Dwyane Wade is on a mission to help athletes avoid some financial mistakes that he made.
Wade has joined JPMorganChase’s Athlete Council, which is dedicated to helping athletes manage the money that comes “from NIL deals and their first professional contracts.” Other members include Tom Brady, Megan Rapinoe, Jalen Brunson, Sue Bird, A’ja Wilson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Alex Morgan, and Ally Love.
Speaking with PEOPLE, Wade shared how difficult it was to “trust” advisors after signing his first big contract.
”I made my first million when I was 21 years old. And I didn’t trust no one in the beginning,” Wade explained. “It took me about six to seven years before I even was open to it.”
“And it took me going through a lot of things — lawsuits, divorces, all the things I was going through,” Wade continued. “Then I opened up to trust someone because I was going to lose everything, I felt like.”
Wade shared that he had made up his mind to learn from his mistakes.
“As an athlete, that’s how we learn,” he says. “We make a mistake, and we know not to do that again… You can be imperfect. You don’t have to get everything right… But in the midst of making those mistakes, make sure you learn from them immediately.”
Wade shared that he wants athletes to gain a better understanding of their financials and how the business world operates.
“If I can go back and start over, yes, I learned a lot. But I think I would wait before I got into trying to grow my wealth. I tried to grow it right away because that’s what we’re told,” said Wade. “So I would wait until I really had a better understanding, and focus on a protection plan of my wealth.”
“The first thing I would say is slow down,” he shares. “I think really taking a look at seeing what do you want, obviously, for your life, and if you don’t know that picture right now, then don’t rush into it. Take it as it comes and move slowly through it. I moved really fast in my life.”