It must have been a Maybach. It's also a Letsrun story. Given the journalism of this site, the anecdote could just be fabricated.
Teenage boys are not interested in executive luxury cruisers. They want sports cars. So it must be the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, which has the fastest production car time on the famous Nürburgring track. And yes, that costs $500k.
Of course it would be stupid for a kid to buy that, so glad his parents are holding him back. There's no guarantee he'll perform in the future (see Verzbicas, etc) and athletes have relatively short careers, so better to save and invest and not blow all the in-hand earnings. There's a reason so many ex-NFL anc NBA players go bankrupt.
You’re creating hypotheticals for a Mercedes super car that costs $500K, but Lutkenhaus wanting one isn’t something people do. For a kid living in Texas, he would probably be tickled pink with a $100K, 2026 Ford F-450 Platinum Plus.
How would this story come to light anyway? It makes Cooper look very immature so it didn’t come from his parents and it also makes him look like a fool, so I don’t think it came from him.
He and his family dont need your financial advice and people from his background will typically know how to manage their money. Very few athletes will suffer a career ending accident like Verzbicas did, and it’s unlikely running related injuries will terminate his contract.
I wish they would make their contracts public. I think they're bigger than a lot of guys here think. I know some "lower level" pro's who made a decent amount to live on and put some away for when they were done.
It's not an NFL contract but then he won't have brain damage when he retires. Other pro sports are so restrictive with when and where you travel and getting to training camp when and where they say to be.
If true, Lutkenhause would be an idiot on the level of Mike Tyson and just as broke. If true, such an idea might just be stupid youth, so it's a good think the parents stepped in, but if not, then this boy is going to flame out quick with that kind of poor judgement.
Off topic but what will he do after HS graduation? Obviously his coach is getting it right but will he be forced to join a group? Hoping his contract was reviewed by a capable attorney.
The Mercedes-AMG G 63 6x6 is a limited-production, ultra-luxury 6-wheel-drive pickup truck produced between 2013 and 2015, featuring a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 engine with 544 horsepower. Priced between $900,000 and over $1.5 million in today's market, this 4-ton monster offers extreme off-road capability with portal axles, five differential locks, and a tire-pressure control system.
This is such a ridiculous non-story. My son has interest in a $3 million Bugatti. It doesn't mean he's getting it.
Same thing here.
This.
He's 17. He probably saw a photo of an AMG or Maybach and said he'd like to have one. He probably had no idea how much it cost until his parents told him.
I wish they would make their contracts public. I think they're bigger than a lot of guys here think. I know some "lower level" pro's who made a decent amount to live on and put some away for when they were done.
You’re creating hypotheticals for a Mercedes super car that costs $500K, but Lutkenhaus wanting one isn’t something people do. For a kid living in Texas, he would probably be tickled pink with a $100K, 2026 Ford F-450 Platinum Plus.
How would this story come to light anyway? It makes Cooper look very immature so it didn’t come from his parents and it also makes him look like a fool, so I don’t think it came from him.
He and his family dont need your financial advice and people from his background will typically know how to manage their money. Very few athletes will suffer a career ending accident like Verzbicas did, and it’s unlikely running related injuries will terminate his contract.
This isn't that hard to explain but I'll make it clearler because our brief write-up didn't go into great deal
It cames out because we asked him on our podcast if he had made any big purchases. He said no. that podcast is out for Supporters Club members if you'd like to listen.
He's 17 years old, he said it would be cool to buy a nice car. That part is totally normal. Turns out the car he wants actually cost $500k. He might not even have known that. His parents are like "no way". That seems totally normal to me.
Transcript from podcast: Cooper: "I bought a treadmill—that’s the biggest thing I’ve bought. It’s actually the only thing I’ve bought.
I had to fix my truck a bit because some things were messed up, but overall there haven’t been any big purchases. If anyone has suggestions, let me know."
Jon Gault: "Do you have anything on your list?"
"I really want to buy a car, but my parents said no. I also wanted a Mercedes-Benz, which is like $500K, but they said no to that too because it’s a lot of money. So I’m going to hold off on that for a while."
You’re creating hypotheticals for a Mercedes super car that costs $500K, but Lutkenhaus wanting one isn’t something people do. For a kid living in Texas, he would probably be tickled pink with a $100K, 2026 Ford F-450 Platinum Plus.
How would this story come to light anyway? It makes Cooper look very immature so it didn’t come from his parents and it also makes him look like a fool, so I don’t think it came from him.
He and his family dont need your financial advice and people from his background will typically know how to manage their money. Very few athletes will suffer a career ending accident like Verzbicas did, and it’s unlikely running related injuries will terminate his contract.
This is a very uneducated post. Where did it come from? Cooper’s own mouth. It doesn’t make him look immature at all. Listen to the podcast. He was saying it light heartedly. Even if his parents didn’t say no, there was no way he was then actually going to buy it. He then went on to say how he doesn’t like to spend money and has only bought a treadmill/ fixed his truck he already had. He later said a $500k car would only be in the cards in retirement. Even then, I guarantee you he wouldn’t actually buy a $500k car (in today’s dollars). Wouldn’t surprise me if he bought an expensive car ($200k-$300k) in retirement which would be perfectly reasonable. He’s making so much money at a young age. All he has to do is invest his money relatively smart and he’ll be making $100k+/year in investment returns by his early/mid 30s. He could easily be making $200k+/ year post runni he career off investments. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if he’s making $500k+/year currently. If he makes that for 15 years, that’s 7.5mill in earnings. He’s frugal. Having $3mill+ invested by retirement will be very easy. If he stays healthy, his avg yearly earnings could be significantly higher than $500k/year over the next 15 years
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
As a wise man, you really dont want excessive success at a young age when you're an older man. It's a tough act to follow kind of deal. If Cooper is competing for gold medals at age 28, he'll be fine though. He just needs to be himself and enjoy it, dont press. All the best to the prodigy.
This is complete nonsense as usual. If you can get a gold medal at 18 you take it. Nothing in life is guaranteed.
You absolutely take it. However there is truth to the statement. Many people that achieved early success struggle later in life.
That doesn’t mean that you don’t take advantage of your talent. It just means that life’s not a cakewalk for anyone.
It appears 2/3 of the posters on this thread have forgotten what it's like to be 17.
(nearly) every 17 year old boy wants a 500k sports car. I certainly did, I had a posters of red Ferraris and Lambos on my wall. It's just a rare one who can actually pay for it. His parents did the right thing and parented. He's a good kid, and it's not easy managing that much money at *any* age, especially if you just came into it.
It must have been a Maybach. It's also a Letsrun story. Given the journalism of this site, the anecdote could just be fabricated.
I wouldn’t doubt that at all. Cooper? What teenage dude doesn’t stare at hot cars? Especially that he’s now putting himself in position to be able to purchase one via his running. But the story itself seems a bit fishy. Not as stinky as the welfare sucking Paris based Moroccan in the thread providing his usual rants on Cooper, whites, etc, but still a bit fishy.
This. I think it’s made up or at least overblown garbage. That Moroccan guy’s thread was removed btw, man does he hate white people.
I wouldn’t doubt that at all. Cooper? What teenage dude doesn’t stare at hot cars? Especially that he’s now putting himself in position to be able to purchase one via his running. But the story itself seems a bit fishy. Not as stinky as the welfare sucking Paris based Moroccan in the thread providing his usual rants on Cooper, whites, etc, but still a bit fishy.
This. I think it’s made up or at least overblown garbage. That Moroccan guy’s thread was removed btw, man does he hate white people.
Yeah, most teens can’t resist checking out how cars. But the “hate Cooper” crowd thrives on stories lime this. Think about it.
He is starting to sound like one of those young NBA players, they don't invest they spend and so many of them end up broke. There are the rare once straight out of high school like a Kobe LeBron who maintained there fortune but so many others. Thank goodness for his parents.
He's 17 now so they have one more year to try to guide his decisions. If he thinks he can afford a $500,000 car and if he really can then he must have an insane contract.
Sports people should be more like tech people, they make an ungodly amount of money when they are really young like Zuckenberg who many years after becoming a billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg was known for driving modest, inexpensive cars rather than luxury vehicles. He preferred practical, non-ostentatious vehicles, such as a black Acura TSX, a Volkswagen Golf GTI, and a Honda Fit. These cars were valued around between $20,000 and $30,000 dollars.
That's a major difference between young tech guys and young guys in sports. In sports that money be burning a hole in their pockets as the saying goes. A $500,000 car for a 17 year old is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. He sounds like a darn rapper. Thank goodness for his parents.
You can purchase a cool car for under $100,000. He best invest some of that money. Track is not one of those sports with a "Players Union" and a strong retirement plan but it is a sport where there is always the challenge of fighting off injury. .