Ryan Broyles has lived on a modest $60,000 a year throughout his NFL career, preferring to stash the rest of his salary — which has been as high as $570,000 — in investments and retirement savings accounts.

But the wide receiver, who is now a free agent, wasn't always good with money.

When he entered the NFL draft five years ago, his credit report "was terrible," the athlete writes on The Players' Tribune. "I had late payments. Delinquent bills. Accounts in collections. It was bad."

It was Robert Kiyosaki's personal finance classic, "Rich Dad Poor Dad," that prompted him to make make some changes, including the way he pays his bills.

"When the Lions drafted me in the second round of the 2012 draft and I got my signing bonus, the first thing I did was pay down my debts and put my bills on autopay — the first steps to getting my credit right," says Broyles, who signed a $3.6 million rookie contract, $1.1 million of which was guaranteed.