Investing

Lawyer's Earning Potential The Same As NFL Stars?!

Lawyer's Earning Potential The Same As NFL Stars?!

Lawyer's Earning Potential The Same As NFL Stars?!

Zoe Team

4 min read

A financial advisor reviewing a plan with two clients at a table

Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways

  • NFL star earnings often mirror high-level professional career trajectories.

  • Comparing career earnings highlights the importance of financial planning for all.

  • High-income earners must prioritize long-term asset management early on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How do lawyer earnings compare to NFL stars?

While top NFL stars have high annual salaries, many lawyers have higher long-term career earning potential.

Why compare these two professions?

It illustrates that financial success is about career duration and planning, not just a high-profile salary.

What is the lesson for high earners?

Regardless of the profession, consistent saving and smart investing are key to maintaining long-term wealth.

With the upcoming Super Bowl, we decided to take a look at NFL stars’ earnings in comparison to those of a typical lawyer.

With the Super Bowl fast approaching we’ve all got Tom Brady, Nick Foles and chicken wings on our minds! Although we love football here at Zoe, we also have an affinity for numbers. Which is why we thought it might be interesting to see how the Patriot’s wide receiver Brandin Cooks’ career would stack up against that of an average lawyer. Of course, with all Zoe employees comfortably in their late 20s and early 30s, the dream of being a successful athlete has long run off into the dark abyss of fine lines and a tenacious lower belly… but what the hell!

Assessing Earning Potential: NFL Player vs Attorney

To compare careers, we are going to assess the career potential of both Cooks and the lawyer. This term career potential is equal to the present value of your future salaries i.e. what you’re worth today based on your earning potential going forward (the methodology for this example is outlined at the end of this post).

Cooks earned just $750,000 in the 2017 season … pocket change, right? But he got a big pay increase in the 2018 season earning a whopping $8.4 million! Of course, we all now that the legendary Tom Brady is still playing at the tender age of 40 (gasp!) but for the average NFL player, careers are significantly shorter. We’re assuming that Cooks will retire at age 27, which would be a really long 7-year career v.s. the average wide receiver in the NFL who only has a career lasting 2.9 years.

After-Tax Career Potential

Based on his annual earnings (and remember we are purely talking about on-the-field earnings here for simplicity’s sake) and career length, Cook’s current career potential before tax could be close to $24 million. And after we adjust for tax, it’s more like $16.1 million, as shown in the chart below.

Surprisingly though, his career potential is roughly the same as that of a 34-year-old New York-based lawyer who makes $300,000 per year. As you can see in both charts below, a main driver for the similar career potential, despite the glaring annual salary differences, is the duration of the career. Cooks NFL career is much shorter than say yours or mine, but it should be offset to some degree by the higher annual salary. It is worth noting that Cooks NFL annual income will be a lot more volatile than that of a corporate lawyer, which explains why the bars are a lot smoother for the lawyer.

Essentially what we can see is that with each year closer to retirement, Cooks earning potential decreases, as he has fewer years left to earn a salary. When he does eventually retire, his NFL earning potential (again, just on-the-field earnings) will be zero. But if he saved around 25% of his yearly NFL income and doesn’t allow for “lifestyle creep”, he could potentially live off his savings and investments for the rest of his life!

At the end of the day, whether you are Brandin Cooks or a slightly overweight lawyer in your 30s, your best income years are still ahead of you!

And you have the potential to manage that money in such a way that you can live off of it when the proverbial tap runs dry. At Zoe we have a plethora of resources, tools, and advice on hand, to help you do just that.

Methodology:

To create Cooks chart, we used his current age and made assumptions about his salary growth trajectory.

Brandin Cooks

  • Age: 24 years old.

  • 2018 total expected compensation: $8.4,000,000

  • Growth rate of salary:

  • 2nd year: 5%

  • 3rd year: -10%

  • Retirement age: 27 years old (The average NFL wide receiver career length is 2.8 years, but once they reach 24 and are still playing it extends an additional 3 years)

“Good” Lawyer

  • Age: 34 years old

  • 2018 total expected compensation: $300,000

  • Annual Growth rate of salary: 4.8%

  • Retirement age: 65 years old

With the upcoming Super Bowl, we decided to take a look at NFL stars’ earnings in comparison to those of a typical lawyer.

With the Super Bowl fast approaching we’ve all got Tom Brady, Nick Foles and chicken wings on our minds! Although we love football here at Zoe, we also have an affinity for numbers. Which is why we thought it might be interesting to see how the Patriot’s wide receiver Brandin Cooks’ career would stack up against that of an average lawyer. Of course, with all Zoe employees comfortably in their late 20s and early 30s, the dream of being a successful athlete has long run off into the dark abyss of fine lines and a tenacious lower belly… but what the hell!

Assessing Earning Potential: NFL Player vs Attorney

To compare careers, we are going to assess the career potential of both Cooks and the lawyer. This term career potential is equal to the present value of your future salaries i.e. what you’re worth today based on your earning potential going forward (the methodology for this example is outlined at the end of this post).

Cooks earned just $750,000 in the 2017 season … pocket change, right? But he got a big pay increase in the 2018 season earning a whopping $8.4 million! Of course, we all now that the legendary Tom Brady is still playing at the tender age of 40 (gasp!) but for the average NFL player, careers are significantly shorter. We’re assuming that Cooks will retire at age 27, which would be a really long 7-year career v.s. the average wide receiver in the NFL who only has a career lasting 2.9 years.

After-Tax Career Potential

Based on his annual earnings (and remember we are purely talking about on-the-field earnings here for simplicity’s sake) and career length, Cook’s current career potential before tax could be close to $24 million. And after we adjust for tax, it’s more like $16.1 million, as shown in the chart below.

Surprisingly though, his career potential is roughly the same as that of a 34-year-old New York-based lawyer who makes $300,000 per year. As you can see in both charts below, a main driver for the similar career potential, despite the glaring annual salary differences, is the duration of the career. Cooks NFL career is much shorter than say yours or mine, but it should be offset to some degree by the higher annual salary. It is worth noting that Cooks NFL annual income will be a lot more volatile than that of a corporate lawyer, which explains why the bars are a lot smoother for the lawyer.

Essentially what we can see is that with each year closer to retirement, Cooks earning potential decreases, as he has fewer years left to earn a salary. When he does eventually retire, his NFL earning potential (again, just on-the-field earnings) will be zero. But if he saved around 25% of his yearly NFL income and doesn’t allow for “lifestyle creep”, he could potentially live off his savings and investments for the rest of his life!

At the end of the day, whether you are Brandin Cooks or a slightly overweight lawyer in your 30s, your best income years are still ahead of you!

And you have the potential to manage that money in such a way that you can live off of it when the proverbial tap runs dry. At Zoe we have a plethora of resources, tools, and advice on hand, to help you do just that.

Methodology:

To create Cooks chart, we used his current age and made assumptions about his salary growth trajectory.

Brandin Cooks

  • Age: 24 years old.

  • 2018 total expected compensation: $8.4,000,000

  • Growth rate of salary:

  • 2nd year: 5%

  • 3rd year: -10%

  • Retirement age: 27 years old (The average NFL wide receiver career length is 2.8 years, but once they reach 24 and are still playing it extends an additional 3 years)

“Good” Lawyer

  • Age: 34 years old

  • 2018 total expected compensation: $300,000

  • Annual Growth rate of salary: 4.8%

  • Retirement age: 65 years old

Disclosures: Zoe Financial, Inc. ("Zoe Financial") is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Zoe Financial provides investment advisory services and access to independent registered investment advisers through its platform. The information provided by Zoe Financial is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment advice or as an offer to buy or sell any security. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Clients should consult with their own financial, tax, or legal professionals before making any investment decisions. The material presented by Zoe Financial is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for personalized investment advice or as a recommendation or solicitation of any particular security, strategy, or investment product. Material presented has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Adviser cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Zoe Financial does not provide legal or tax advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be taken as legal or tax advice. SEC Registration does not constitute an endorsement of Zoe Financial by the SEC nor does it indicate that Zoe Financial has attained a particular level of skill or ability. The sole purpose of this material is to inform, and it in no way is intended to be an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any security, other investment or service, or to attract any funds or deposits. Investments mentioned may not be appropriate for all clients. Before making any investment, each investor should carefully consider the risks associated with the investment, as discussed in the applicable offering memorandum, and make a determination based upon their own particular circumstances, that the investment is consistent with their investment objectives and risk tolerance. Lower expenses do not guarantee better investment performance. Certain information contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the performance of a fund may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements.

Disclosure: This page is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors. The observations of industry trends should not be read as recommendations for stocks or sectors.


Investment advisory services are provided by Zoe Financial, Inc. (Zoe Financial), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Learn more about Zoe Financial on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Brokerage services are provided by Zoe Securities LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Learn more about Zoe Securities and Apex on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.

The information in the visuals above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual user's account, balance, or return. Zoe Financial does not provide tax or legal advice.

Explore the Zoe Wealth Platform with AI

Some of this content may have been generated with the assistance of AI. Please review and sense-check all outputs, as AI tools can occasionally produce incomplete or inaccurate information.
In certain situations, you may be required to disclose that the content was “generated by AI.” Please confirm any specific disclosure or labelling requirements with Compliance.

(646) 680-9244

support@zoefin.com

666 Third Ave, 6th Floor
New York, NY, 10017

Copyright © 2026 Zoe Financial, Inc. | All rights reserved

Disclosure: This page is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors. The observations of industry trends should not be read as recommendations for stocks or sectors.


Investment advisory services are provided by Zoe Financial, Inc. (Zoe Financial), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Learn more about Zoe Financial on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Brokerage services are provided by Zoe Securities LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Learn more about Zoe Securities and Apex on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.

The information in the visuals above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual user's account, balance, or return. Zoe Financial does not provide tax or legal advice.

Explore the Zoe Wealth Platform with AI

Some of this content may have been generated with the assistance of AI. Please review and sense-check all outputs, as AI tools can occasionally produce incomplete or inaccurate information.
In certain situations, you may be required to disclose that the content was “generated by AI.” Please confirm any specific disclosure or labelling requirements with Compliance.

(646) 680-9244

support@zoefin.com

666 Third Ave, 6th Floor
New York, NY, 10017

Copyright © 2026 Zoe Financial, Inc. | All rights reserved

Disclosure: This page is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors. The observations of industry trends should not be read as recommendations for stocks or sectors.


Investment advisory services are provided by Zoe Financial, Inc. (Zoe Financial), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Learn more about Zoe Financial on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Brokerage services are provided by Zoe Securities LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Learn more about Zoe Securities and Apex on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.

The information in the visuals above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual user's account, balance, or return. Zoe Financial does not provide tax or legal advice.

Explore the Zoe Wealth Platform with AI

Some of this content may have been generated with the assistance of AI. Please review and sense-check all outputs, as AI tools can occasionally produce incomplete or inaccurate information.
In certain situations, you may be required to disclose that the content was “generated by AI.” Please confirm any specific disclosure or labelling requirements with Compliance.

(646) 680-9244

support@zoefin.com

666 Third Ave, 6th Floor
New York, NY, 10017

Copyright © 2025 Zoe Financial, Inc. | All rights reserved