With the departure of Darrelle Revis this offseason, it is no secret that Antonio Cromartie will have to step up and be the number one cornerback for the New York Jets.
However, what may come as a surprise to many is that Cromartie is taking on more than just his new rank on the depth chart. The seven-year veteran, perhaps most well known for his various off the field maturity issues, including his 10 children with 8 different women, has become an unlikely mentor for some of the Jets younger players. His message to them – save your money.
In an interview with Newsday’s Bob Glauber, Cromartie confesses that he spent $5 million in his first two seasons with the San Diego Chargers. A figure that accounts for nearly his entire his rookie contract.
“I was out of control,” Cromartie told Glauber. “I remember [former Chargers teammate] Quentin Jammer used to tell me to slow down, but I couldn’t do it. I just loved spending money.”
Nine cars, two extravagant homes, and large quantities of jewelry made up much of the cornerback’s early spending spree. Cromartie even admitted to considering purchasing a Lamborghini.
“I had two Dodge Chargers, probably spent $100,000 just fixing them up,” he said. “I had a ’65 Caprice, which I spent $100,000 on. I had two BMWs, two Escalades.”
But all of this is in Cromartie’s past. The two-time pro-bowler has put his money-squandering days behind him, and is now the epitome of fiscal conservatism. He has even taken to driving a Toyota Prius as his everyday vehicle. Cromartie now brags about the money he is able to save on gas.
So why the sudden transformation? For this, Cromartie credits his financial advisor Jonathan Schwartz. Schwartz, a Certified Public Account with financial services company GSO Business Management, was originally recommended to Cromartie by his former agent, the late Gary Wichard.
After taking Cromartie on as a client, Schwartz made an unprecedented move. He invited Cromartie to stay at his family’s home in Southern California for the next couple of weeks. Schwartz wanted to show Cromartie what it was like to live in a stable family environment.
“[Cromartie] didn’t surround himself with caring and loving people, and I wanted him to see me and my family and realize I cared about him. I wanted him to see a family life,” Schwartz told Glauber. “My intention was to show him that there are people who love you for who you are, not for how much you make. When I first met him, I saw a wonderful heart and human being that people were taking advantage of, and I wanted to be a part of seeing his personal growth. Part of that is financial discipline.”
Over his first few seasons in the NFL, Cromartie said that he would receive frequent phone calls from friends and relatives asking to borrow money. Nowadays, he simply directs these calls straight to Schwartz.
“I’ll often say, ‘Antonio has good intentions. However, at this time, I’ve earmarked his money for other things and we don’t have that readily available.’ For the most part, they don’t call back.” Schwartz said.
Thanks to his financial advisor, Cromartie and his family will be able to live comfortably long after his retirement from the NFL. And each of Cromartie’s 10 children will be able to attend college free of debt.
The lessons that Cromartie has learned in his seven NFL seasons are ones that he is trying to pass on to his younger teammates.
“I want to help others learn from what I did wrong,” Cromartie said. “I tell the young guys, ‘Don’t spend any money the first year and a half of your career,’” Cromartie said. “You don’t know what will happen after that. You might be released. You might be hurt. Just save your money.”
In his newfound role as a team leader, Cromartie will look to lead the Jets to greater success this upcoming season.
