Shinin'! (2013 NFL Draft)

Shining before the check comes in is ALWAYS a bad move playboy!

Albert Einstein walked into the joint and said, “We cannot solve problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Then Martin Luther King Jr. stood up and said, “Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” Uncle Willie just asked the simple question, "Does that make any sense at all young brother?"

As I watched the 1st round of the NFL draft I couldn't help but notice that some of these duns weren’t thinking. So many boyz were wearing more than $100K in watches, bracelets and ear rings and you needed to put on sun glasses just to holler at them. The glaring problem was that they have yet to sign a contract. Now I know that agents will give boyz loans before the draft to buy cars and jewelry but it's a trap playboy.

Many times the banks will also give players that are potential first round picks, loans of up to a half million dollars as long as the agent or the NFL can provide proof that the kid will be drafted. The worse thing that can happen to youngsters is for someone to give them credit because they'll charge to the limit not understanding how the game works.

I can remember being a broke college student and the banks would show up on campus and give out credit cards. It was like hitting the lottery because we would get approved and head straight to the mall. If the card had a $1000 limit we'd try to spend $1100 with no thought of how we would pay the bill. I know cats that are still making the minimum payment on those same cards and will be paying them for the rest of their lives. Otherwise, they'll just eventually do what cats in the hood have done for years, start hiding from the creditors. Lack of self-discipline and maturity can be deadly to a boyz financial health.

As I watched the joint as duns were getting drafted and going up to shake Roger Goodell's hand, all I saw was the bling from "Jacob the Jeweler" timepieces on their wrists. After all, they did spend the week in New York City.  They're spending like we did at the mall but it's on a whole different level playboy. I'm talking about cats being broke before mini-camp and the first check comes in.

Let me break it down like a straight up G for you! If a cat signs a contract to make let's say $1 million per year that typically sounds like a lot of bread. However, it really isn't when you start deducting the foolishness right off of the top.

Uncle Sam doesn’t trust you like Big Momma with her change so he’s taking his bread right off of the top.  He’s gonna to hit you for $400K  before they even cut the check. That leaves you with $600K for the rest of the year. You spent $100G’s on the draft night watch, bracelets and ear rings.

Then you turned around and bought the entire freakin' neighborhood, family and entourage new gear and jewelry ($100K) for the draft as well. Boyz were so happy to be out of the hood with new clothes that none of those duns had on socks last night. You told them to get whatever they wanted and nobody thought about socks and underwear!

Not to mention the Supercharged Range Rover ($100K plus) loaded with all of the toys to push around campus or the crib before the draft just to make sure boyz knew you were about to get drafted. You know how we do! Oh yeah, you still have to pay your agent his 10 to 12%(another 100K or so) off of the million.

So the day after the draft you're down to less than $200K and you still haven't signed the contract that's supposed to be a million dollars per. Remember, this is the NFL pimpin’, contracts aren't guaranteed like they are in the NBA. The only bread that is guaranteed around this piece is the signing bonus.

 What happens if the deal swings a $100G’s in the wrong direction? A boy is really shot!!!! Oh yeah playa, you still gotta find somewhere to live and pay for the up keep of the joint like paying for lights, gas, furniture, landscaping, property taxes etc. At some point you gotta eat, right?  This is grown man business now playboy! This ain’t scholarship rent money and whatever’s left over you can blow.

That million dollars doesn't look all that attractive now does it? One thing I've learned about money during my lifetime is that it will only be loyal to the one that's holding on to it. Once you give it away it's gone. So my advice to these duns would be to wait until you sign the contract before you start looking for people to give it to. See money’s like a woman, when you don't understand her you can't keep her. That's the X-factor homie! The only thing that's guaranteed after last night is that “Jacob the Jeweler” made his bread for the year on these cats! Stop me when I start lyin’!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
 Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
The quote under the caption is simply my opinion.