Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson told Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay show that he lived at the Bengals’ stadium when he first entered the league to save money.
“As a rookie coming into the league, I stayed at the stadium my first two years because there was no point in spending money and wasting money when everything I need is already there,” Johnson told Sharpe.
Johnson didn’t stop there. He told Sharpe that he didn’t even get his own place until he had been in the NFL for four years.
“I didn’t move out of my grandmother’s house because I was content and used to where I lived,” Johnson explained. “I didn’t move out of her house until my fourth year in the NFL.”
For all of his stellar performances on the field, and frequent antics both on and off of it throughout his NFL career, Johnson’s frugality is something that largely has not been publicized.
Regardless of where and how he lived, it’s clear that it worked for Johnson during his NFL career. In 166 career games across 11 seasons, he caught 766 passes for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns. He was named an All-Pro twice and made six Pro Bowls, all as a member of the Bengals.
