Michael Porter Jr. is making the kind of money that allows him to live almost any kind of lifestyle imaginable. But the Brooklyn Nets forward claims he could comfortably return to living off only a couple of thousand dollars per month.
During a conversation with former WNBA guard Lexie Brown on the Curious Mike podcast, Porter explained that his relationship with money hasn’t dramatically changed despite earning over $270 million through basketball.
Michael Porter Jr.: “I’ve never played the game of basketball for money. I’ve, like, I’ve never lived my life for money. I have a lot of money now, and I, you know, I’m okay with a lot of money, and I’m okay also living very frugal and not really spending a lot of money and going back to Missouri and able to, could probably realistically, I’m not gonna lie to you. I probably could live right now off of…”
Lexie Brown: “What’s your contract right now?”
Michael Porter Jr.: “It’s a max contract. I think I make like $40 million this next year. But I could easily go back to living off of a couple thousand dollars a month.”
Lexie Brown: “How you feel about when OBJ was like it’s impossible to live off $100 million?”
Michael Porter Jr.: “That’s my point, because some people get so accustomed to a certain lifestyle, and it’s so their norm now that they can’t imagine going back to how they grew up or, like, not spending all this money or not flying private or not doing this.”
“I feel like I’m one of those dudes who’s very okay with living a very luxurious lifestyle, but I’m also okay going back. I could live in a… I’m just cool wherever. I’m cool staying at the Four Seasons. I’m cool staying in a Marriott or a Holiday Inn. Like, I’d be cool with either.”
“Some dudes aren’t like that. Some dudes get so accustomed to a certain lifestyle that they can’t imagine going back. I actually have a goal, like, post-career, that I wanna live as, like, a minimalist for a whole year and spend very little money, not live in a big crib, not eat at the bougie restaurant.”
That’s a pretty big claim for a player who’s accustomed to NBA money. Porter’s comments came while discussing how athletes can become dependent on their expensive lifestyles.
Brown brought up Odell Beckham Jr.’s past comments about the difficulties associated with maintaining a lavish lifestyle. Porter argued that the real issue is how quickly luxury can become someone’s new normal.
Porter believes he has avoided developing that mentality. That mindset could become very important, especially once his basketball career ends. Porter even suggested that he could consider a personal experiment in retirement where he would force himself to abandon an extravagant lifestyle and live like a nomad.
This financial conversation was just one of several interesting moments between Porter and Brown. Earlier in the same podcast, Porter apologized to Brown and the WNBA for how some of his previous comments about women’s basketball came across.
Porter himself has drawn significant criticism after comparing the economics of the WNBA to professional ping-pong while talking about player salaries. Porter said that he always speaks his mind, and he hasn’t always considered how those comments might be received.
But this time, the discussion was based on his real life. Despite making around $40 million next season, Porter insists his happiness isn’t dependent on maintaining a multimillionaire lifestyle.
He can enjoy luxury while he has it, but take away the expensive hotels, private travel, and enormous budget, and he’d be perfectly comfortable living life on just a couple of thousand dollars a month.
