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It's worth reading his 2015 article "Why I Still Play Football": https://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-i-play-football/ https://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-i-

It's worth reading his 2015 article "Why I Still Play Football": https://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-i-play-football/ https://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-i-play-football/. Regarding mathematics as a career and his outlook on the financial issue - "I have a bright career ahead of me in mathematics. Beyond that, I have the means to make a good living and provide for my family, without playing football. I have no desire to try to accumulate $10 million in the bank; I already have more money in my bank account than I know what to do with. I drive a used hatchback Nissan Versa and live on less than $25k a year. It’s not because I’m frugal or trying to save for some big purchase, it’s because the things I love the most in this world (reading math, doing research, playing chess) are very, very inexpensive."

ChuckMcM 9y ago
That is the secret to happiness as far as I am concerned; measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned. Interesting to know about the retirement 'vest' of 3 years. If he lives another 60 years that is a bit more than $1.25M.
- sillysaurus3 9y ago
  That is the secret to happiness as far as I am concerned; measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned. Yet the vast majority of the time, this sentiment comes from people who are well-off, e.g. someone with an MIT PhD and an almost impossible-to-screw-up future. There are at least two possibilities. Either people who aren't well-off are just sour grapes, or they deal with a lot more than a lack of proper mindset. The secret to happiness is no secret: if you have more money than you know what to do with, you can cover the vast majority of cases that will make you unhappy. If you, your children, or your pets get ill, you can get them proper medical care. For someone who lives on $25k/yr, that will almost always end in disaster. I think it's not productive to pretend like money doesn't equate to happiness. The lust for money can do a lot of damage, but simply realizing that money is incredibly important to happiness is a realization that most people don't make. They spend extravagantly when Christmas comes around; they eat out because they want to "feel like a normal person," i.e. someone who can afford to eat out; they get expensive birthday gifts for family members. And why? Then when a financial disaster comes around, like someone getting ill with no insurance in the US, there are no resources left to deal with it. I don't know. It's just far too easy to feel like there's a key to happiness waiting to be discovered. It's a multi-faceted and complex issue.
  - lotsofpulp 9y ago
    It's security. Money (currently a proxy for power) can provide you with the ease of mind that if you fall ill, if someone you care about is injured, then you can get them the best care, that you can take time off to help them. Similarly, it helps to feel as if you have people who are also secure so that they can be there for you too.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - falcolas 9y ago
    > an almost impossible-to-screw-up future. Unless he kept playing football. The rest I agree with - not having to worry about money is a quantifiable bonus in the happiness department.
  - stanleydrew 9y ago
    > Yet the vast majority of the time, this sentiment comes from people who are well-off... Maybe there's some causation here going the other way?
  - lucaspiller 9y ago
    I live in a post-Soviet country - maybe one of the best in terms of GDP. Compared to the US it's basically the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of how much money you need to live - healthcare is free, you can rent an ok apartment on not much more than minimum wage, unemployment is below the EU average, transport is cheap (and public transport is good), food and entertainment isn't expensive. Yet people still like to complain about how everything is too expensive and how they have no money. People here are miserable and we have one of the highest alcohol consumption and suicide rates in Europe. I'm not really sure what point I'm trying to make, but as you say happiness is complicated. Giving everyone $X/year more isn't suddenly going to make them happier.
    - petra 9y ago
      I'm Israeli, and i've noticed the same phenomena(complaining) is popular among people of Soviet heritage. Why is that ?
- jacquesm 9y ago
  > measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned. That is a beautiful quote.
- Hannan 9y ago
  > If he lives another 60 years that is a bit more than $1.25M Over $7 million if he can get 5% annually.
- marme 9y ago
  nfl players cant start collecting that pension until they are 55
  - anth1988 9y ago
    He will have to live off savings and deal with the incredibly limited options a PhD in an in demand field (from a top school) leave him with. Poor guy.
  - secabeen 9y ago
    And they don't get the full value ($22k adjusted for inflation) unless they wait until 62 to start taking benefits.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- hi41 9y ago
  Well said, Chuck! >measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned Now that is something I must learn.
nikofeyn 9y ago
> "i ... live on less than $25k a year." there's no way i can believe that. my rent alone is $24,000.
- ianferrel 9y ago
  He probably owns his home. Most people who own property don't count the imputed rent as part of their expenses. Whether they should depends a lot on context.
  - cardiffspaceman 9y ago
    Imputed rent doesn't seem like a strong concept here. If someone wants to imagine expenses, then they can certainly imagine that the player bought an annuity that pays his landlord the rent forever, so that imagining the imputed rent has to come out of his 25K is like double-counting the rent.
    - ianferrel 9y ago
      I'm not 100% sure I understand your comment.
  - yellowapple 9y ago
    Even without owning one's own home, not all areas have high rent, even within the same state. California, for example, has a pretty big swing in rents between the Bay Area and even Sacramento, let alone somewhere further north or south in the Central Valley.
- nerpderp83 9y ago
  Baltimore.
- dkrich 9y ago
  Keep in mind that he's an NFL player, so he's in the offseason for most of the year, so he can live pretty much anywhere he wants. During the season a large portion of his costs are paid for by the team (hotels, meals, etc.). I can definitely believe that as a football player he can get by on less than $25k of his own money.
gist 9y ago
> I drive a used hatchback Nissan Versa and live on less than $25k a year Sure as long as your needs remain stable, prices don't rise and most importantly someone else is paying for your healthcare.

ChuckMcM 9y ago

That is the secret to happiness as far as I am concerned; measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned. Interesting to know about the retirement 'vest' of 3 years. If he lives another 60 years that is a bit more than $1.25M.

sillysaurus3 9y ago
That is the secret to happiness as far as I am concerned; measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned. Yet the vast majority of the time, this sentiment comes from people who are well-off, e.g. someone with an MIT PhD and an almost impossible-to-screw-up future. There are at least two possibilities. Either people who aren't well-off are just sour grapes, or they deal with a lot more than a lack of proper mindset. The secret to happiness is no secret: if you have more money than you know what to do with, you can cover the vast majority of cases that will make you unhappy. If you, your children, or your pets get ill, you can get them proper medical care. For someone who lives on $25k/yr, that will almost always end in disaster. I think it's not productive to pretend like money doesn't equate to happiness. The lust for money can do a lot of damage, but simply realizing that money is incredibly important to happiness is a realization that most people don't make. They spend extravagantly when Christmas comes around; they eat out because they want to "feel like a normal person," i.e. someone who can afford to eat out; they get expensive birthday gifts for family members. And why? Then when a financial disaster comes around, like someone getting ill with no insurance in the US, there are no resources left to deal with it. I don't know. It's just far too easy to feel like there's a key to happiness waiting to be discovered. It's a multi-faceted and complex issue.
- lotsofpulp 9y ago
  It's security. Money (currently a proxy for power) can provide you with the ease of mind that if you fall ill, if someone you care about is injured, then you can get them the best care, that you can take time off to help them. Similarly, it helps to feel as if you have people who are also secure so that they can be there for you too.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- falcolas 9y ago
  > an almost impossible-to-screw-up future. Unless he kept playing football. The rest I agree with - not having to worry about money is a quantifiable bonus in the happiness department.
- stanleydrew 9y ago
  > Yet the vast majority of the time, this sentiment comes from people who are well-off... Maybe there's some causation here going the other way?
- lucaspiller 9y ago
  I live in a post-Soviet country - maybe one of the best in terms of GDP. Compared to the US it's basically the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of how much money you need to live - healthcare is free, you can rent an ok apartment on not much more than minimum wage, unemployment is below the EU average, transport is cheap (and public transport is good), food and entertainment isn't expensive. Yet people still like to complain about how everything is too expensive and how they have no money. People here are miserable and we have one of the highest alcohol consumption and suicide rates in Europe. I'm not really sure what point I'm trying to make, but as you say happiness is complicated. Giving everyone $X/year more isn't suddenly going to make them happier.
  - petra 9y ago
    I'm Israeli, and i've noticed the same phenomena(complaining) is popular among people of Soviet heritage. Why is that ?
jacquesm 9y ago
> measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned. That is a beautiful quote.
Hannan 9y ago
> If he lives another 60 years that is a bit more than $1.25M Over $7 million if he can get 5% annually.
marme 9y ago
nfl players cant start collecting that pension until they are 55
- anth1988 9y ago
  He will have to live off savings and deal with the incredibly limited options a PhD in an in demand field (from a top school) leave him with. Poor guy.
- secabeen 9y ago
  And they don't get the full value ($22k adjusted for inflation) unless they wait until 62 to start taking benefits.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
hi41 9y ago
Well said, Chuck! >measure your days by how much you've learned not by how much you have earned Now that is something I must learn.

nikofeyn 9y ago

> "i ... live on less than $25k a year." there's no way i can believe that. my rent alone is $24,000.

ianferrel 9y ago
He probably owns his home. Most people who own property don't count the imputed rent as part of their expenses. Whether they should depends a lot on context.
- cardiffspaceman 9y ago
  Imputed rent doesn't seem like a strong concept here. If someone wants to imagine expenses, then they can certainly imagine that the player bought an annuity that pays his landlord the rent forever, so that imagining the imputed rent has to come out of his 25K is like double-counting the rent.
  - ianferrel 9y ago
    I'm not 100% sure I understand your comment.
- yellowapple 9y ago
  Even without owning one's own home, not all areas have high rent, even within the same state. California, for example, has a pretty big swing in rents between the Bay Area and even Sacramento, let alone somewhere further north or south in the Central Valley.
nerpderp83 9y ago
Baltimore.
dkrich 9y ago
Keep in mind that he's an NFL player, so he's in the offseason for most of the year, so he can live pretty much anywhere he wants. During the season a large portion of his costs are paid for by the team (hotels, meals, etc.). I can definitely believe that as a football player he can get by on less than $25k of his own money.

gist 9y ago

> I drive a used hatchback Nissan Versa and live on less than $25k a year Sure as long as your needs remain stable, prices don't rise and most importantly someone else is paying for your healthcare.