Check out this inspiring story about NFL star Ricky Jean-Francois, 30, who has been making headlines recently after revealing he owns 25 Dunkin’ Doughnuts franchises to save for his retirement.
The NFL baller turned businessman has turned his career earnings, which have totaled over 12 million dollars, into success business ventures by acquiring a multitude of very valuable assets.
On February 26th, 2015, Francois signed a three year, $9 million dollar contract with the Washington Redkins. On March 15, 2017, Jean Francois was released by the Redskins. A week later, Francois signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Green Bay Packers.
With the help of his financial manager, he then purchased a Dunkin’ Donuts location in Georgia. Before long, he owned 25 franchises throughout the South, and he still has plans to expand to Houston. He committed himself to the business in every offseason, understanding the nuances of the business as he would an NFL playbook. At first, it was a grueling process, learning about projections and parsing through spreadsheets. But soon, it became second nature. He still feels a thrill every time one of his stores beats the sales projections.
“It opened up another world I didn’t know existed,” Jean Francois to the Huffington Post.
During an interview with FOX Sports’ Steve Gormanicky, here’s what Francois had to say below:
“When the big money came in, I was like, ‘I need a retirement plan right now. I need a retirement plan that can grow right now, so at the time when I actually walk out of the NFL, I don’t have to let the NFL be my identity,” said Jean-Francois to Steve Gorman. “Teams can look at me like, ‘OK, he’s a business man. He’s a smart guy. He knows what he’s doing with his money.’
Listen to the rest of the interview:
And while becoming a succesful entreprenuerbusiness has made Jean Francois smarter and more focused, it was the birth of his son six months ago that changed his whole perception of life.
At 5:18 am me and my fiance brought a blessing into this world. #ThankGod pic.twitter.com/CgMQFCfOZR
— Ricky Jean Francois (@rbjf_95) April 2, 2016
Francois told The Huffington Post, “My son ― when he looks at me, I want to be the right father figure,” Jean Francois says. “He inspires me. I thought I grew up already, but when he came along, I was like, ‘Okay, I really didn’t grow up.’ When I look at him, it all makes sense.”
Back in April 2016, Jean and his fiance Julisha Flag welcomed their son named Ryan Blake Jeanfrancois at 5:18am.
Ricky and Julisha met back in 2012 at Legacy Fit, a gym in Miami. One day, Ricky asked Julisha what high school she attended and they started having friendly conversation from that point. A week later, Julisha invited Jean over for dinner and they quickly became good friends. After a year of close friendship, they started dating. On September of 2015, a week after Julisha Birthday, the pair found out they were expecting. About four months later, they found out their little bundle of joy was going to be a boy. On January 17th, 2016 Ricky popped the big question to Julisha at Mastro’s Steak House in D.C….and she said “Yes!”
Jean and Julisha are set to marry on June 24th, 2017.
Photo Source/Credit: Stephanie Messick
