It's not always 'a sexy thing' to be a millionaire, former NFL linebacker Brandon Copeland says. Here's why

Brandon Copeland is simply a erstwhile NFL linebacker turned coach. But the benignant of coaching helium gravitates to isn't successful the realm of sports — it's successful idiosyncratic finance.

The 33-year-old — who played for six teams crossed 10 seasons successful the National Football League earlier retiring past twelvemonth — started co-teaching a fiscal literacy course to undergraduates astatine the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, his alma mater, successful 2019 portion playing for the New York Jets.

The course, nicknamed "Life 101," was inspired by his ain experiences with money, according to "Professor Cope," who is besides a subordinate of the CNBC Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board and co-founder of Athletes.org, the players' relation for assemblage athletes.

Now, the Orlando nonmigratory has written a caller book, "Your Money Playbook," that reads arsenic a shot coach's blueprint to winning the fiscal "game." It touches connected topics similar budgeting, paying down debt, saving, property readying and starting a broadside hustle. (Just don't telephone it a "side hustle," arsenic helium explains successful the book.)

CNBC reached Copeland by telephone to sermon his travel into fiscal education, wherefore becoming a millionaire "is not a sexy thing" and however it helps to deliberation successful presumption of Chipotle burritos.

This interrogation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Greg Iacurci: What got you funny successful teaching idiosyncratic concern and fiscal literacy?

Brandon Copeland: Feeling unprepared for immoderate of the large fiscal decisions successful life. We spell to schoolhouse for each these years and we [learn] astir the tangent of a 45-degree angle, but we don't speech astir appliances and however to bargain them, oregon however to marque definite you support yourself erstwhile you're renting your archetypal flat and what renters insurance is.

I ever thought it was brainsick that I had to marque it to the Baltimore Ravens to larn what a 401(k) was. That was 2013, my rookie year. I learned what a 401(k) was erstwhile the NFL Players Association came and told america astir the benefits you get for contributing.

Fast guardant to December 2016: My woman and I, we bought our archetypal house, successful New Jersey. When we bought that location I was successful Detroit playing for the Lions. My woman was astatine the closing array and she called maine and [asked], "Hey, does everything look close connected this?" They e-mailed maine the closing documents; it was 100 pages and I had nary thought what I was looking at. I could spot the acquisition terms was the terms that we agreed to, but past I saw each these different titles and warranty deeds and this and that. And I'm like, "I person nary thought if I'm getting screwed close now." One of my biggest fears being an NFL subordinate has ever been, somebody's taking vantage of me.

GI: What bash you deliberation is the astir important takeaway from your book?

BC: The powerfulness of growth. That was the large find for maine arsenic I started to marque money. I had nary thought that existed arsenic a kid. I ever archer people, you either enactment the wealth to enactment for you oregon you spell to enactment the remainder of your beingness for money.

There's a batch of folks who are acrophobic of the [stock] market. And I'm like, well, everyone's an investor. If you person a dollar to your name, you're an investor. If you instrumentality your money, you enactment it nether your mattress, you bash thing with it, you enactment it successful a harmless successful the house: That's an concern decision. That's a 0% return. If you instrumentality your money, you enactment it successful a regular checking account, that's a 0.01% return. You enactment it into a high-yield savings account, it's a 4% to 5% return. The banal market, you enactment it successful an scale fund, the S&P 500, that whitethorn beryllium an average 9% to 10% return.

All of those are concern decisions, you conscionable person to take wisely. [People] tin enactment their wealth to enactment for them and get retired of the "rat race" astatine immoderate point.

GI: For idiosyncratic who is conscionable starting retired — let's accidental they person been hesitant to put their wealth successful the marketplace — however would you suggest they get started?

BC: I deliberation the archetypal happening you've got to bash is download the [financial news] apps — the CNBCs of the world, the MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg — and crook connected the notifications. Those notifications are starting to explicate to you what is moving the marketplace and why, and you're starting to larn the connection of money. Whether you take to put wealth oregon not, you're astatine slightest starting to get comfy with, "Oh, the market's down today. Well, why?" I deliberation that's important to commencement to make your stomach.

The different happening is, commencement to look astatine wherever [your] wealth is: What relationship your wealth is sitting successful and however overmuch is successful those accounts. By doing that, you're starting to look astatine your wealth from a 30,000-foot view. You tin commencement to determine, "I person X magnitude of dollars implicit present successful my accepted checking account. Maybe I tin instrumentality immoderate of that wealth and enactment it implicit into a high-yield savings relationship that is present giving maine 4% involvement connected it annually. And by getting 4% involvement connected it annually, possibly that's generating maine $500 a twelvemonth that I different wouldn't person had." Now you're starting to enactment yourself successful the crippled of money. What is the constricted magnitude of effort I tin bash and inactive beryllium generating wealth connected my behalf?

As a kid, if idiosyncratic said, "Hey, man, I'll springiness you $500 to bash nothing, to property 2 buttons," you'd beryllium like, "Sign maine up!" I ever interruption that down as, that's a batch of Chipotle burritos, that's a batch of dinners, that's a batch of clip with my household astatine the h2o park. By doing that, it makes it much of a precedence for maine to hurry up and marque that concern decision.

GI: One of the archetypal things that you promote radical to bash successful the publication is accidental aloud to themselves, "I tin beryllium wealthy." Why?

BC: In football, your wealth oregon your occupation tin beryllium taken distant from you overnight oregon done an injury. A batch of times, arsenic I was making money, I was ever conscionable benignant of looking astir the corner. Even to this day, I inactive deliberation astir it arsenic if idiosyncratic tin rip the rug retired from nether my feet. So I'm inactive sometimes successful endurance mode. I deliberation that though you tin beryllium making money, determination are inactive ways wherever you tin person anxiousness astir money, your manner and erstwhile you walk wealth — each those things.

Starting to person affirmative affirmations — "I merit to beryllium rich. I merit to person money. I merit to not beryllium stressed astir keeping the lights on. I tin beryllium wealthy. I tin bash this" — sometimes you've got to manager yourself connected that. Because wherever other bash you spell get that affirmative affirmation that you tin bash it?

Doing those things implicit clip not lone reenforce affirmative connotations astir yourself, but they besides genuinely person a existent effect connected your intelligence wellness. It is really, truly hard to locomotion retired of the location and beryllium a ace productive quality being successful nine erstwhile you don't cognize if the doors volition beryllium locked oregon changed the adjacent clip you get there.  

GI: You constitute successful the publication that the travel of fiscal empowerment volition necessitate radical to face their "inner wealth myths." What's the astir communal story astir wealth that you hear?

BC: For batch of communities that I service it's, enactment your wealth successful the bank.

GI: You mean keeping it successful currency and not investing it?

BC: Exactly. I deliberation it's a story due to the fact that you enactment your wealth successful the bank, and the slope goes retired and invests your money: They put it successful different people's projects, different people's homes, and past get a complaint of instrumentality connected your money. Not to accidental banks are atrocious and redeeming is bad, [but] you've got to fig retired astatine immoderate constituent erstwhile tin I get to the constituent wherever I tin enactment my wealth to enactment for me?

I deliberation that immoderate of the myths are astir whether wealthiness is for you oregon not. A batch of millionaires, it's not a sexy thing. A batch of times you consciousness similar you've got to spell and make the adjacent Instagram oregon Snapchat oregon TikTok successful bid to ever beryllium wealthy, erstwhile truly you've conscionable got to marque simple, consistent, disciplined decisions. That is the toughest happening successful the world, to person delayed gratification oregon to taxable yourself to delayed gratification.

I deliberation a batch of times, we don't hole for the concern we volition beryllium successful 1 time oregon could beryllium successful 1 day.

GI: How bash you equilibrium contiguous versus tomorrow?

BC: I went to a schoolhouse a mates weeks agone and [asked] the athletes determination constitute retired what they privation their beingness to look similar 5 years aft graduation. By doing that and saying, "Hey, I privation this with my life. I privation it to look similar this, and I privation vacations to beryllium similar this," present you tin ever look astatine what you're really doing and find whether your existent actions [are moving toward] your future, the aboriginal things that you privation for yourself.

I deliberation a batch of america ne'er walk the clip constitute retired what we really privation oregon to visualize what we really privation with life. And truthful you extremity up going to school, you spell to college, and you're determination conscionable to get a bully occupation and marque money, but you don't truly representation retired what that occupation is and what you similar to bash versus what you don't similar to do. You extremity up being conscionable a pinball successful life.

I virtually enactment radical successful my beingness to assistance clasp maine accountable. The champion mode I'd accidental to equilibrium betwixt delayed gratification and enjoying wherever you are contiguous is having those accountability buddies who tin archer you consecutive up, "Hey, you're slacking," oregon "Hey, you're doing a bully job." But you tin besides representation retired against your ain goals and wants for yourself, and [ask], are my actions really adding up to this? 

GI: You constitute successful the publication that carrying high-interest debt, similar recognition paper debt, and simultaneously investing is similar putting the vigor connected precocious during the wintertime successful Green Bay, Wisconsin, portion besides keeping the windows wide open. Can you explain?

BC: Sometimes folks are putting wealth successful the marketplace to effort to get 6%, 9%, 10%, 12%, whatever, erstwhile they whitethorn beryllium making the minimum outgo connected their recognition paper oregon nary outgo astatine all, which would beryllium adjacent worse, and they're paying 18% [as an involvement rate].

You are automatically locking successful a losing script for yourself that you're not going to beryllium capable to outpace.

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