Jimmy McMillan, the former gubernatorial candidate from New York, went viral years ago after he created and ran on the Rent Is Too Damn High party, and now one NBA rookie is proving that fact.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, NBA rookie Rondae Hollis-Jefferson—who will make $1.33 million this upcoming season as a Brooklyn Nets small forward—echoed that exact sentiment. To begin, Hollis-Jefferson is shocked that his salary gets slashed to about half, when you account for taxes, and he's also flabbergasted at the sky-high rents that New York City has to offer.
"You can live in a nice, three-bedroom condo with all that in Dallas for, like, 2,000 bucks," Hollis-Jefferson said. "Three-bedroom, three-bathroom in New York, you’re paying eight grand. It’s ridiculous."
Ridiculous it is. He told the WSJ that as a result, he's being extra mindful about his finances and has taken on two roommates to curb the costs of living in New York City. Plus, he's also cutting down on his commuting expenses by being one of only a handful of Brooklyn Nets players to actually live in Brooklyn.
Kudos to this fiscally responsible young man. He probably hears the horror stories of professional athletes who go broke a few years after they stop playing and doesn't want to be a victim of that fate.
Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.
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