NFL Player Ryan Broyles and His Family Live on $60,000 a Year
Detroit Lions wide receiver Ryan Broyles lives on a budget despite millions.
— -- Detroit Lions wide receiver Ryan Broyles may have a NFL contract worth more than $3.6 million, but his family of three are choosing to live on $60,000 a year.
Broyles, 27, and his wife Mary Beth are living on a budget to avoid the bankruptcy path that befalls many professional athletes, Broyles said, noting he met with a financial adviser after he was drafted in 2012, according to ESPN.
About $1.4 million of his contract was guaranteed -- meaning he'll get that no matter what -- but Broyles avoided splurging and instead has put much of his money toward retirement and investments.
"Then you know how much you can invest, how risky you can be," Broyles told ESPN. "Then, when I was hitting the same budget over three, four, five months, it was all right, this is what your budget is and I had some spending money."
Many are applauding his move, especially given that he isn't guaranteed to play with the Lions this year. He may be trying to avoid the fate of NFL players like Terrell Owens. The former wide receiver who played with the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys said in 2012 that the $80 million or so he made in his career was nearly gone.
Broyles and his wife, his high school sweetheart, both drive Mazdas, including one he recently bought, and he still has the car from his days at the University of Oklahoma: a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. He studied "human relations" and graduated in the fall of 2011, his website states. The couple, who welcomed one child, Sebastian, this summer, bought their first home in Texas and have two dogs. Broyles checks his investments daily on a cell phone app and participates in NFL's matching 401(k) plan.
Selected in the second-round of the NFL draft, the All-American was picked as the 2012 Detroit Lions Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.
Broyles' Twitter description states, "Your talent is Gods gift to you, what you do with it is your gift back to God! Living for The Lord & married to my best friend."