Ravens Safety Matt Elam Is Spending the Offseason Working Part-Time at a Sneaker Store

A little extra money never hurts, right?

Image via USA TODAY Sports

Last year, Matt Elam was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. And as a result of going so high in the draft, he was rewarded with a $6.77 million rookie contract and a $3.3 million signing bonus. So why in the world is he working part-time at a Finish Line in Gainesville, Fla. right now?!

Elam doesn't need the money that comes along with a part-time job. But even though he's still a young player in the NFL, he realizes that his football career isn't going to last forever. And at some point in the future, he would like to own a sports merchandise store. So he's working at Finish Line to gain experience while he finishes earning his college degree at the University of Florida.

"I know you can't do football forever," he said earlier this week. "I'm going to use [my job at Finish Line] to benefit me when I'm done so that my kids won't have to worry about this. I take a lot of pride in that because I feel like a lot of kids are blind to this and don't have these opportunities and don't have the knowledge. I hope I can open a lot of their eyes."

Elam is going to give up the gig in April when he reports back to Baltimore to attend mini-camps with the Ravens. But until then…Any chance you've got the latest Js in a size 11, man?!

RELATED: Money to Blow: A Recent History of NFL Players Going Broke

[via For The Win]

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