Big Paychecks Means Bigger Homes When it Comes to Houston Texans Football

Many of the NFL’s elite players grab headlines for signing behemoth multi-million dollar contracts. Like anyone who comes into a large sum of money, the first thing they look to upgrade is their living situation. When it comes to the Houston Texans, that means they’ll pay cash for mega-estates in Piney Point Village. Other lesser-known players, who earn generous-but-more-more-modest salaries, are more likely to take out a mortgage and consider their home as an investment rather than a holding. Considering the widely accepted rule that no more than 28% of your gross income should go toward a mortgage payment, here’s what players can afford.

Lonnie Johnson Jr., Cornerback

The young Texans cornerback signed a four-year $5.2 million contract, with $2.5 million guaranteed and a $1.8 million signing bonus. His base salary with the team for 2020 (in addition to the aforementioned contract) is $731,575. His salary breaks down to a gross monthly income of $60,964, meaning in theory he could afford a mortgage of $17,070 per month and move into something like this beautiful $2.9 million dollar 6,499 square foot Tanglewood home.

Charles Omenihu, Defensive End

Defensive end Charles Omenihu signed a four-year $2.8 million contract, with a $295K signing bonus and $295K guaranteed. On top of that, his yearly salary with the Texans for 2020 is $675,000. Crunching the numbers, Omenihu’s gross monthly income is $56,250, which means he could theoretically take out a mortgage of $15,570 per month. Perhaps he’d be interested in this $2.7 million dollar 6,630 square foot custom home?

John Reid, Cornerback

Texans cornerback John Reid signed a four-year $3.8 million contract with the team that includes $494K guaranteed and a $494K signing bonus. As for base salary, Reid will take home $610,000 per year - giving him a gross monthly income of $50,833. He can spend up to $14,233 per month on a mortgage and move into something like this $2.5 million dollar 6,155 square foot Piney Point mansion.

J.J. Watt, Defensive End

OK, we had to throw in Watt for fun. For those of you who don’t know, Watt signed a six-year, $100 million contract with the team with nearly $52 million guaranteed and a $10 million signing bonus. His base salary is $15.5 million, meaning he has a gross monthly income of $1.3 million per month and can spend about $361,666 per month on a mortgage. Watt can easily afford the most expensive house currently for sale in Houston, which happens to be this $30 million, 26,401 square foot behemoth.

Deshaun Watson, Quarterback

As if it couldn’t get any crazier, star quarterback Deshaun Watson just signed a four-year, $152 million contract including a $27 million signing bonus and $110 million guaranteed. Breaking it down, Watson earns about $44.7 million for each year he plays and approximately $3.7 million per month. At that figure, Watson is hypothetically able to afford just over $1 million per month on a mortgage payment or every property mentioned on this list and many more like them.

With all that being said, we realize NFL careers are short-lived and it’s likely the advice of the player’s financial advisors and lenders that they live well below their means should they face a career-ending injury. So, can the Houston Texans afford these homes? Of course. Should they buy them? Probably not, but, hey, downsizing to a $1.5 million home isn’t so tough, now is it?