"
Sandy Block: Nevada. Det er rigtigt.
David Muhlbaum: Ja. Ret. Det er Californien. Jeg kan se på nummeret. Kyle. Nå, det er der, et af hans huse er.
Kyle Woodley: Jeg havde tænkt mig at sige, at det er her en af dem er, men når Brandon ikke har travlt med Dolphins' sørgelige sæson, er han albue dybt i ejendomsbranchen. Jeg mener, har du noget imod at fortælle lytterne lidt om, hvor du har købt huse? Hvorfor valgte du de steder, du valgte? Og andre små perler, du har opdaget om dette skøre ejendomsmarked?
Brandon Copeland: Ja. Så startede ejendomsmægler i 2016, begyndte at studere, begyndte at gå og se steder i 2017. Fik endelig modet og modet til rent faktisk at købe mit første hjem i Detroit. Jeg købte et hjem i Detroit, fordi jeg legede med løverne, så jeg kunne se hele processen. Det var en co-investering med en tidligere Detroit Lion.
Og ud fra den proces var jeg i stand til at finde ud af, hvad min egen proces ville være, hvor jeg kunne begynde at investere på egen hånd. Og så siden da har vi lavet en række vendinger i Detroit, og vi er også begyndt at skifte og lave ting i New Jersey, Baltimore, min hjemby. Og jeg tror, at det, jeg har gjort, og det, jeg gør, er, at jeg altid kigger på processen og ikke er doven, men prøver bare at finde ud af, hvordan kan jeg gøre det smartere eller mere effektivt?
Hvordan kan jeg kræve mindre af min egen tid til at gøre dette? Og så vi dimitterer som en virksomhed, og vi begynder at lave større udviklinger med flere enheder. Vi har en 66-enheder, en 37-enheder, en 16- og en 12-enheder, alle billige boliger, der kommer i downtown Newark, New Jersey, og alle begynder at bryde jorden.
Brandon Copeland: Man skal forhåbentlig gå i stykker inden 2022, og resten bør begynde at bryde i foråret 2022, hvilket vi er spændte på. Men så vil mange mennesker være glade for det, men jeg forsøger også at finde ud af, hvordan vi kan gøre det nemmere? Så nu begynder jeg at kigge i lagerenhederne og parkeringspladserne. Jeg har ikke foretaget den første indledende investering endnu, men det er den næste graduering for mig.
Jeg vil gerne kunne overdrage nøgler til min søn og fremtidige sønner. Vi har endnu en lille dreng på vej, og jeg vil gerne være i stand til at fortælle dem:"Hey, det er virkelig, virkelig svært. Bare mal de hvide streger på disse parkeringspladser om hvert 50. år. Lad være med at ødelægge det her." Det er der, vi skal hen, forhåbentlig.
Sandy Block: Nå, efter at have ryddet ud i et hus, kan jeg helt sikkert se, hvorfor efterspørgslen efter lagerenheder vil fortsætte med at stige. Der er bare alt, alt for mange ting i denne verden lige nu.
Brandon Copeland: Ja. Og jeg mener også at svare på det, du nævnte om markedet, Kyle, dette er et af de hotteste markeder nogensinde, som vi alle meget ved, ikke? For de mennesker, der sad på sidelinjen og tænkte og spekulerede på, om de ville sælge deres huse om fem til 10 år fra nu, har mange af dem fremskyndet det og sagt:"Hej, lad mig gå videre og få det, mens de bliver er varmt."
Det er klart, at de historisk lave renter og stimuluschecks og den slags har hjulpet med at forstærke eller hjulpet med at sætte dette marked på et hurtigt spor. Og jeg tror, at det, vi vil se, er, at Fed begynder at tillade renterne at stige, ikke sandt, da vi ser renterne stige. I stedet for at du ser folk trække sig tilbage fra markedet i starten, tror jeg, at det, vi vil se, er en indledende strømme ind på ejendomsmarkedet igen, fordi folk vil være bange for, at når disse renter stiger, er det sidste gang jeg kommer ind, før det bare fortsætter med at skyde i vejret, ikke? Så jeg tror, vi stadig har lidt tid til, at dette marked forbliver varmt.
Det køler lidt af lige nu, men det kan også bare skyldes, at det er ferie, det bliver koldere i visse områder og sådan noget. Men jeg tror, vi vil se dette marked fortsætte med at stige i det mindste det næste år eller deromkring.
Sandy Block: Brandon, jeg har eksisteret længe nok, selvom vi her, hvor vi bor i DC-området, ikke har set meget i vejen for nedgangsmarkeder, men jeg husker tilbage i de tidlige 90'ere, at vi havde et og bestemt i andre dele af landet 2008, 2009 var der store fald. Hvad tænker du i forhold til, hvordan du beskytter dig selv, dine investeringer mod... Hvis folk siger, at dette er en boble, hvad gør du så for at beskytte dig selv mod det?
Brandon Copeland: Ja. Godt spørgsmål. Vi har alle hørt, da vi var børn, hvad der går op, må komme ned på et tidspunkt, ikke? Og så du ville være tåbelig ikke at beskytte dig selv. Det, jeg prøver at gøre, er, at jeg først og fremmest prøver at bygge en voldgrav af alle mine aktiver, ikke? Der er visse forskellige aktivklasser, så forhåbentlig, når fast ejendom afkøles, er vi stadig i gang med andre områder i sig selv, ikke?
Men med selve ejendomsporteføljen er en af grundene til, at jeg forsøger at diversificere til lagerenhederne, at komme ud af nogle af de aktivklasser, der er stærkt afhængige af, at lejere og de lejere har job. Forsøger at finde flere recessionssikre, pandemisikre investeringer, og hvem ville nogensinde have troet, at det ville være et udtryk, ikke? En pandemi-sikker investering.
Men jeg mener, lad os se det i øjnene. Vi har været i stand til at se på dette og dem, der har været i stand til at leve gennem dette og se på det, ikke? Vi er i stand til at se på det og tage noter om ting, som vi ved vil være stærke investeringer, uanset hvilken form verden er i, ikke? Når du ser folk storme lokale Walmarts og købmandsforretninger for at få vand og toiletpapir. Nå, vi ved, at de steder ikke er på vej nogen steder.
Brandon Copeland: En anden ting, jeg forsøger at gøre, jeg har ikke engang nævnt det før, jeg prøver at finde kommercielle aktiver. Vi arbejder på at udvikle jord til triple net-lejemål, hvor vores lejere ikke længere er individer som mig selv, men nu har vi 25-årige lejemål fra Amazon og Chipotle og BP'er, ikke?
Så igen, disse ting er... En af mine yndlingsrappere, han hedder Meek Mill, han taler om, at der er niveauer i det her. Og som, tror jeg, den største ting, som nogen måske kan tage fra mig, fordi jeg ved, hvad mange mennesker lytter og tænker, "Åh, du er en NFL-spiller, og så det er nemt for dig at tale om disse aktiver og alle den slags ting."
Jeg lærer. Jeg er livets studerende, og det er nemt for mig bare at spille fodbold og fokusere på fodbold og tjene de penge og gå hjem og sætte mig ned og slappe af. Men det er faktisk det, jeg er på denne jord for, det er det, vi er på denne jord for, er at blive ved med at lære og at løfte og finde måder at gøre disse ting på, ikke bare på et større og bedre niveau, men på et lettere niveau . Det er det, jeg virkelig leder efter.
Jeg er virkelig på det punkt, hvor jeg prøver at købe min tid tilbage, så jeg kan hænge ud med min søn mere. Det er det, jeg tænker på. Jeg tænker på fem, 10 år fra nu. Jeg ønsker ikke at skulle gøre visse ting. Så jeg vil gerne være i stand til at sætte dem eller så de frø i dag. Så det er den slags ting, jeg tænker på. Og jeg håber, at disse kommercielle investeringer vil være recessionssikre, pandemisikre.
David Muhlbaum: Jeg mener, det, du har gjort med os, som du har gjort med andre, er uddannelse i personlig økonomi. Jeg kan godt lide at tro, at det fungerer godt for os alle, men jeg undrer mig lidt over nu, hvor du er et år, og jeg spørger til dels om det, fordi du netop talte om denne igangværende uddannelse. Hvad lærte du af processen, som du ikke vidste før? Fra at arbejde med os?
Brandon Copeland: Ja. Så processen er alt. Det er der uddannelsen foregår, ikke? Og så at gå væk fra Kiplinger-funktionerne, som vi har gjort, men bare tænke på fodbold og så bringe det tilbage til Kiplingers, ikke? Som i denne uge spiller vi... Hvem spiller vi? Panterne, ikke? Processen er mandag, tirsdag, onsdag, torsdag, fredag, lørdag, rutinen, massagen, spillebøgerne, de nye skuespil, bare for at slå Panthers, forskningen, opdagelsesperioden, ikke?
Ikke kun at opdage nye måder for mig at blive en bedre spiller på søndag, men også for mig at forstå dette nye hold i denne uge og den samme proces, den samme energi er det, der skal til for virkelig at lave en god funktion, fordi der er forskning involveret for at lære detaljerne og forviklingerne, ikke bare for at opgive noget, du læser, men for virkelig at nedbryde det på en måde, der giver mening for alle.
Brandon Copeland: Jeg tror, at det er den eneste grund til, at jeg personligt er her, fordi vi har haft en masse, ikke kun i vores liv generelt. Det er en af grundene til, at jeg elsker det, vi laver sammen hos Kiplinger, ikke? Der er så mange mennesker, der elsker at få det, de laver, til at virke ekstremt hårdt og virke som raketvidenskab, så de kan være den sejeste person til festen, og de kan få alle deres venner til at tænke:"Wow, jeg ved ikke, hvordan han forstår at investere."
Men det, vi gør, er, at vi prøver at tage noget, som andre måske ser som superkompliceret, og vi forsøger at nedbryde det og lade alle vide, at "Hey, vi kan alle sammen gøre det her. Vi kan alle opnå dette." Så for mig tror jeg, at det, der har været det største, jeg har taget fra det seneste år, ikke kun er det, der giver mening, så jeg kan forstå det, men det, der gør... Hvordan lærer jeg dette koncept på en måde, der nogen der kan forstå det? Ikke?
Kyle Woodley: Så Brandon er faktisk i en ret unik position, og han får til at gøre dette, være en pengementor for folk i en meget anderledes økonomisk situation end din gennemsnitlige Joe, det vil sige unge NFL-spillere. Og jeg synes, det er virkelig interessant, fordi, tro det eller ej, det dækker en bred vifte af rigdom.
I første runde ser vi på $2 millioner til $6 millioner årlige lønninger til start, for ikke at nævne otte-cifrede underskrivelsesbonusser. Seventh rounders er ikke ligefrem ødelagt. Jeg tror, det er mellem $600.000 lønninger at starte, signeringsbonusser er tæt på $100.000 og så uudviklede gratis agenter, jeg mener, de ser på midten af $400.000, ingen signeringsbonus, og det er alt sammen bedre penge, end de fleste af os tjener.
Men det er virkelig store forskelle, hvad angår forvaltningen af deres penge. Og som Brandon har talt om med Kiplinger før, så ser de måske ikke alle pengene i den kontrakt. Så Brandon, hvordan er det at tale med mennesker, der pludselig kommer ind i livsændrende pengesummer? Og har dit råd, når du taler med disse unge spillere, en tendens til at variere afhængigt af, hvor i lønpuljen de svømmer?
Brandon Copeland: Ja. 100 %, at rådgivningen er forskellig alt efter, hvor de præcis er i lønpuljen. Men jeg tror, at en af de største ting, som jeg først og fremmest understreger, som vi alle kan blive enige om, er, at pengene ikke er lovet, og det er en ting, som jeg er meget tilhænger af.
Jeg har set spillere, jeg har set nogle af mine holdkammerater underskrive en ny stor kontrakt og tror på, at pengene var skide, de er garanteret. Og så går de ud to uger senere og har en stor, slem skade. Så de har lige underskrevet en fireårig aftale, men de vil aldrig se år tre eller fire af den aftale.
Brandon Copeland: Så først og fremmest vil jeg gerne sikre mig, at folk forstår... Personligt tæller jeg kun nettoindkomsten med. Jeg tæller ikke bruttotallet. Det lyder rigtig, rigtig godt at sige til dine venner, men hvis du budgetterer fra dit bruttotal, så har du allerede sat dig selv op til fiasko.
Så efter det, især for os, da mange atleter aldrig har haft et job, fordi det meste af tiden på college, især hvis du går på de store skoler, er dit job fodbold eller hvilken sport du spiller. You don't have time for a summer internship like I did at Penn. We were the Alabama of the Ivy League, don't get me wrong -- people did not want to play us, but I had time to go ahead and take those internships in the summer.
Brandon Copeland: But I like to make sure people understand as well that I personally don't count money until it actually hits my bank account. That is something that can help people avoid a lot of pitfalls and traps, especially for us as athletes. The money is so variable that it's easy to start thinking, "Hey, here in week eight of the NFL season, I'm going to start planning what I'm going to do in December with that money." Well, again, you twist your ankle this weekend, you might not ever see that money. So don't spend it too fast. Again, the advice differs for people, but I think that that's the fun part about what we do, is it's not cookie-cutter advice. That was one of the biggest things that I was quoted saying in my first year teaching the course at Penn is...
I remember sitting and doing... This big TV network wanted me to sit down and say a couple of clips or pickups for them. "Hey, can you say something like, save 50% of your money, live off of 30% and invest 20?" And I was like, "No." Some people can't do that. That's cookie-cutter, right?
Some people would look at that and hear that and be like, "Save 50%? I can't keep the lights on if I did that." And then they don't listen to anything else. So I think that that's reason why I love what we do is, regardless of what your financial situation is, you can find something on kiplinger.com that can help you.
David Muhlbaum: One of the things we've published at Kiplinger is how do you find a financial advisor you can trust. I assume it's a bit different in the NFL.
Brandon Copeland: The thing that I always find ironic is that most of us don't tend to just trust new people generally, right? People that you just met for a week, two weeks, a month, et cetera. And now we come to the NFL or we get drafted, and not only are you trusting a new agent, which is great, it's part of the process, you always have to let your guard down to a certain extent. But now this money that you've worked your entire life for, you're going to hand over to a financial advisor you just met in January, right? You got drafted in late March, early April, and so literally you've known this person for three to four months, and you're going to hand over your entire livelihood to them and you're not going to do some work on your end to educate yourself, to be able to monitor them or check on them, right? And I thought that it was always ironic.
So me, one of the pieces of advice I've given to a lot of players is I would talk to a bunch of different financial advisors that first year. If I had no financial understanding, I'd almost consider not putting my money to work for me and just making multiple financial advisors fight for my business. Because from that simple technique alone, you'll see a lot of those people drop out of the race themselves.
Brandon Copeland: "Oh, you're not worth it, oh..." Tell you bad things about yourself, right? "Oh, no. I don't... This is a waste of my time." Things like that. Cool, you're not the person for me, because you're clearly only here for my platform. When it comes to my money, I need somebody who's going to be with me long beyond my playing years.
And that is one of the relationships that I don't think us as players cherish that much. Because, again, most of the time you meet an agent, that agent has people and referrals and friends that he or she has worked with in the past and that's who they're introducing you to. And a lot of times we just blindly have faith in these new people in our lives.
Brandon Copeland: So when it comes to picking a financial advisor, the first thing anyone has to do is they have to work for my business. You have to earn my business and you have to get multiple opinions. One of the things my accountant says that I really love is, knock on wood, if I had to go get knee surgery, would I just take one opinion and go get it? Or would I get multiple opinions? If I needed something, why would I not get a second opinion on my finances as well?
He was like, "Most of the most important decisions in your life, you get multiple opinions on, why not with your finances?" So why not have multiple people, not just working for your business and competing, but also evaluating each other. One of the new things I've started to do with my finances is I have brought different people onto the team to evaluate the current team, because it's easy after a certain amount of time to just get comfortable and just take your job for granted.
Brandon Copeland: That's one of the things we do in the NFL. I promise you, I literally just saw somebody going to their locker with a trash bag, meaning they just got released. They just got fired. They're going home. And I saw a new person coming in, actually one of my former teammates when I was with the Patriots. So, that was pretty cool. It's cool to see that, but you also understand somebody's career is potentially ending as well.
And I always have that fire and that reminder on me personally in my primary job and profession, but we need to do it in not a super stressful way like we do in the locker room, but we need to do it for our financial advisors or our financial team as well, because we're trying to build something that lasts, again, long beyond our playing years. And I hope that guys are starting to get that more. It just takes a little more patience than most of us have. We like immediate results.
Sandy Block: Oh, yeah. We don't want to do the work too. It's easier just to hand it over to someone else and then go on and do something that's really fun, as opposed to looking at spreadsheets or something like that.
Kyle Woodley: So here's the part where we're going to talk about your day job a little bit. So three burning questions for you. I promise these are not hard. These are just nice softball questions I'll throw your way, hopefully. We can translate this into a little bit of media time for you, hopefully NFL Network or something like that. Or if you just want to do something local work with the Atlanta Radio guys but...
Number one, I always just wonder about what personally motivates people, just what they get amped for. I mean, is there a team from your entire time in the league or just now that you're a Falcon where you just really get up to the play against? Anyone on this year's schedule where you're waking up before your alarm, you're showing up to the game early, you're just dying to be a part of that particular win?
Brandon Copeland: Ja. Every former team, that unfortunately...
Kyle Woodley: The revenge tour.
Brandon Copeland: Ja. I was going to say fortunately, or unfortunately at this point I've played for six teams in the NFL. So dang, there almost every other week is a former team of mine at this point. But yeah, no, every former team, I mean, you have a natural inclination to think, "Hey, these people said no to me or these people didn't think I was good enough to be on their team anymore," right?
"I'm the treasure that they lost," that's what I look in the mirror every morning and tell myself the day before the game. But yeah, every former team, they have to get the best version of Brandon Copeland that they can get because it's not only... You're also talking to former teammates, right? You take out the personal vendetta or revenge. It's not necessarily against the players, right? It's more against the front office and the GMs and things like that because those are the decision makers, right? It's also good to go up against your former teammates to make them walk back in the building the next day and be like, "What were we thinking getting rid of him? He was literally on our team and you just let him whoop on us."
Brandon Copeland: So those are the types of things. And I think that that's it. I do personally... What I've realized is you got to create your own motivation week to week. I think early as a young player, it's easy to come in every single week and be ecstatic about just being in the NFL and just grateful to be there, and that's great.
You're living your dream, but once you get to year 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, it's like, "All right, well, I've done this before." It's like, LeBron James, he's done the NBA thing right and done it at the highest level, but what's his new motivation, is it personal goals? Is it personal records? What is that next thing that is going to keep him wanting to be the best? And so I try to find different motivations, not week to week, but different things that push me when I feel a little lethargic. When you feel like, "Hey, I didn't wake up with loads of energy this morning, but I got to go out and whoop up on a 330-pound man who flew here and he's coming here with the same mission in mind, right? He's trying to embarrass me. I got to embarrass him.
Brandon Copeland: So what can I do to mentally take myself there this beautiful Sunday afternoon. And I think that that's some of the things that you hone in on as you continue to mature in the NFL. And for me, I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take that motivation and use it in relation to my off-the-field work as well. And so it will continue to motivate me.
Kyle Woodley: And I feel that's where bulletin board material actually really comes into play. People just think, "Ah, they're a pro. Who cares what somebody says on Twitter or whatever?" But, no, if you get to that point where you actually need something to feed you, I mean, you almost start to look forward to hearing someone say something very stupid about you so that you can go and look at that for the entire week and that's the thing that's going to make you lift harder and go out and hit people harder when you're out in the field. I mean, you're almost inviting that in a way. You want that because that's the thing that's going to get you through that particular week.
Brandon Copeland: Ja. 100 %. I know there are times I didn't... I never talked trash. Literally, I never talked trash, in high school, college. I would always try to avoid talking trash because I felt like football is such a dangerous sport, that if you really talk trash and hit a nerve, someone can take you out. Somebody can dive for your knee or do something extra and it's just not worth that.
However, if you talk trash to me, it's on the rest of the game. I'm a different human being. I'm a different player at that point because now it's super personal. And I think, I can't remember... I was in Detroit for sure. And it might have been my second or third year in Detroit when I started to realize and understand why certain players talk trash.
Brandon Copeland: Because I remember there was a couple games and I was just like, I'm waking up super sore without not really feeling like playing, to be honest with you. And I was like, "What can I do to get into this game?" And for me, I was like, I need to talk trash. I need them to say something. I got to say something to you.
I'd literally be having fun. I'd do something and run around. Like, "Man, that's all you've got? Dang, this weak? That's kind of weak." And as soon as they said something back, I'm into the game. Lad os gå. Now, it doesn't matter how I feel, it doesn't matter what bruises I have.
Now, it's just about me and you and I got to win this match up because I can't let you talk trash to me and beat me. That's just, you know, what are we doing here? So those are the little mental tricks and cues that you develop as a veteran, I think, and just as a player to just make sure that you find that upper hand and win.
David Muhlbaum: Since you're talking about speaking your mind, I want to take you back to a little clip from your talk with Renee Montgomery, which I really enjoyed. Now you got... You were focusing on Renee because it was a podcast to feature her. But I want to ask a little question about a Brandon thing that came up. So I'm going to play you a clip from that:
Brandon Copeland: I remember coming into the NFL and it was like, I don't want people to think that I'm too smart as it makes me feel like a coward saying that. I actually got fired from the job, I think, because I voiced my opinion in a little boisterous way. In terms of, I'm happy being who I am. I have more opportunities. I literally told a head coach, "I'm here because I want to be here. Not because I have to be here," right?
Renee Montgomery: Oh, Lord. Brandon, you can't say that.
Brandon Copeland: Well, I was a little tripping.
Renee Montgomery: You're not supposed to say that.
Brandon Copeland: He tried my school though. He was like, "Why would you choose a school like Penn?" Right? Like, "Hold up bro. Hold up man. I'm here too. Hold up now." I mean there's a lot of opportunities, but I mean, you know me. I'm here because I want to be here, not because I had to be here. Two weeks later-
Renee Montgomery: The audacity.
Brandon Copeland: Two weeks later, I'm at the Greyhound stop like, "Goddamn. What was I thinking?"
Renee Montgomery: But you got that off your chest. At least you said it with your chest.
Brandon Copeland: Ja. It was good. After that it got deflated though. I was like, "All right, let me go ahead and just shut up and tackle. You know what I'm saying?
Renee Montgomery: "Shut up and tackle!"
David Muhlbaum: That was probably some time ago so maybe you can name names, but that's not really my question. My question is, you actually got fired for speaking up? Can you tell us some more? And how do you feel about that situation in retrospect?
Brandon Copeland: Ja. Ja. I mean you never know. Maybe in their mind they might have fired me for personnel reasons. I know at the time they needed safety and the weird thing about the NFL, they might need a certain position that has nothing to do with you, but it's a numbers game. It's a zero-sum game. So they got to bring somebody in, they got to release somebody. But at that time it did...
David Muhlbaum: It had to do with Penn?
Brandon Copeland: Well, no, at that time it hurt, but it made me understand, hey, sometimes you can't shine as bright in front of everybody. I think one of the pieces of advice that I got was somebody told me, "Hey, you're trying to stand in right now. Stand out.” And at a certain point in time, even if you're a peacock, so to speak, you got to dull your feathers a little bit, because not everyone's going to understand who you are or your dreams or the bigger aspiration.And I think sometimes in this business, in this profession, there are some coaches who still have that old school mentality, that old school mantra where they want football to be your one and only thing. And they know if they have your one and only thing, you'd be willing to run through a brick wall right now for them because you don't have anything else.
And I don't think that... I'm not willing to run through a brick wall. Clearly I've done it for nine years, but I do. I am proud of myself that I don't have to run through the brick wall unless you tell me why, right? I get to choose whether or not I want to run through that brick wall today or not, right? It's not the only way that I can eat so to speak. And unfortunately for a lot of my peers, that is their truth. That is the case.
And again, different coaches have different reasons and different mentalities and players and character traits that they look forward to build the culture of their locker room and their team. Ultimately, maybe I wasn't the right one for or the right fit for that culture.
David Muhlbaum: I see.
Sandy Block: Actually I see a personal finance analogy there, Brandon, because it seems to me that the point of saving and investing and living on less than you make is the freedom that it gives you. Most people don't have to worry about running into a brick wall, but if you hate your job, you have to move, you get divorced.
Having a financial cushion gives you so many more options than living from paycheck to paycheck. So I do think that that is something that doesn't just apply to football players and you really are in an enviable position that, you're right, you don't have to play football for the rest of your life or do something you don't want to do because you have a backup, a really good backup it sounds like.
David Muhlbaum: That was the plan all along.
Sandy Block: Ja.
Brandon Copeland: Ja. 100 %. I mean, football has always been a means to an end and for me, with or without football I want to say and my whole entire heart and soul really wants to believe that with or without football, I would be able to sit here and do this, for example, be able to still do something special for this world without the platform and the biggest reason why is because my biggest fear growing up was having to do something I did not love because it's the only way I could put food on the table, right?
Like you are saying, Sandy, by budgeting, by saving, by investing, if you're starting today, next week you might not be able to have that freedom of choice, but eventually you may be able to. And for me, that is the most important thing that I want to have in my lifetime. And now it's not just about me. I want my sons to have that as well. I want my wife to have that as well.
Brandon Copeland: I remember, as a young player in the NFL, a very true story, as a young player in the NFL, my wife works, not every professional athlete's wife works. So I'm extremely proud of my wife and her own dreams and her own passions and things like that and it's awesome to see her do her thing. Before she had this job that she currently has, currently she's at Google. I'll go ahead and shout them out because they treat her very well and she loves her role there.
But before she had this job, she had another job and she literally hated it. It wasn't that -- she was a manager of people and the way that the job wanted her to manage her people, some of which who were older than her, it put her in an extremely uncomfortable place. She had to be someone she wasn't, she had to ridicule things that she wouldn't typically ridicule.
And I remember one day in the off-season dropping her off to work and she got out and she was super down. At first, I thought, "Everybody's going to act like they hate their job," but she really was like, "Oh, I got to do this again." And I was like, "I can't let that be our reality." I can never see my wife have to go into a place that she doesn't love because she feels like she has to put food on the table or bills or whatever, right?"
Brandon Copeland: And for me, that's why we do all the different things that we do, is because we want other people to also have the opportunity to create that financial freedom for themselves. It doesn't mean everything that you're going to do, you're going to love, right? There's things that I got to do to play football that I hate. It's part of the process though, right? It's part of the journey.
But I want to make sure that in the grand scheme of things, when we look at the entire, quote unquote, timeline of my life, I can look at more spots where I was extremely happy and proud of the way that I was doing things and the life that I was able to live, as opposed to the things that I did just to get by, so to speak. That's what we're pushing right here, right?
David Muhlbaum: Since you brought your wife into this, Taylor. I know she's featured a number of times in the content you've created for us. And she's a participant in your projects, activities, investments in addition to, full-time job.
Brandon Copeland: Mother of my kids.
David Muhlbaum: So she... Yeah.
Brandon Copeland: My baby mama. Ja. No, I don't know how she does it.
David Muhlbaum: Very impressive. Well, congratulations to you on number two-
Sandy Block: On the way?
Brandon Copeland: Yes. Number two on the way.
Sandy Block: That's great.
Brandon Copeland: Ja.
David Muhlbaum: And that's going to keep you busier than you are already.
Brandon Copeland: Little less sleep. Little less sleep, but yeah, like you said, we're excited. And I think also as you become a parent, for those out there, it's funny because just now I talked to other guys in the locker room who are about to have children. I'm telling them all the things that other people who were parents before me told me, "Oh, it's going to be amazing. It's going to be tiring. It's going to be this," right?
And it's cool to see that transition. But as you become a parent, you also start to realize that there are a lot of things that you have to be doing that are bigger than you, bigger than yourself, right? And financially, I hope that people use...
Brandon Copeland: If you're having a child or if you have children, if you need to use that as your motivation, the same way, sometimes I got to talk trash on Sunday, if you need to use your children as motivation for you to get your money in order, for you to get your wills and your estate planning in order, that's the greatest excuse in the world. That's the greatest motivating factor in the world.
So again, I would encourage everyone out there because I am also guilty of it as well. I would encourage everyone out there to use your children as motivation to go ahead and get those things that you want done financially taken care of. Get those things in order because they are depending on you to do it and they can't do it themselves for you.
David Muhlbaum: Thanks again for joining us, Brandon.
Sandy Block: Thank you Brandon. You're great.
Brandon Copeland: Thank y'all.
Kyle Woodley: Ja. Thanks for coming on, man.
David Muhlbaum: That will just about do it for this episode of Your Money's Worth. If you like what you heard, please sign up for more at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your content. When you do, please give us a rating and a review. And if you've already subscribed, thanks. Please go back and add a rating or review if you haven't already.
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