Dwyane Wade Reveals the Financial 'Mistakes' He Made After Earning His 'First Million' at Age 21 (Exclusive)

Dwyane Wade at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Credit: Chad Salvador/WWD via Getty NEED TO KNOW Dwyane Wade has no problem admitting that he made financial "mistakes" early in his NBA career — and wants young athletes to avoid doing the same The retired NBA star serves as a chair on the JPMorganChase Athlete Council, a new initiative to help athletes navigate their financial lives Wade tells PEOPLE, "It took me going through a lot of things — lawsuits, divorces, all the things I was going through — and then I opened up to trust someone because I was going to lose everything, I felt like" Dwyane Wade is reflecting on his past to guide young athletes and their futures. The retired basketball icon, 44, opened up to PEOPLE about the financial "mistakes" he made early in his career as a 21-year-old NBA star as an example for fellow athletes who are navigating similar journeys of their own.

As part of the newly-formed JPMorganChase's Athlete Council , Wade joins a stacked roster of sports stars dedicated to helping athletes manage the sudden windfall they come into with NIL deals and their first professional contracts. Dwyane Wade played for the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers throughout his accomplished NBA career. Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty; Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty; David E.

Klutho /Sports Illustrated via Getty The three-time NBA champion and two-time Hall of Famer, who is a chair on the Athlete Council, was selected fifth overall by the Miami Heat in the 2003 NBA Draft at age 21. He had just completed his junior year at Marquette University before turning professional. Wade, who has been open about his tough childhood growing up in the South Side of Chicago, tells PEOPLE exclusively that he found it extremely challenging to "trust" people in that rookie year after signing his first big contract.

"I made my first million when I was 21 years old," he tells PEOPLE during an exclusive interview at the JPMorganChase Headquarters in New York City. "I didn't trust no one in the beginning. It took me about six to seven years before I even was open to it.