Devin Funchess put himself on a monthly allowance of $8,000 in 2015 when the Carolina Panthers signed him to a four-year, $5.5 million contract as a second-round pick out of Michigan.

If you’re doing the math, that’s $96,000 a year and $384,000 over the course of the deal, meaning the 24-year-old wide receiver has put a large sum of money aside for the future.authentic nfl jerseys cheap

If you’re wondering why he would save so much in a world where football players sometimes spend more than $96,000 on a new car and in general spend like they’re going to play forever, let Funchess explain.

“Have you ever been poor? Have you ever been through rough times? Financially unstable, had to move here and there?” Funchess said almost defiantly as he prepared for Tuesday’s start to the Panthers’ three-day mandatory minicamp. “You don’t want to go back to none of that bull crap, right?

“This is why I do that. Once you’re in a bad situation, you don’t want to get in a bad situation [again]. That’s why I put myself on an allowance. It’s common sense.”

Funchess found himself in many bad situations growing up in what he calls the “hood” in Detroit. He was evicted three times and remembers when he was fortunate to have a meal of Spam and Vienna sausages. His mother had a gambling problem that created financial difficulty, and he’s had more than his fair share of people around him die, something he won’t elaborate on.

Funchess also was fortunate to have good influences, starting with a grandfather who practically raised him and continuing with his cousin Antonio Gates.cheap nfl authentic jerseys

In preparation for that future deal, Funchess has spent most of the offseason in Miami rehabbing a shoulder injury that slowed him during the second half of the 2017 season, instead of splitting time between Detroit and Miami as he normally does.

He also talked to Gates, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, who at 37 is considering a 16th season.

“I look at him,” Funchess said of Gates. “I pay attention to everything he does. I’m a quiet guy, and I made sure every time I watched him I see what he does. He’s the greatest tight end to ever play this game, and that’s what I strive for at the wide receiver position.”