Nick Foles led the Philadelphia Eagles to its first-ever Super Bowl win in 2018 and became a legend in the city of Brotherly Love. And he did it with a lot of style, becoming the first person to both throw — and catch — a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl; he was named the game’s MVP.
Foles, 30, signed a four-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in March worth a reported $88 million — with $50 million guaranteed — to be their starting quarterback.
“We’re blessed to receive money like you can’t imagine. The key is to find someone you trust, whose values align with yours. We found a perfect financial adviser, and I’ve been with them my whole career.”
He recently spoke with MarketWatch about his diet, his partnerships, what he does to help his body recover in between games — and how much he hates buying clothes.
MarketWatch: What types of things do you do to prepare your body to perform at its best?
Nick Foles: Diet and nutrition are huge. My wife and I are limiting our sugar intake. We eat gluten-free and buy properly sourced meat and fish. I don’t drink alcohol during the season or much during the off season either. Also the well-being of the mind is so important. I get into the bible and pray every morning. It’s the most important part of my life. I also have a home gym at our house in Florida with a lot of recovery equipment to help me throughout the week. I have a hyperbaric chamber at home, which I use a few days a week. It’s all about heal and recover and sleep — if you don’t do those things, you’ll pull a muscle or worse. I’ve learned that diet is so important.
MarketWatch: How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
Foles: I wear an Oura ring. It looks like a wedding band and tracks all my data — my body temperature, REM sleep, heart rate variability. It’ll tell me how hard I should train. I know you’re supposed to get eight hours of sleep, but what’s more important to me is quality sleep. To get better sleep, I don’t eat late, don’t drink during the season — though I’ll have a margarita or glass of wine in the off season — and wear blueblocking glasses at night. And we keep the room cold, at 67 or 68 degrees. And make it as dark as possible.
MarketWatch: You recently entered into a partnership with Bulletproof coffee. How did that come about?
Foles: I first heard about it five or six years ago. I was in Austin visiting family, and friends of my dad introduced me and my wife to it. They were talking about this coffee that you make with butter and oil. In college I took a nutrition class and learned to stay away from fat, so I thought: This makes no sense and will make me get fat. But this couple had several cups a day and the husband was ripped. I thought something’s not right here. Then I tried it and it was delicious. And I noticed a difference right away. I had stabilized energy all day. I started drinking it daily and started researching the company and saw they were into way more than just coffee.
MarketWatch: How do you use it when you train?
Foles: My daily routine is coffee in the morning with two tablespoons of oil and two tablespoons of grass-fed butter. Plus two scoops of collagen protein. There’s also a new prebiotic product that’s good for the gut. I also have a KetoPrime in the afternoon when I feel a lull coming on. I pop one under my tongue. I do that during games too. It’s like a circular vitamin that dissolves.
MarketWatch: Who approached who?
Foles: In 2015 I contacted them through my marketing agent to share how much I admired what they were doing. When I was in KC in 2016 they sent me a package to our QB room. We entered into the partnership recently. Before that I was just enjoying the product for four or five years.
“The lifestyle we live — moving from place to place, and where you play isn’t always where you live — you can burn a lot of money on rent. We currently have homes in California and Florida, but we rented for five years and rent money goes fast.”
MarketWatch: Do you make the coffee for guys on your teams?
Foles: In Philadelphia the last two years, the QBs would all get in by 6:00 a.m. for film study. I’d share Bulletproof coffee with the QBs and QB coaches. We had a fridge for butter and a coffee machine and blender. I made it the morning of the Super Bowl too. It was part of our tradition.
MarketWatch: When you caught the famous touchdown pass in the Super Bowl — when did you know you might run that play?
Foles: It was in our game plan throughout the playoffs. Coach Pederson and I said we will run it. We thought we’d run it when we were up by two scores. But we were in a 4th and 1 crazy situation and we just went on gut instinct because it was the most dangerous time to run the play. I ran over to coach Pederson and suggested it and he made the ultimate decision. (Here’s video of Foles calling the play, named “Philly Special.”)
On money
MarketWatch: What’s the best financial advice you’ve been given?
Foles: We’re blessed to receive money like you can’t imagine. The key is to find someone you trust, whose values align with yours. We found a perfect financial adviser — KM Capital in Austin. I’ve been with them my whole career.
MarketWatch: Is there anything you “hate” spending money on?
Foles: Buying clothes. Fortunately I work with Lululemon LULU, -0.77% and they do a lot of my wardrobe. I love it all.
MarketWatch: What do you not mind splurging on?
Foles: Good quality food. Food’s always been a passion of mine. My wife is an amazing chef. She might do a cookbook in the next couple of years. My dad owns 7 or 8 restaurants. He’s 72 years old and didn’t graduate from high school and has done really well for himself. My wife and I invest in them. I know some people say that restaurants are risky investments, but I trust him and love him.
MarketWatch: Have you made any money mistakes?
Foles: Not really any mistakes, but the lifestyle we live — moving from place to place, and where you play isn’t always where you live — you can burn a lot of money on rent. We currently have homes in California and Florida. But we rented for five years and rent money goes fast.
MarketWatch: With the Jacksonville contract being your biggest, did it change your lifestyle at all?
Foles: We were blessed with that contract and I’m excited to be a part of the team. The only real change we made was we bought a home in Florida. And I have a pretty long commute and am excited about the Tesla Model X TSLA, +1.83% I bought. I love that vehicle.
Add Comment