Despite the luxurious lifestyle that National Football League players can often afford, New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito is happy to live with his parents.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” said DeVito, 25, in a recent interview with ESPN. “I don’t have to worry about laundry, what I’m eating for dinner, chicken cutlets and all that is waiting for me when I get there. My mom still makes my bed. Everything is handled for me.”
His parents’ home in New Jersey is also convenient, since it’s close to MetLife Stadium, where the Giants play: “Honestly, I don’t even know if I could find a place closer to here than where I live. It takes me 12 minutes to get here.”
Although he’s a rookie, the New Jersey native has taken over as starting quarterback since the team’s starting quarterback Daniel Jones and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor were sidelined with injuries. An undrafted player who was on the practice squad, DeVito is expected to get his second career start Sunday against the Washington Commanders.
“Everything that I need is there at the house,” he told ESPN. “The decision was made since this level of football is stressful for a rookie, especially from the quarterback position. There is a lot going on, a lot of meetings. So everything outside of football is handled by my family.”
It was a no-brainer for me. I don’t have to worry about laundry, what I’m eating for dinner, chicken cutlets and all that is waiting for me when I get there.
Tommy DeVito
New York Giants quarterback
DeVito is in the first year of a three-year contract worth up to $2,705,000 in total earnings. However, the remainder of his contract is not guaranteed, which means that he loses the money if he’s cut from the team.
As a recently activated member of the Giants’ roster, DeVito earns roughly $44,000 per week for every game he is on the team, according to northjersey.com. That’s a prorated amount based on the league minimum of $750,000 for the 2023 season.
Even if DeVito earns the full amount on his contract, he will make far less than the $140 million in the four-year contract Jones signed in March.
“This is a very smart financial decision on Tommy DeVito’s part, because he is not guaranteed a contract and is up against the extremely short career span that a majority of NFL players have,” Chris Mankoff, a certified financial planner in Plano, Texas, tells CNBC Make It.
DeVito isn’t the only rookie quarterback cutting back on costs, either.
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy saves money by sharing a home with one of his teammates, an offensive lineman.
“He and I are still splitting rent,” Purdy said in an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” in October. “I still drive my Toyota Sequoia. Other than that, it’s pretty simple.”
Living with a roommate is prudent considering that a 2-bedroom rental in San Francisco averages just over $4,500 per month, according to Rent.com.
Like DeVito, Purdy is an unlikely starter, having been drafted last in the 2022 NFL draft. For his second season with the 49ers, he barely makes more than the league minimum, earning $870,000, according to salary-tracking site Spotrac. He has a contract worth around $3.7 million over four years, but as with DeVito, the remainder of his earnings are not guaranteed.
“The rule ‘don’t spend it until you have it’ really applies here,” says George Gagliardi, a CFP in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Football players’ careers are notoriously short.”
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