Actor and America’s Got Talent host Terry Crews is opening up about his humble beginnings as an NFL player. While he reached heights very few other athletes ever do, the 55-year-old says the world of professional sports was not as lucrative as people may think.
According to AfroTech, Crews played for several teams over three seasons, including the San Diego Chargers, the then-Washington Redskins, and Philadelphia Eagles. However, his time in the league did not produce significant dividends.
“My NFL career was not glamorous at all,” Crews said. “It was kind of like being a roadie in a band that was kinda never going anywhere.”
In 1993, while practicing with the Green Bay Packers, the Everybody Hates Chris actor reportedly made only $150 per week. “I would have made more money at McDonald’s,” he said.
“That’s the reality.”
To make ends meet, Crews painted portraits of his teammates, selling them for $5,000 each,
“When I got cut [from a team, I’d] go back in the locker room and ask the players if they wanted their portraits painted,” he said.
Crews finally decided to leave the NFL to follow his dream of being in the entertainment industry. At one point, he swept factory floors for $8 an hour.
“I had $64 at the end of the day. I went, ‘Oh my God, I actually made this money on my own.’ I was never broke again. I never stopped working,” he said.
His big break in the film industry would come through a chance encounter while doing security on movie sets.
Two decades and a reported $25 million net worth later, Crews attributes the longevity of his lucrative career to his values.
“I have more money now than I ever had in my entire life … because people understand equity and honor,” he said. “People make money, but if they don’t have any equity or honor, it all falls away—and that sounds real existential or spiritual, but it’s for real.”
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