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Ekeler’s Millions

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Oh to be an NFL player! You’re a physically fit, young man, earning millions….and 2 years after you retire there is a high chance you will be BROKE! Not unless you make the right decisions.
LA Chargers running back Austin Ekeler details what he spent his first million dollars on in this Ekeler’s Millions segment.

One of the first things that comes across when you watch Austin Ekeler is how humble and grounded the guy is. This probably has something to do with growing up in rural Colorado, and not really focusing on the NFL as a career.  Often the biggest financial busts in the NFL are the players who focus on status and prestige, as opposed to building the structure for financial stability in the future.  There is nothing more frustrating as a fan watching a talented young athlete blow their wad on ‘bling’, when their career could essentially be over within 5 years.
Sure Drew Brees can spend millions on trinkets and baubles, but look where that got him.

Among some of the purchases that Ekeler bought with his first million includes:

Chrysler 300

The essential vehicle for soccer moms, single dads with weekend duties, and of course NFL rookies. Austin smartly mentions that he bought a used car, as he wanted something reliable and affordable to get him to work, while many of his other teammates were focused on the flashy, European models.
It’s better to be frugal than a fool in a league where a sudden injury can change the trajectory of your future immediately.
Cost $30,000

Gaming System

Boys love their toys, and a single man in his 20s is going to spend a lot of money on gaming. Gaming is surprisingly popular and competitive amongst NFL players themselves, so many of the rookies are going to want to update their speed and graphics in order to compete with some of their elders on the team and league. Gaming is a massively popular industry, and many NFL players are eyeing it up as not only an investment post career, but also as a potential job. Hey, it works in ‘Ballers.’
Cost $10,000

Mommy Car

Every good boy wants to thank their mom for driving their ass to and from practice and games for almost 2 decades. Ekeler thanked his mama by replacing here ugly old van, with something more fitting of a matriarch. Austin’s mom is also a Colorado real estate agent, so she has actually been working for him to upgrade his portfolio. Investing in mom is always a good investment.
Cost $40,000

Corvette

The Corvette is a classic staple of Americana muscle car, this fibre glass beast is one of the biggest killers of drivers in accidents. But…Austin Ekeler loves the ‘Vette, so he bought a shiny one. It’s got to be hard to compete with teammates (and celebrities) in LA, so players do need a car that displays the fact that they ‘made it.’ When you’re a kid you dream of owning your ‘dream car’, and luckily Ekeler was able to do just that.
Cost $80,000

Wardrobe

Some NFL players go full peacock in their post game wardrobe (talking to you Cam Newton), so it’s always refreshing to hear from a normal guy that doesn’t spend his weekly budget on hats. Again, the competitive nature of other NFL players must set the bar high, but given what Ekeler spent updating his wardrobe, many women spend that easily making way less.
Cost $5000

Home

Home is where the honey’s are, and if you want lots of honies, you need a sweet home. Read that on a washroom stall once. Everyone in their 20s’ wants to get out of the rent-trap, and Austin wisely invested a large chunk of his cash into his first house. Listening to him speak about it, you get the impression this will be the first of many home he will turn over for a profit.
Cost $240,000

Australia

Austin Ekeler bought Australia for only $15k! Kidding, but the young man invested the sum into visiting his buddy there that was setting up a gym. Sure that this good looking, rich young American man had a great time down under for that amount.
Cost $15,000

Investment Property

OK, this is when you know that Ekeler is one of the smarty ones. Ekeler’s aforementioned mom helped him pick out 17 properties in Colorado to add to his investment portfolio. 17 properties? Wowza, even local boy John Elway must be impressed enough to give him a Papa John’s franchise.
Newby athletes need to learn from Austin Ekeler so that they don’t make silly mistakes with their money. After all, who wants to go from the NFL in your 20s’, to working at Sonic in your 30s’?
Cost $800,000

What would you do if someone handed you that kind of contract? Would you invest that same way as Ekeler’s Millions, or blow it all in a blaze of glory?

Things to think about. Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Week 17 Preview

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The NFL season officially ends this weekend, as we hit you up with our Week 17 Preview Podcast.
This has officially been one of the oddest NFL seasons on record, with Covid wrecking havoc across the world and the league. You have to hand it to the NFL though, they handled this season very seamlessly, and us fans may never fully realise what kind of hard work they pulled off to make it happen.  Thanks NFL!
Wade & Ryan hit the mic this week to look back at all of the crazy games in week 16 in the league. There were some truly nutty scores and outcomes last week, and the boys reflect on how those affected their bets.
The guys then look ahead and make their predictions for all the Week 17 games, with score predictions and playoff guesses flying wildly across the podcast.
Among some of the major games the guys look at in our Week 17 Preview Podcast includes:

Dolphins (10-5) vs Bills (12-3)
Bills -3  +44.5

It’s time to shuffle off to Buffalo for the final game of the season for these AFC East teams, and this match always beings with it some historical fun. Both of these teams are playoff bound, but Miami needs it more than Buffalo does.
Miami would be wise to start the veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick here, as his previous stint as a Buffalo QB gives him an advantage in the cold. Their D will also need to heat things up if they want to make Josh Allen make any mistakes.
Of all of the playoff bound teams, Buffalo is the one that really seems to be cooking in their final stretch. Allen has been a touchdown beast, and their own D is making life hard for opposing QBs.
Both of these teams need a win here, but Buffalo might be the one team that could coast if they build a lead. Both guys like the Bills here.
Ryan- Bills 27 Dolphins 13
Wade- Bills 27 Dolphins 23

Jets (2-13) vs Patriots (6-9)
Patriots -3.5  +43

New York has failed miserably at a few things this season. They failed to secure the best new QB in the 2021 draft, and they failed to be the worst team in the league, at the worst possible time. They have actually looked ok in recent weeks, and one wonders where that style of play was a few weeks ago. Adam Gase will most likely be on LinkedIn this game, as his fate seems to be sealed for 2021. Sam Darnold however might be stuck in the Big Apple for a lot longer now.
Cam Newton was not the answer, and no one is saying it. It’s not surprising given the Patriots history of stifling bad news. Bill Belichick gets his first early winter in ages, and you wonder how he’ll want to go out on this game.
Wade and Ryan both like the Jets here as they have nothing to lose. If they keep playing how they have in the past 3 games, they could actually rough up the Pats in Boston.
Ryan- Jets 20 Patriots 10
Wade- Jets 26 Patriots 20

Cardinals (8-7) vs LA Rams (9-6)
NL (Goff)

Thanks to Arizona losing last week, the Bears have a shot at the playoffs, while the Cards are now officially eliminated. Arizona has been erratic all season, with Kyler Murray showing as many bright flashes as he does dark decisions. They haven’t been fully clicking all season, and they will need to make some changes in the offseason to steer this ship in the right direction.
The Rams too have been inconsistent in 2020, relying on their D to keep them in games that they had no place being in. With Jared Goff injuring his thumb, the chances of the Rams making the playoffs just took a dip here.
Wade & Ryan are split on this one, with Ryan liking the Cardinals to take advantage of Goff, while Wade thinks that Sean McVay will find a way. Even if it does mess with his Bears.
Ryan- Cardinals 23 Rams 17
Wade- Rams 27 Cardinals 25

That’s it for our week 17 predictions, make sure that you check us out on social media.
We also have another Facebook Group you can join if you’re an NFL in London fan.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NFLinLondon

Make sure you listen to the whole podcast to get all of the guys picks.
Listen, laugh, love and continue to share. Our listenership continues to rise, so thanks for that.

Have a happy new year everyone!

Week 16 Memes

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Eesh, what a week it was in the NFL. To honour some of the odd games we experienced, we have collected and collated the best Week 16 Memes out there.
For those of you who were eliminated from your fantasy pool-we feel you.
If your team is struggling for that last playoff spot, we here you.
If you are a Jets fan complaining how you lost Trevor Lawrence, screw you.
Stop being a baby.

A Stiff Henry

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If there has been one consistent joy this NFL season, it’s been watching players get ‘A Stiff Henry’ from the stellar Titans running back.
Fantasy owners of Henry have been constantly impressed by his tough and rough play, as well as  his ability to gash for countless yards after the touch.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the runs Derek Henry has put together this season, is the reaction from his own teammates.
Watching the cringes, ‘oh no’s’, and resulting memes and gifs that result have been nothing short of pure, joyous entertainment.

Even his own cum-back kid Ryan Tannehill has been impressed by his running back, not for the least of the reasons being it takes the pressure off of his inconsistent play.

Check out Tannehill’s reaction to one of Henry’s killer runs in 2020, it’s safe to say he was blown away.

You know who else has been HUGELY impressed by Henry this season? Everyone who has had to face him in fantasy and watch him rack up massive points to put you out of the season.

1995 Bills

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What a blast from the past this week, as the Buffalo Bills finally become the AFC East Champions since 1995.
After a drought of Patriots dominance, it was a seasonal performance worthy of dressing Bill Belichick in a dildo costume and body slamming him into 12 collapsible tables into a vat of wing sauce.
The city of Buffalo is on fire, and it’s not just the chemical spills.
Oh what a time it was since the Bills were able to pull off such a feat, in fact you would have to take a time machine back to 1995 when the world was a simpler place.
Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and a feisty Bruce Smith brought us a Buffalo dynasty like no other. When Buffalo wings had yet to conquer the world, obesity was ‘okay’, and table throws were still in their infancy.
Anyone who was alive in the wondrous mid-time of the 90s’ remember a time without smartphones, influencers, emojis’ and status updates. People LIVED back then.
The 1995 Bills represented a working man’s NFL approach to the big business boar of Jimmy Jones and his deep pocketed Cowboys.
Sure, the 1995 Bills were one of many squads to be swept 4 times in the SuperBowl and the team & franchise fell apart/asleep in the Wilson era to follow…but…1995!!
Among some of the other things alive in 95 include:

Did OJ do it?

That was the burning question in 1995, as we wondered if they would acquire if it didn’t fit. Why would a successful former NFL player with a mild drug habit and fiery temper murder his ex-wife and her new boyfriend? Even Russian president famously asked Bill Clinton immediately upon landing in America in 1995 ‘Do you think OJ did it’?. We all wanted to know. Luckily, his peers deemed him innocent, even if another court ordered that he pay her family everything he had. We went on to stage an unsuccessful robbery of his former memorabilia, spend some time in prison, and now the world relishes in his half-cocked-up social media rants. The Juice might still have a little squeeze left in him even if his victims don’t.

TV

‘Member scheduled TV? ‘Member? ‘Must see TV’ was part of our weekly lexicon as Seinfeld got us saying ‘I’m out’, we all wanted to bang a ‘Friend’, and a Super Bowl ad cost a meagre $1.15 million. Now it’s all apps, crap and streaming. Meh.

George Foreman Grill

Some people might know George Foreman as that loveable old man with 100 kids named after him, but before that, he sold sandwich makers to old people over the TV. He was also a boxer, but he made more money off of sandwiches. The grill became a staple at college dorms, bedrooms for bacon mornings and with poorly skilled cooks who used it to ruin a perfectly good steak.

Wedding Gere

He’s straight guys. No, really. In 1995 Gere married Cindy Crawford after they took out a full page ad the previous year to declare that they were both ‘heterosexual’. A bold move even today and was possibly the only way to dispel rampant Richard rumours about his nasty habits. Some of the more colourful theories include him shoving live gerbils up his rectum, drinking a gallon of Rod Stewart’s warm man juice, hosting an orgy inside his rectum. His rectal activities played a large part in many of these topics, hence his need to marry a supermodel and take out an ad. Of course, everyone saw through it. Gerbil sales are still motioned to this day.

Super Computer

If you wanted to get on the net or do some spreadsheets, you needed a PC, which was the compute at the time. The hot model of 1995 was a slick IBM with a 486ghz processor, about as fast as a cracked iPhone in a bag of rice these days. One of these bad boys wasn’t cheap, costing you a cool $1800 to power up your windows 95. If you wanted to find one of these PCs these days you could check the dump, a hipster cafe, or a school for unfortunate children.

The Internet is a Waste

Newsweek magazine hit everyone hard in 1995 when they declared that the internet will never be anything more than a place to send business data. It was too unsafe to ever do anything like read the news, but tickets, or God forbid do banking. You heard it world, get away from the internet, Newsweek says it’s just a fad.
Read it here
https://www.newsweek.com/clifford-stoll-why-web-wont-be-nirvana-185306

Loser Love

Trying to prove the haters wrong, was a little company that just wanted to show some love. Match.com launched in 1995 hoping to take a bite out of the lucrative ‘Video Dating’ market. Looking at the 1995 version of the site gives you the impression that it’s what pedophile hunters would set up to ensnare some loser, but hey, look what happened.

Music

The 1990s had the best music bar none in 100 years. It’s a fact, ask anyone. 1995 was led by the ‘Common People’ who didn’t have to ‘Think Twice before they belted their ‘Earth Song’, singing ‘This is how we do it’. They climbed the ‘Wonderwall’ looking for ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’ chasing ‘Waterfalls’ near the ‘Country House’ trying not to ‘Scream’ at the ‘Scatman’ or the ‘Shy Guy, but with a little ‘Boom Boom Boom’ & ‘Heaven for Everyone in ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’.

Sports

In other sports, real dynasty’s were either coming to an end, or nearing their beginning.
San Franciso 49ers were the 1995 Super Bowl champs, as Steve Young and Jerry Rice pummelled the hapless San Diego Chargers.
Atlanta Braves won the World Series beating the poor Cleveland Indians. You could say their name back then.
1990s sports was a more nostalgic time for broadcasting. Digital cable was only starting to penetrate the plugs of America, so big networks and big personalities led the NFL slate.
Pat Somerall, John Madden, Jimmy the Greek and Al Michaels all brought with them a certain flair and panache to the pundit booth. Sadly with Jimmy it was racism, and it was a mighty slap of justice when the old bigot was put to roost.

Congrats to the Buffalo Bills on becoming AFC East Champions once again. They have the team to go all the way this year, let’s just see how far that way goes.
OJ did it by the way.