6 Years Ago, He Bought His First Rental: Now He’s Doing 24 Deals a Year
May 4, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readBrett Hunley, a former NFL quarterback turned Arizona real estate investor, shares how he scaled from one rental to targeting 24 projects a year, emphasizing repeatable systems, risk-adjusted returns, and team leadership drawn from sports.
Early Influences and Portfolio Experimentation
Hunley entered real estate casually while playing in Green Bay, buying his first house there. In Arizona with the Cardinals, he learned from teammates: Prince Amukamara on short-term rentals (STRs), Devin Connard on long-term rentals in the Midwest, and Larry Fitzgerald on larger projects. He started with STRs near Amukamara's property, which cash flowed well at low interest rates (2-3%). He also launched a management company, lived in one STR, and tried a new build partnership during COVID, which took two years but profited.
From there, he tested flips, starting with a $1.5 million resale ($900k purchase, $1.145M sale), then smaller deals. He analyzed ROI on time and capital across price points, passing on most opportunities in the competitive Phoenix market. A mentor, Achary (a major single-family owner and 20-year flipper), pushed him toward lower-end flips ($300k-400k), yielding solid profits (e.g., $100k on one quick deal) with less capital risk than high-end swings.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:32) **Brett's Background** - Former NFL QB shares journey from football to Arizona real estate
- 2 (03:25) **Sports-Real Estate Overlap Myth** - Dispels idea athletes have easy access/money for RE
- 3 (04:43) **Early Deals and New Build** - First Arizona flip partnership during COVID
- 4 (10:13) **Portfolio Strategy Evolution** - From STRs to flips, finding optimal price points
- 5 (12:36) **Mentor Influence and Efficiency** - Learned from Achary to prioritize lower-risk flips
- 6 (13:35) **Flexible Buy Box** - Open to any deal meeting underwriting, small or large
- 7 (16:13) **Why Flipping Appeals** - Passion for transforming rundown homes into value
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Brett Hundley doesn’t want an employer or a nine-to-five job. Ever. At just 32 years old, he has already retired from one career and is now chasing the freedom and flexibility that real estate investing can provide.
During his eight years as an NFL quarterback, Brett spent evenings after practice learning the ins and outs of real estate from teammates who had already discovered its wealth-building potential. Early on, he tried a little of everything—short-term rentals, new construction, and other investing strategies—before zeroing in on house flipping, which has since become his bread and butter.
Brett says the skills he developed running an NFL offense directly translate to the real estate investing world, where he now manages contractors, deadlines, and budgets instead of playbooks. His goal for 2026? Complete 24 real estate projects. But he’s not staying busy just to pass the time post-football. Like most investors, he’s after true financial freedom—not just the income but the flexibility to spend more time with family, travel the world, and retire on his terms.
In This Episode We Cover
Brett’s journey from NFL quarterback to veteran house flipper
How to find “great” deals in competitive markets with strong deal analysis
Quitting the nine-to-five grind and “retiring” with real estate investments
How to build out your own real estate investing team in any market
Completing 24 real estate “projects” per year (without working long hours!)
And So Much More!
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