# NFL star Ndamukong Suh's investing lessons from Warren Buffett

> The Super Bowl champion learned two simple principles that transformed his approach to building wealth.
- Title: NFL star Ndamukong Suh's investing lessons from Warren Buffett
- Summary: The Super Bowl champion learned two simple principles that transformed his approach to building wealth. Patience and surrounding yourself with quality people…
- Keywords: ndamukong suh, warren buffett, berkshire hathaway, nfl, investing, mentorship, long-term investing, financial fomo, detroit lions, tampa bay buccaneers, greg abel, business
- Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/former-nfl-star-mentored-warren-095500247.html
- Published: 2026-09-16T09:55:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ndamukong suh, warren buffett, berkshire hathaway, nfl, investing, mentorship, long-term investing, financial fomo, detroit lions, tampa bay buccaneers, greg abel, business
## From football to finance
Ndamukong Suh, former NFL defensive lineman, became Warren Buffett's protégé 15 years ago while playing for Nebraska. They still talk quarterly about investments.
## Building a diverse empire
Suh now partners in HMS Development for real estate and owns hospitality ventures like Pizzanna restaurant. He also hosts the No Free Lunch podcast on investing.
## Lesson one: Play the long game
Buffett emphasized patience above all else. Berkshire Hathaway's Class A shares rose from $24,600 in 1995 to about $758,300 by 2026, a 2,982% gain.

> We think in decades, act with discipline, and uphold our commitments.
## Lesson two: Choose quality people
Buffett's second critical recommendation was to surround yourself with knowledgeable, genuine friends who can guide your decisions.

> If you can learn to have patience and stick to quality people and identifying that, those two things will serve you right.
## Learning from costly mistakes
Suh rushed into media ventures after hearing about LeBron James' Uninterrupted company. Without proper planning, he made "some terrible investments."
## Financial FOMO is everywhere
51% of Americans admit they buy something or invest purely from fear of missing out, according to Empower survey data.
## Buffett warns against gambling
Buffett criticized products like one-day options that encourage same-day stock bets, saying there's more money in "cultivating gamblers than cultivating investors."

> Since humans love to gamble so much, there's more money in…actually cultivating gamblers than there are cultivating investors.
## Borrowed money fuels trading frenzy
Single-stock leveraged ETFs have exploded to $250 billion since 2022. Total margin account debt now sits at $1.4 trillion.
## Hold forever, if possible
Despite trading trends, Buffett and Suh stick to long-term investing. New Berkshire CEO Greg Abel says they "hold for the long term, preferably forever."

> We will assess value carefully, act patiently, and hold for the long term, preferably forever.
## Key takeaway

Patience and surrounding yourself with quality people are more important than stock-picking skills for long-term investing success.