When Antonio Cromartie entered the NFL as the Chargers’ first-round draft pick in 2006, he signed a five-year, $13.5 million contract. And he blew almost all of that.
Cromartie said on NFL Network that when he looks back at the way he spent in his first few years in the league, he shakes his head at how irresponsible he was.
“I didn’t have no responsibility,” Cromartie said. “I spent $10,000 one weekend, I spent $10,000 the next weekend.”
And those $10,000 weekends weren’t even Cromartie’s biggest expense.
“I wasted $5 million in my first three seasons,” Cromartie said. “I had two Dodge Chargers, two Escalades, two BMWs. My first three years, I probably spent, probably, $5 million. And I don’t have nothing to show for it at all.”
Cromartie prioritized spending on weekend partying and cars over taking care of his children, and so by the time he got traded to the Jets in 2010, he was so far behind on child support that the Jets gave him a $500,000 salary advance just so he could make up all his back payments.
The good news is that Cromartie saw the error of his ways before his career ended, and he now says he’s spending and saving his money wisely, while also talking to younger players about the need to be financially responsible. Here’s hoping that if any Jets veterans tell the rookies that they’re required to pay for expensive nights out, Cromartie is speaking up and telling his young teammates to save their money.