‘The Bachelor’ Colton Underwood’s Finances May Surprise You

The hottie former pro football player set to debut on the upcoming season of The Bachelor definitely didn’t make it rich playing on the practice teams of pro-football programs, but he has made a difference through his charitable foundation.

So just how deep are Colton Underwood’s pockets? As the star of The Bachelor, 26-year-old Underwood could earn up to $100,000 from his appearance, an amount that likely would increase once brand deals for Instagram ads infiltrate his lifestyle, Time reported.

According to blogger Reality Steve, contestants on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are not paid, so Underwood likely did not receive a stipend of sorts for his appearance during Becca Kurfrin’s season on The Bachelorette.

While confessing his virginity on The Bachelorette aftershow The Men Tell All, Underwood began tearing up as he shared how he struggles to handle people’s “cheap shots” at his masculinity. Weirdly enough, women began accusing him of emotional damages and someone actually charged him on Venmo, seeking reimbursement for the distress he caused them with his virginity confession.

“Naturally, I paid it,” he told Twitter, which Refinery 29 reported.

After that, fans came out of the woodwork demanding money for the same reason, but he didn’t have enough to cover everyone’s tearful and crazy claims. So fans began sending him money instead. Underwood opted to donate the $1,200 sent to him through Venmo to a charity for rescue dogs, Time shared.

Underwood also appeared on Bachelor in Paradise, a show on which cast members do receive payment — as much as $15,000, Reality Steve shared.

His football career didn’t pan out to be terribly lucrative, however. After playing football for Illinois State University, Underwood played on the practice teams for the San Diego Chargers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Oakland Raiders, according to Bleacher Report.

While his most recent contract from 2016 with the Raiders was worth $450,000, he only earned $33,000 that year. Players typically earn a minimum of $6,900 per week on a practice squad.

Over the Cap stated that Underwood was paid $88,200 in 2014 for the time spent with the Chargers.

“How lucky are we? We’re playing a sport and we’re getting paid to play a sport that we love,” 247 Sports reported he said in 2016.

“[Afterwards] you come back to reality and you have to make sure that you have everything aligned.”

In 2015, Underwood launched the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises money and provides equipment to people of all ages suffering from cystic fibrosis. His cousin Harper has the genetic disease, so he made this his mission to help others.

According to the foundation’s website, through fundraising efforts via such mechanisms as football camps he hosts, Underwood and the foundation has awarded almost $100,000 in a three-year period.

However, Underwood did not take a salary for his work with the charity. He logs approximately 20 hours a week out of the kindness of his heart.

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