GET TO KNOW ME.
Sam Acho is a public speaker and financial professional who talks about God and money. Sam connects with athletes and helps build multi-generational wealth through AWM Capital. You can find Sam on ESPN covering college football and NFL games, or various speaking engagements, TV appearances, and on podcasts — all to help you win without losing it all.
THE DREAM...
Sam played college football at the University of Texas at Austin, where he received the William V. Campbell Trophy for being college football’s top scholar-athlete. He won the NCAA Top VIII Award, which recognizes the top eight student-athletes in all of sports, and was named the 2010 Big 12 Sportsperson of the Year. In 2011, Sam was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals and played four seasons as a linebacker with the team. He then signed with the Chicago Bears for the 2015–2016 season and played four years there before spending the 2019 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A Smart Athlete
In 2016 and 2017, Sam was the Bears’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, the league’s only award that recognizes both civic and professional contributions. Sam served on the leadership committee for both the Cardinals and the Bears. He is also the vice president of the NFL Players Association, an organization in which he has served since his second year in the NFL.
Having grown up in Dallas with parents who emphasized scholastic achievement, Sam was named by Sporting News as one of the twenty smartest athletes in all of sports. He received his MBA in 2015 at Thunderbird School of Global Management, the #1 ranked international MBA program in the world.
WRITERS PATH
Sam’s first book, Let the World See You: How to Be Real in a World Full of Fakes, was released in October 2020. In it he shares lessons from his own life as well as stories from others to reveal how you can overcome your fears and discover your true selves.
His second book, Change Starts with You, brings a message of empowerment and hope to everyone who sees a broken today and wishes for a better tomorrow but isn’t sure where to start.
ONWARD & UPWARD
Sam Acho is currently a public speaker and financial professional who talks about God and money. He connects with audiences with vulnerability through his own work, and he connects with athletes by helping them build multi-generational wealth through AWM Capital. You’ll also find him on ESPN covering college football and NFL games. Sam offers speaking engagements, TV appearances, and podcasts to help others gain the world and keep their soul.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
— C. S. Lewis
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
— Proverbs 31:8–9
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”
— Henry David Thoreau
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”
— C. S. Lewis
“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”
— Romans 4:20–22
where your treasure is, there your heart will be
Success is nothing if it comes at the cost of family. Sam has seen it firsthand—friends who lost their marriages or became estranged from their kids while chasing fame or wealth. He’s learned that the world may celebrate your credentials, but it’s your family that truly matters.
He loves sharing examples of players who openly speak about how much they cherish encouraging and loving their families. Sam often shares about his own journey of recalibrating priorities, choosing to invest time in his relationships over chasing what others think is important.
“I’ve played in sold-out stadiums and been on TV screens across the country, but the moments that stick with me are the ones I’ve spent being present for my family. Don’t let the world steal that from you.”
You made some money, so what? What else?
Sam’s story began as a kid from Dallas spending time in Nigeria, watching people with far less than he had find joy and peace.
“The kids I met in Nigeria had no money but an immense amount of peace––often more peace than the richest people I know—including me at times,” he reflects. Now, Sam advocates for living within limits, embracing faith, and chasing what truly matters.
Sam’s own journey has taught him that true fulfillment comes from pursuing confidence, peace, and security—not through material success, but through faith, family, and purpose.
"I want others to see that there’s a bigger story waiting for them if they’re willing to ask, ‘What else?’ and follow where it leads.”
Join Sam’s Journey Today.
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