Marshawn Lynch: Minimalist and Not Retiring Broke
Is Marshawn Lynch a Minimalist? Newly Retired Marshawn Lynch Hasn’t Spent Any of the $50 Million He’s Made in His NFL Career. Lynch reportedly has been living the past nine years off endorsements and other business ventures. He hasn’t spent a dime of his actual playing money … ever. That sounds like a Minimalist to me. Ok, he has been living off of an estimated $5 million per year through endorsement deals with Nike, Pepsi, Skittles, Progressive, and Activism, according to Forbes.
For most of us that is not difficult to do and for a Minimalist, it would be ideal. But in a world that Marshawn navigates in $5 million could easily be pissed away. You hear it all of the time how NFL Players retire broke and have to find regular jobs. You may even know a few. Could it happen to you? You may be surprised at the Top 15 NFL Players that retired broke.
Minimalist Principles Help You Not Retire Broke
Minimalists believe you should create GREAT memories with friends and family and not acquire stuff to store and manage. Marshawn Lynch is active with his family. Marshawn Lynch’s mom even publicly denounced The Seahawk’s offensive coordinator. Delisa Lynch thinks Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell made the right call giving her son the ball on fourth-and-1 from the Rams’ 43 in the team’s 34-31 overtime loss. But she also thinks Bevell should have been fired after the Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots. Sounds like my mother. LOL.
Marshawn Lynch was even going to play himself in a movie but it fell through. Check out the movie trailer “Family First: The Marshawn Lynch Story”. Family first seemed to be a running theme in Marshawn’s life. He even has a non-profit organization named Fam 1st Family Foundation.
Football fans could never deny the countless memories that Marshawn has provided. Beast Mode has been the star in good, bad, and exciting memories over the years. Great memories are worth a thousand times more than stuff and do not require time and space to manage. You can easily take them with you everywhere you go.
“A Minimalist in my opinion lives with mostly things that are necessary. Everything in a Minimalist life will have purpose and add value. There will be minimal excess, redundancy or clutter”
Marshawn did not spend a dime of his NFL salary and lived a full life. That takes calculated discipline that many don’t have. I am not sure I could do it even though I know it would be the right thing to do. In football, your career could be on any given Sunday. The money is never promised and there is always a clause. Football is a violent game and you don’t want to play it too long.
We are now beginning to prove that head injuries that are sustained during play will wreak havoc on players later in life. I am best to make your money and get out as soon as possible. I believe this is what Marshawn had in mind. Not needing the money it allows you to make an unbiased decision about when to retire. Money plays a smaller role.
I am not working with Marshawn Lynch-type numbers but the goal is still the same. I am sure most of us would like to retire in the same position as Marshawn. As a Living Simple Minimalist, these are the principles I use to live a great clutter-free life, and hope to retire well. before I spend money I ask myself these questions:
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- Do I need it and do I need to buy it now?
- Can something else I own serve the same purpose?
- Will it be better to borrow or rent it?
- Where will I put it or store it?
- Will it bring joy and value to my life?
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Marshawn Lynch is not a perfect human being. None of us is. He has had trouble on and off the field. Minimalist or not Marshawn Lynch has on well with his earnings and even better in his football career. I am sure we have not seen the last of him.
