Who Are The 'Ballers' On HBO's Hit Show Based On?
By Rahul Lal
HBO's hit show Ballers is often considered one of the most entertaining shows on television. While not everything is completely accurate on the show, much of it is. NFL players have to deal with constant demands from family and friends trying to take advantage of their new financial situations, different people coming into their lives with ulterior motives and much, much more.
Ballers sports a lengthy list of big names on the production side such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (who also stars in the show), executive producers Mark Wahlberg, Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights), Evan Reilly (The Walking Dead) and writers such as former NFL running back Rashard Mendenhall who seeks to give an authentic insight to the events fans may be oblivious to.
While the show isn't based on specific players, it's impossible to miss some similarities between the characters and specific players.
Here's a list of who some of the characters may be modeled after:
Spencer Strasmore (played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) – Chafie Fields
Spencer Strasmore is the driving force of the show. He is an ex-NFL player turned agent who uses his connections to pick up clients in his new role. Strasmore preaches financial security and intelligence as does his counterpart Chafie Fields.
Fields is a former college stud and NFL player who does his best to raise awareness to his clients having been in their shoes just a few years before. He has represented talent such as Chris Johnson, LaRon Landry and currently Amari Cooper. He has used his connection to his Alma Mater, Penn State, as a pipeline for picking up clients as they are getting ready to enter the league.
Ricky Jerret (played by John David Washington) – Terrell Owens
Ricky Jerret has qualities of a host of NFL players. He has a wild side that often results in lots of extravagant partying, actions that dominate the headlines the next day and stunts that are so controversial that they can even put his status as part of the team in question. Even with all of those, he shows a good heart and a true passion for the game to go along with his god-given talent on the field.
Terrell Owens is the perfect comparison of a player's talent being overlooked due to his off-the-field antics. Owens is second all-time in receiving yards and third in receiving touchdowns but was overlooked for the Hall of Fame because of his attitude and controversy.
Charles Greane (played by Omar Miller) – Jake Long
Charles Greane is an over the hill offensive tackle. He had a storied career but his game started declining and he actually was out of football for a while attempting to do a more simple job: sell cars. He regained his passion for the sport while being away from it and realized he was still talented but is currently fighting for his spot back on the team and to not be labeled as a "has been."
Jake Long is the perfect example of a player who used to be dominant but had a sharp and quick decline. At one point, Long was a four-time pro-bowler and all four of those years came with the same team Greane plays for, the Miami Dolphins. Since then, he has attempted to maintain starting spots and more recently roster spots on various teams and is trying to prove he still can get back to the level he was half a decade ago. He is married to his college sweetheart and shares the stable home life that Greane displays in the show.
Vernon Littlefield (played by Donovan W. Carter) – Tyron Smith
Vernon Littlefield is a cautionary tale to represent a large percentage of the NFL and professional athletes as a whole who are victim to losing money to friends and family. While incredibly humbled, grounded and raised well, Littlefield comes into an amount of money he's never even dreamed before the NFL. The first season is a struggle of him losing large sums of money because of his friends and family asking for handouts and planning expensive events. It ballooned to the level of having to ask Spencer for a loan just to hold him over after spending his entire contract on everyone but him.
Tyron Smith is an incredible talent as a big-bodied offensive tackle who had an under five second 40 time. While talented and humble, he fell victim to a family who took advantage of his loyalty to them. It was reported that he initially set up payment plans to help his siblings and parents out. After those payment plans had been paid, both Smith and his girlfriend were being harassed and threatened by his family for more money resulting in restraining orders for some of his siblings and both parents. At one point he maintains they were living a more comfortable life than he was. He, like Littlefield, is considered to be quite soft-spoken and has a history of helping out at food shelters and saves and takes care of shelter dogs.
Rahul Lal is an LA native stuck in a lifelong, love-hate relationship with the Lakers, Dodgers and Raiders. You can follow him on Twitter here.
