Unlike Charles Barkley, the former Bucks star couldn’t save his $40 million NBA career from his family’s greed

Imagine being a young athlete from a humble background getting an NBA contract worth millions of dollars. What are you doing next? For many, like Dwyane Wade, who left college at 21 to join the NBA, the immediate step is to take care of family and change their circumstances. But not everyone copes well with it. The same fate would have befallen Charles Barkley if Grant Hill’s mother hadn’t had some good advice, advice that someone like Brandon Jennings could have used to avoid the pitfalls he faced in his career.

Jennings recently opened up about his struggles Above The Rim with DH 12, I think about how his family and friends pushed him to a breaking point. When asked how NBA money has impacted his life, Jennings admitted: “I also had to leave the game because of family and friends… it was too much about the money.” For Jennings, basketball was his escape – his therapy. But as the game became a job, he noticed that people viewed him as a walking ATM. “It gets kind of depressing.” he said, clearly exhausted by the weight of expectations.

Jennings didn’t hold back and said: “No matter who you are, you don’t want to be seen as a cash cow.” His advice for avoiding this trap? “Stay spiritual…keep the right people around you.”

Jennings earned over $40 million in his nine-year NBA career, but his net worth is now estimated at just $16 million. It seems that things could be different if Jennings had someone like Grant Hill’s mother in his life. Why? I’ll keep talking Club Shay Shay, Chuck remembered Grant Hill’s parents visiting them during the 1996 Olympics. According to Barkley, after a few games, they wanted to go to work. And he tried to convince them that this wasn’t necessary since Grant had signed a $100 million contract. But Hill’s mother advised him: “Don’t start worrying about family and friends.”

Chuck further explained her advice, mentioning that she told him that once he starts taking care of people financially, it becomes a never-ending cycle. And the first time he says no to someone, that relationship is over. Barkley himself later remarked: “People I gave money to when I first told them no, they like, no, no, we’re not friends anymore. “It was a hard and painful lesson,” he said on the podcast.

Chuck’s charity projects and Jennings’ regrets

However, because of this advice, Charles Barkley did not shy away from helping others financially. Since 1995, the Charles Barkley Foundation has supported various causes. In 2022, Barkley pledged to donate $1 million to Spelman College, influenced by the impact it had on his business partner’s daughter. Sharing his motivation, Barkley explained: “John was a great mentor…and since his daughter was doing great things at Spelman, I told him, ‘Why not there?'” Beyond Spelman, Barkley’s generosity also extends to a $5 million donation to students of color at his alma mater, Auburn University.

However, financial management has been a tough road for Brandon Jennings. On the Gil’s Arena On the podcast, he admitted that his biggest regret was spending his first NBA salary to buy his mother a house. Although it was a well-intentioned gesture, Jennings now wishes he had thought more about his own future.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t love my mother.” Jennings explained. “But it’s like, woah, next year you can get hurt… and I made people comfortable too early.” The former NBA star further reflected on how the lack of a father figure played a role in his decisions, noting: “I’m also the reason I’m here.”