Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has been in the news lately after signing a legendary four-year contract extension worth $240 million. He’s obviously one of the highest-paid athletes in the NFL today , but not every player is lucky enough to bring home such massive paychecks. 25-year-old Jordan Mason is already shining on the field for the 2024 season, but some think that his $985K salary doesn’t seem fair in comparison to his performance. Who Is The 49ers Backup Running Back? (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) Mason was born on May 24, 1999 in Gallatin, Tennessee. Before his professional career began, he played college football at Georgia Tech from 2017 to 2021. Even as a freshman, the running back was a force to be reckoned with, collecting 108 carries for 659 yards and seven touchdowns at the time. Instead of going the traditional NFL Draft route, Mason was signed by the San Francisco in 49ers as a backup to their star running back, Christian McCaffrey in 2022....

LL Cool J’s mother played a crucial role in launching his career by investing in his music when he was faced with countless rejection. The rapper, born to Ondrea Smith in Bay Shore, NY, has released his 14th studio album, “The Force,” after a decade-long wait. Released Sept. 6, the project features 14 tracks, including “Post Modern,” which holds a significant line about his mother’s support that came from a tax refund. “My mother took her tax return and invested it. She bet it on her kid and look at what he did with it. 2,000 in ’84 that’s a 100,000 x multiple from keepin’ you on the floor,” he rapped. During an interview on the podcast “Sway In The Morning,” LL Cool J shared the backstory behind that line. He revealed his mother was not making a lot of money, so tax season was an exciting time for her as it led to extra earnings in her pocket when she received a refund. “Here’s this Black woman who worked really hard, who got a tax return — and just for the record — the majority of...

Embracing technology has helped Tems evolve her artistry. Born Temilade Openiyi in Lagos, Nigeria, the Afrobeats R&B star had a deep passion for music from a young age — even joining a choir as a teenager — and recognized the art of making music was always more than just a side interest for her. “The way I love music, the way I loved writing and making music, producing, it was more than a hobby,” Tems expresses on “The Breakfast Club” podcast. “ It’s just something that I just genuinely enjoyed. I didn’t expect ever to make anything from it. I was just like, ‘Y eah I could do this all day. If I can get a job to sustain me, and I’ll just be doing this all day.’ Literally that was my mindset.” Tems’ fire for music followed her in higher learning. She attended Monash South Africa, a university in Johannesburg, South Africa, GQ reports . In her dorm room, she continued to write songs and relied on YouTube to learn how to make beats. She also used Logic software to record and produce....

Today, Black comedians are among the most celebrated and widely recognized names in the entertainment industry – but it wasn’t always that way. Just a few decades ago, it was rare for People of Color to see themselves represented on TV, but all that changed thanks to the work of Keenen Wayans. The 66-year-old comes from a family of funny (and talented) people , including siblings Damon, Kim, Shawn and Marlon. While he got into Tuskegee University on an engineering scholarship , Wayans dropped out one semester before graduating to focus on comedy. After moving to California and learning the tricks of the trade from Robert Townsend, the Harlem native never looked back. For Almost 45 Years, Keenen Wayans Has Been A Pioneer In Black Comedy (Photo by Pool DENIZE/PELLETIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) Keenen Wayans was in his early 20s when he headed out west, but it didn’t take long for him to find work. By 1982 he was making appearances on the hit TV series Cheers ; this was followed...

Most who make a name for themselves in the world of rap don’t plan on spitting bars forever. Instead, many of the best lyricists hustle hard to stack cash and then invest it accordingly so they’re set for life. Thanks to this approach, Chamillionaire’s net worth continues to grow long after he stopped rapping full-time. The Houston-bred entertainer came up in the early 2000s and is best known for his The Mixtape Messiah series (the original of which is the longest and most bought mixtape in Texas history). Early on, Chamillionaire started making smart financial decisions that eventually landed him the role of entrepreneur in residence at venture capital firm Upfront Ventures. Read on to learn more about his journey! Chamillionaire’s Confidence Helped Get Him Started In The Rap Game (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage) Strong networking skills helped Chamillionaire get his foot in the door of hip-hop alongside his friend Paul Wall. The ambitious duo connected with Michael “5000” Watts,...

Tyrese Gibson’s life was changed for the better thanks to a Coca-Cola commercial. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Gibson garnered a lot of attention, which would spark a bidding war with 20 record labels, due to his appearance singing in a 1994 Coca-Cola commercial while a student at Locke High School in Los Angeles, CA. He learned about the commercial opportunity through his late music teacher, Reggie Andrews, who received a call that the company was hosting national auditions scouting for new talent, specifically a male between the ages of 16 and 18, Gibson explained while on the podcast “Club Shay Shay.” It would also be Andrews who took Gibson to the audition because he did not have a car and money was tight at the time. “I was broker than broke. My stomach was touching my ribs. I didn’t have a car. I didn’t have a ride,” Gibson recalled. “It was no way I was getting on the bus, especially with a transfer ’cause it was like close to downtown LA, and I was living in Watts South...

Juicy J says he has consistent revenue coming in from music sampling. The artist was a part of Hip-Hop group Three 6 Mafia, which formed in the early ’90s. BlackPast reports the original group members included Paul Duane “DJ Paul” Beauregard, Jordan Michael “Juicy J” Houston III, Lola Chantrelle “Gangsta Boo” Mitchell, Darnell “Crunchy Black” Carlton, Ricky “Lord Infamous” Dunigan, and Robert Cooper “Koopsta Knicca” Phillips. The group paved their way first in Memphis, TN, before they found success across the country in the later ’90s, ultimately selling millions of albums, mentions Genius. Among their records includes “Stay Fly,” “Doe Boy Fresh,” “Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body),” “Who Run It,” and “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” which earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2006 for its feature in the film “Hustle & Flow.” Before making an imprint for innovating the Hip Hop space, it had not dawned on Juicy J to consider the business side in addition to  the art form. “I...

You may know Detroit rapper Danny Brown from his electrifying music, his energetic collaborations with acts such as JPEGMAFIA, Run The Jewels, and Eminem, or even from his self-titled podcast venture . The underground rap legend has garnered a reputation for his gut-busting sense of humor and his boundary-pushing bars, having amassed a following of just under 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone . From his numerous business ventures in the entertainment industry, Danny Brown has seen massive financial highs and lows, and currently touts a net worth of over $4 million, per Celebrity Net Worth . Now that “The Danny Brown Show” podcast is blowing up and the Detroit-born artist is seeing more new fans than ever before, it seems like as good a time as any to take a brief deep dive into his financial portfolio. We’ll see what we can learn from his long and storied career. Let’s examine Danny Brown’s revenue streams, endorsement deals , and other forms of income contributing to his...

In 1972, Thom Gatewood was captain of the University of Notre Dame’s football team , even earning himself a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. Little did the athlete know that by 2020, his future grandson, AJ Dillon (also known as Quadzilla), would be playing professionally in the NFL , even breaking regularly breaking records in the league. Unfortunately, it was confirmed on Aug. 28 that the 26-year-old won’t be joining the Green Bay Packers on the field for the 2024 season due to a neck injury. On the bright side, this period of recovery will give Dillon more time at home with his wife, Gabrielle Toonen, and their son, Algiers Dillon III (or Trey), who shares a birthday with his dad. After developing his skills at Lawrence Academy, a private boarding school in Groton, Massachusetts, the Baltimore-born running back was off to Boston College. Dillon became the team’s all-time rushing leader with 1,589, 1,108 and 1,685 yards in his three years respectively. As for touchdowns,...

JuJu Smith-Schuster wasn’t a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, but the 27-year-old hasn’t let that stop him from shining on the field. He prepared for his professional career while playing wide receiver and safety at Long Beach Polytechnic High School as a teen, even gaining recognition as a five-star recruit from Rivals.com. The next natural step for Smith-Schuster was to play at the college level, joining the University of Southern California’s Trojans team from 2014-2016. During that time the athlete made a name for himself as one of the top wide receivers at his level, helping to secure him a rookie deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. As he returns to a previous team for the 2024 season, football fans are curious about JuJu Smith-Schuster’s net worth , which is reportedly in the multi-millions. Since 2017, California Native Has Played For Three NFL Teams (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) After being drafted No. 62 overall in his rookie season, Smith-Schuster went on to...

Pusha T may be steadfast in the music business but has adopted a “business-first” mindset. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Virginia-born rapper has made some wise decisions over the years, investing in his friend’s company, Caring Hands Medical Transportation, which has proven to be “lucrative and fulfilling,” according to a 2022 interview on “The Breakfast Club.” “That business is like 25 vans strong running through seven cities [in Viriginia]. It’s called Caring Hands Medical Transportation. It has helped my mother, sick cousins, family members, and friends,” Pusha T said during a conversation on “Assets Over Liabilities.” In 2022, the rapper turned a supposedly sour business decision with McDonald’s into a vital learning lesson that benefited him while working with another fast food chain. Alongside Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, and Pusha T’s brother No Malice, he claims they reportedly wrote the McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle in 2003, noted Rolling Stone. Pusha...

Dame Dash claims he is broke. In a video clip on Instagram, the music executive states that his desire to pursue his dreams has also led him to lose his wealth. “Somebody asked me how I got so broke. Investing in my dreams,” Dame Dash explained. “You know, when you’re investing in your dreams and you dream big, you’re always gonna be broke… or have a lot of sh-t. But I don’t have no money for nobody else. That’s what you call broke. But that’s what it is.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dame Dash (@duskopoppington) Currently, Dash is facing a financial bind due to a $800,000 judgement amount that he will now owe as a result of a prior copyright infringement and defamation of character lawsuit, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. As required by the court, the U.S. Marshals are selling Dame Dash’s shares in Roc-A-Fella Records, which amount to 33% and are reportedly worth $1.2 million. They will be up for auction on Aug. 29, 2024. There is great interest surrounding the...

Football may be a dangerous sport, but it’s one of America’s favorites; this is just part of why NFL players are paid so handsomely . Anyone hoping to be drafted must be three years out of high school, giving them time to mature mentally and physically before joining their heroes on the field. Maryland’s Tavon Austin was a 22-year-old standout from West Virginia University when he joined the St. Louis Rams in 2013. In the decade following that, he played nine NFL seasons with five different teams before announcing his retirement in August 2024. Thanks to his shorter stature, speed and skill, Austin became known as the “Pocket Rocket.” While the second half of his time in the league was less glamorous than the first, the Baltimore native will always be remembered for his accomplishments. His love for the sport was obvious even in high school, at which time he was twice named the Maryland Consensus Offensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Austin set state records for career points...

By now, just about every fan of basketball has become well acquainted with the generation-defining legacy of Kevin Durant. The beloved NBA star is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time for his passionate performance, making him one of the most sought-after small forwards in the entire league. Over the course of his 16 seasons on the court, Durant has played for 4 teams, and amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in salary alone. According to Celebrity Net Worth , Kevin Durant currently touts a highly impressive net worth of over $300 million. While this sum comes primarily from his NBA salary, Durant has also bolstered his nest egg with money from endorsement deals , real estate, and many other prudent investments. Given that KD is undeniably in the GOAT conversation, now seems like as good a time as any to take a deep dive into his multiple revenue streams, and see what we can learn about his financial portfolio. For those looking to study the moves of...

Oprah Winfrey has only one regret in her decades-long reign as a media mogul. Winfrey is widely recognized for her tenure as a successful journalist who went on to host and produce “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” After departing from Nashville, TN, to pursue a career in Baltimore, MD, working local news, she landed her own syndicated show. According to CBS News, she was just 22 years old when she transferred cities and spent eight years working as a 6 p.m. anchor at WJZ-TV. Winfrey later landed her talk show, “A.M. Chicago,” which was renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 1986. It became the top-rated show, overtaking Phil Donahue, who had maintained the status for nearly 20 years. “For a long time, I wondered why it took so long for someone to copy us,” Donahue said, per CoastTV. “Then along came Oprah Winfrey. It is not possible to overstate the enormity of her impact on the daytime television game.” The success of Winfrey’s show is proven in its number. It reportedly was the top show for...