Joe Burrow knows how much money an NFL player can make. He was picked No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 and signed a four-year, $36.2 million rookie contract. The deal also included a $23.9 million signing bonus. To a rookie stepping onto the NFL stage, that kind of cash gives a whole new sense of financial security. Until reality hits.
For Burrow, that moment came the second the bonus hit his bank account, and he noticed roughly $12 million was already missing. “Yo, where’s 12 million gone?” he wondered, directly feeling the sting of tax withholdings that slashed his bonus in half before he could even touch it. So, to make smart financial decisions, there was one mantra that Burrow stuck to when he went pro.
“That first rookie deal, just try to live off your endorsement money,” Joe Burrow said on the Chasing No 1 and Overtime SZN podcast. “You’ll make enough off the field to live, but, going into the NFL, you expect to have a long career and be great, but that’s not always how it plays out. And then you see guys that spend a lot of their rookie deal money, and then they end up stinking and don’t get a second deal, and now they’re you got to go find a job immediately because you’ve got bills to pay.
“Whereas, if you position yourself off the field in a way that you can live off of that and then really you should be able to, if you’re a first-round pick, you should be able to retire after playing four years of football if you live just off the field money and live within your means.”
Former players like Warren Sapp and Andre Rison show that earning millions does not always mean keeping millions. Sapp made more than $50 million during his NFL career but later filed for bankruptcy in 2012, just a few years after leaving football. Rison also earned around $20 million during his career but faced serious money problems and eventually filed for bankruptcy.
According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, around one in six retired NFL players file for bankruptcy within 12 years of retirement. It’s a harsh reality that stands in stark contrast to Burrow’s own meteoric financial rise.
In 2023, Burrow signed another huge deal with the Bengals, a five-year, $275 million extension worth an average of $55 million per year. Because Burrow has seen this financial growth himself, he wants young players to be careful with their money.
Burrow had several endorsement deals with brands like Fanatics, Nike, Bose, Lowe’s, Nerf, and Buffalo Wild Wings when he entered the NFL. This gave him another source of income outside his Bengals contract. He planned to live off that endorsement money and save his NFL salary.
“I don’t plan on spending any contract money,” Burrow said back in 2020. “I’m just gonna live off the marketing money and let that accrue in my bank account.”
After missing much of the 2025 season because of a serious turf-toe injury, Joe Burrow returned to the Bengals for the start of 2026 training camp. One thing that stood out was Burrow’s chemistry with rookie wide receiver Colbie Young.
Now, with the season kicking off, Burrow has a chance to hit the ground running and show his real caliber.