12-20-2017, 07:10 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-09-2020, 07:27 AM by 37thchamber.)
Being a multi-millionaire sounds like it would be easy, right? Wrong. For professional athletes, it's a minefield. Managing a huge bank balance, ensuring all your taxes are paid correctly, and budgeting in a way that means you still have something to live on if the unthinkable happens and you're seriously injured... it's not as straightforward as you might think. NSFL cornerback Antoine Delacour explains "I have a financial advisor, but you have to really be careful. Even the guys recommended by the players' association aren't always good guys." The perennial pro-bowler employs the services of Trevor "Trey" Richards, who he (and several of his teammates; also clients of Richards' firm) "affectionately" calls "Three Dicks", or "TD" for short.
"TD is great. He's got a lot of contacts and has advised me to diversify. So he's got me invested in gold, cryptocurrency, a few small businesses... then there's some really interesting properties across the south." Delacour explains. "He recently put me in contact with some promising start-ups where I feel I can make low-risk high reward investments, you know? Small amounts with the potential to make big returns."
Richards remains silent through most of this, with just a faint smile. When asked how he decides on investment opportunities, he is a little apprehensive. "There are a lot of factors to consider, really..." He says, trailing off a little. With a little more encouragement, he does agree to reveal one of his tricks, though. "It doesn't matter how good an investment it is if you can't capture the interest of your client. You have to capture their interest."
This is a particularly pertinent point for Delacour. The computer science grad is known to be something of a gaming enthusiast, and while the prestigious contracts with the likes of EA Sports, who produce the official NSFL game every year, are perhaps beyond his reach -- "We kinda get screwed over on that kinda stuff in Baltimore, especially defensive players," he laments "we're just not popular enough, apparently." -- Richards has put him in contact with smaller game developers with games Delacour legitimately enjoys. "I figured these smaller, indie developers who could benefit from an investment boost would be decent options. Especially since Antoine likes their games, and has faith that they will get a lot bigger." Richards explains. "It all started when I got him the sponsorship deal for SLLS, and he got into a long discussion with one of the developers about future features. I got back in contact with them later and asked if they'd consider an investment deal. Now Antoine owns about 35% of Third Eye (the developer's company), and they got a sizeable investment that gives them the opportunity to buy certain licenses and hire staff to develop features that, I'm reliably informed, could result in a breakout hit for them, sales-wise."
Delacour really plays these games, and is set to appear in-game as a rival in the 2020 edition
Other investment opportunities that Richards has urged Delacour to jump on also involve some of his Baltimore Hawks teammates, we're told. The Baltimore-based film studio 187 Pictures has produced four surprisingly popular B-movie features starring the Hawks' kicker, Turk Turkleton, which have made a reasonable amount of profit. "When 187 got a lot of success with the first Outlaw Killer movie, we kind of wanted to get involved from that point. Antoine was happy to help them fund a sequel, and Turk appears in the movies at pretty much no cost. He just gets a cut of sales after release instead." Richards tells us. "I'm currently working on a deal that would see a few guys on the team, including Antoine, ultimately end up owning about half of the studio. There's been a lot of excitement about it, and I think the hard part on this one is negotiating a fair price."
Surprisingly outgrossed the cult classic Gibson's Story by a wide margin
The current owners of 187 Pictures, a "Doctor" Romelle Andre and Calvin "Snoop" Dogg, would rather arrange a deal for rights to specific productions, over part-ownership, but Richards is insistent that the latter is a better option for all involved. "Most importantly, it's better for my guys." He adds. Prior to the production and release of the first Outlaw Killer movie, subtitled "Birth of a Legend", the studio had a cumulative profit of fewer than ten thousand dollars, through twelve films. Outlaw Killer I alone brought them more than five times as much in profit, and the subsequent two releases totalled in excess of two hundred thousand dollars. A fourth in the series is scheduled for release next week, and a fifth is in pre-production, with total profits expected to approach the one million mark. "We know that this is getting big right now, and we gotta get paid if we're gonna give up ownership," asserts Andre. "This is something we built. From the ground up, you know? We can't give it up easy."
Outlaw Killer IV: Wings of Death comes out next week. Allegedly, Outlaw Killer V: Tag Team of Termination will feature Avon Blocksdale
All this talk of investment and business venture is refreshing in a way. Delacour's generally low profile -- despite arguably being the most popular name on the team last year, according to jersey sales -- is in stark contrast to the often lavish lifestyles of professional athletes. "The day will come when I can't make the same kind of money, and nobody knows when that is." Delacour admits. "I did the things I wanted to do, like buy Grandma a nice extension to her house, since she wouldn't let me buy her a new house. Got my mama a good car, laid down roots with my wife in a decent sized house for our family, and put aside trust funds for the kids, and enough to put them through school. Things like that. Got the charity, the non-profit, going well. Giving back, you know? But I knew I had to make sure I could afford all that stuff. So I had to put money away somehow."
Delacour's house is surprisingly modest, given that he makes somewhere approaching fifteen million dollars per year, from his salary, endorsements and investments combined. It's still a large house, in a nice area, but it's not the borderline mansion that you'd expect a pro athlete of his means to live in. "We got this house because we liked the area, mostly. Size-wise, it's big enough for what we have planned family-wise, too." Delacour reveals. His wife, Jasmin, is currently pregnant with their second child. "We don't plan on having more than two. Two is enough." He says, laughing. "So we tried to find a place with five or six bedrooms, a decent sized basement, garage and driveway, and roof space. That's all we need. More than we need, actually, but it's comfortable." Before buying this house, though, Antoine and Jasmin lived in a standard two bedroom house not far from The Aviary. "His rookie year, we lived near the stadium in a pretty standard house. We didn't have the money for anything else, and I told him we needed to save cash before we started looking at anything bigger." Jasmin chimes in. Antoine shrugs. "That's how it happened."
It also transpires that Antoine's interest in Third Eye and 187 Pictures isn't entirely based on financial potential or even his interest in what they produce. "I'm looking at possible career paths for when I'm done playing ball," Antoine reveals. "I can't play forever. I got maybe another four or five years in me, I reckon. Maybe six at a push. And that's assuming I don't pick up a nasty injury or something like that. A lot can happen in half a decade, so I need to know I have options." Already holding a degree in computer science, Delacour has been weighing up whether to enrol on a Masters degree course in game development or going for a second bachelors in filmmaking. "I actually have the prerequisites for filmmaking, but computers have been my thing for a long time. I've been talking to the guys at Third Eye and they're totally down to show me the ropes if I get the game dev degree though, so I'm leaning that way. I have the money put aside, ready to go." His wife, Jasmin, a schoolteacher, is also considering her career long-term. "Teaching is a great vocation, but it doesn't pay well for what you have to do, so I've been looking at transitioning into management roles within the education system." She says. "But Antoine thinks I should go back to school, and aim for a position as a lecturer at a college." He interjects at this point "she could do it, no doubt." Her concerns seem to be on the children, though. Whatever the Delacours opt to do, it seems like they're definitely thinking well ahead, and making careful decisions.
(1503 words)
GRADED
"TD is great. He's got a lot of contacts and has advised me to diversify. So he's got me invested in gold, cryptocurrency, a few small businesses... then there's some really interesting properties across the south." Delacour explains. "He recently put me in contact with some promising start-ups where I feel I can make low-risk high reward investments, you know? Small amounts with the potential to make big returns."
Richards remains silent through most of this, with just a faint smile. When asked how he decides on investment opportunities, he is a little apprehensive. "There are a lot of factors to consider, really..." He says, trailing off a little. With a little more encouragement, he does agree to reveal one of his tricks, though. "It doesn't matter how good an investment it is if you can't capture the interest of your client. You have to capture their interest."
This is a particularly pertinent point for Delacour. The computer science grad is known to be something of a gaming enthusiast, and while the prestigious contracts with the likes of EA Sports, who produce the official NSFL game every year, are perhaps beyond his reach -- "We kinda get screwed over on that kinda stuff in Baltimore, especially defensive players," he laments "we're just not popular enough, apparently." -- Richards has put him in contact with smaller game developers with games Delacour legitimately enjoys. "I figured these smaller, indie developers who could benefit from an investment boost would be decent options. Especially since Antoine likes their games, and has faith that they will get a lot bigger." Richards explains. "It all started when I got him the sponsorship deal for SLLS, and he got into a long discussion with one of the developers about future features. I got back in contact with them later and asked if they'd consider an investment deal. Now Antoine owns about 35% of Third Eye (the developer's company), and they got a sizeable investment that gives them the opportunity to buy certain licenses and hire staff to develop features that, I'm reliably informed, could result in a breakout hit for them, sales-wise."
Delacour really plays these games, and is set to appear in-game as a rival in the 2020 edition
Other investment opportunities that Richards has urged Delacour to jump on also involve some of his Baltimore Hawks teammates, we're told. The Baltimore-based film studio 187 Pictures has produced four surprisingly popular B-movie features starring the Hawks' kicker, Turk Turkleton, which have made a reasonable amount of profit. "When 187 got a lot of success with the first Outlaw Killer movie, we kind of wanted to get involved from that point. Antoine was happy to help them fund a sequel, and Turk appears in the movies at pretty much no cost. He just gets a cut of sales after release instead." Richards tells us. "I'm currently working on a deal that would see a few guys on the team, including Antoine, ultimately end up owning about half of the studio. There's been a lot of excitement about it, and I think the hard part on this one is negotiating a fair price."
Surprisingly outgrossed the cult classic Gibson's Story by a wide margin
The current owners of 187 Pictures, a "Doctor" Romelle Andre and Calvin "Snoop" Dogg, would rather arrange a deal for rights to specific productions, over part-ownership, but Richards is insistent that the latter is a better option for all involved. "Most importantly, it's better for my guys." He adds. Prior to the production and release of the first Outlaw Killer movie, subtitled "Birth of a Legend", the studio had a cumulative profit of fewer than ten thousand dollars, through twelve films. Outlaw Killer I alone brought them more than five times as much in profit, and the subsequent two releases totalled in excess of two hundred thousand dollars. A fourth in the series is scheduled for release next week, and a fifth is in pre-production, with total profits expected to approach the one million mark. "We know that this is getting big right now, and we gotta get paid if we're gonna give up ownership," asserts Andre. "This is something we built. From the ground up, you know? We can't give it up easy."
Outlaw Killer IV: Wings of Death comes out next week. Allegedly, Outlaw Killer V: Tag Team of Termination will feature Avon Blocksdale
All this talk of investment and business venture is refreshing in a way. Delacour's generally low profile -- despite arguably being the most popular name on the team last year, according to jersey sales -- is in stark contrast to the often lavish lifestyles of professional athletes. "The day will come when I can't make the same kind of money, and nobody knows when that is." Delacour admits. "I did the things I wanted to do, like buy Grandma a nice extension to her house, since she wouldn't let me buy her a new house. Got my mama a good car, laid down roots with my wife in a decent sized house for our family, and put aside trust funds for the kids, and enough to put them through school. Things like that. Got the charity, the non-profit, going well. Giving back, you know? But I knew I had to make sure I could afford all that stuff. So I had to put money away somehow."
Delacour's house is surprisingly modest, given that he makes somewhere approaching fifteen million dollars per year, from his salary, endorsements and investments combined. It's still a large house, in a nice area, but it's not the borderline mansion that you'd expect a pro athlete of his means to live in. "We got this house because we liked the area, mostly. Size-wise, it's big enough for what we have planned family-wise, too." Delacour reveals. His wife, Jasmin, is currently pregnant with their second child. "We don't plan on having more than two. Two is enough." He says, laughing. "So we tried to find a place with five or six bedrooms, a decent sized basement, garage and driveway, and roof space. That's all we need. More than we need, actually, but it's comfortable." Before buying this house, though, Antoine and Jasmin lived in a standard two bedroom house not far from The Aviary. "His rookie year, we lived near the stadium in a pretty standard house. We didn't have the money for anything else, and I told him we needed to save cash before we started looking at anything bigger." Jasmin chimes in. Antoine shrugs. "That's how it happened."
It also transpires that Antoine's interest in Third Eye and 187 Pictures isn't entirely based on financial potential or even his interest in what they produce. "I'm looking at possible career paths for when I'm done playing ball," Antoine reveals. "I can't play forever. I got maybe another four or five years in me, I reckon. Maybe six at a push. And that's assuming I don't pick up a nasty injury or something like that. A lot can happen in half a decade, so I need to know I have options." Already holding a degree in computer science, Delacour has been weighing up whether to enrol on a Masters degree course in game development or going for a second bachelors in filmmaking. "I actually have the prerequisites for filmmaking, but computers have been my thing for a long time. I've been talking to the guys at Third Eye and they're totally down to show me the ropes if I get the game dev degree though, so I'm leaning that way. I have the money put aside, ready to go." His wife, Jasmin, a schoolteacher, is also considering her career long-term. "Teaching is a great vocation, but it doesn't pay well for what you have to do, so I've been looking at transitioning into management roles within the education system." She says. "But Antoine thinks I should go back to school, and aim for a position as a lecturer at a college." He interjects at this point "she could do it, no doubt." Her concerns seem to be on the children, though. Whatever the Delacours opt to do, it seems like they're definitely thinking well ahead, and making careful decisions.
(1503 words)
GRADED
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