Chris Paul Was Offered $100,000 By His Agent When He Was Going To The NBA, But Here’s Why His Parents Insisted He Accept $25,000

When Chris Paul was drafted into the league, he turned down a substantial amount of money.

The NBA player was drafted in 2005 as the fourth overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets, reports Fox News. He was only 19 years old then.

During an interview with Forbes, Paul mentioned that he only had $151 in his bank account as a student at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, when he entered in the league.

One of his first actions was to seek help from a financial advisor, which ultimately resulted in him receiving an initial offer of $100,000. However, his parents intervened, leading Paul to accept almost a quarter of the original offer.

“My financial advisor that we hired, they said they would send me $100,000 and my parents said, “No, it’s too much,'” he told Forbes.

During an appearance on “The Shop,” he clarified, saying: “Ydo you know what happened? I was at Wake in Winston. I went to the bank just down the street just to see what the statement looked like, right? Because we are young, we don’t know. We’ve never had so much money. I went to get the statement which said $25,151… No education came with it.

Paul would continue to splurge at Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem and even remembers purchasing a BMW. 750.

The athlete would then see a meteoric rise in career income, currently totaling an incredible $389.9 million, according to Spotrac.

Understanding the importance of financial literacy during his childhood, Paul now devotes his free time to this mission. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, it partnered with Black women-owned fintech bank Goalsetter, the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation and Nike to introduce financial literacy to 1,400 middle school students based in Oakland, California. As a result, they gained access to valuable resources such as a savings account through the Goalsetter app, as well as $40 worth of Nike stock directed to their Goalsetter investment account.

“Giving our youth the knowledge and tools to secure a financially strong future is not only a commitment, it is a necessity,” Paul said in a press release provided to AFROTECH™. “We owe it to the next generation to lay the foundation for financial success, ensuring they are equipped to make informed decisions that will shape their lives and the lives of their communities for the better. It’s not just about understanding money; it’s about building a foundation of wisdom that will serve them for a lifetime.