An Evaluation of Ballers as of Episode 9

As some of our readers may be aware there is a new show on HBO called Ballers and it is just wrapping up a very successful first season.  It stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and the plot revolves around the Rock’s character, who is a retired NFL linebacker, who most previously played for the Miami Dolphins.  The show takes place in Miami where there is a major contingency of NFL players living in the offseason.  In retirement he works as a financial manager for current NFL players, most of whom he is friends with.  He helps with many aspects of his friend’s careers and tries to help them make the right decisions with their money and keeping them out of trouble.

  For viewers who have a strong knowledge base about the NFL, it is very entertaining and enjoyable. And for those who are not, it can teach certain things.  Specifically, contract negotiations, scandals that players may be involved with, players getting traded, and a lot of terminology that is specific to football.  The show also has many guest appearances of current NFL players such as Victor Cruz, Adrian Peterson, Stephen Jackson, Patrick Peterson, and others.  Besides the Rock there are a few other characters worth mentioning briefly.  

The agent in the show named Jason used to represent The Rock’s character when he played, and the other players in the show.  He is loosely based on the successful NFL agent in Miami named Drew Rosenhaus who represents Gronk, Frank Gore, LeSean McCoy and Warren Sapp, just to name a few.  Another character is Ricky.  Ricky is a talented, but troubled wide receiver on the Miami Dolphins in the show and is a composite of many different real life NFL players.  Overall, the show is very entertaining, funny reminiscent of Entourage in many ways.  On last night’s episode, the Rock’s character took another former NFL player to a Marlins game and Giancarlo Stanton made a guest appearance, which in my opinion was the highlight of the episode.

---

By Spencer Roush @El_Spence_Man