The second episode of the new HBO TV series "Ballers" saw Spencer Strasmore (Dwayne Johnson), retired football player turned financial advisor to pro athletes, trying to lure a potential client to sign up a contract with him.
Dubbed the "richest looking poor man ever" by Channel Guide Magazine, Spencer went the extra mile to secure Dallas' Vernon Littelfield (Donovan W. Carter). Vernon was the classic representation of a star player who just could not wait to give away his money to everyone. Spencer was banking on him for his future, and to pay that $300,000 loan in the bank.
Reggie (London Brown), Vernon's childhood friend who handles his money, tried to sway him away from Spencer. Needing backup, Spencer called his boss Joe Krutel (Rob Corddry) and asked him to invite the star and his entire family at a hotel.
Vernon eventually signed the contract, with Reggie playing a small role in the decision-making. Then, another bump in the road surfaced, as Jason Antolotti (Troy Garity), Vernon's agent, wanted the player to fly to Dallas for an extension playing there. Negotations with him did not go the way Spencer wanted it to be, so now he has a client whose prospects are dim for the entire year.
Ricky Ferret (John David Washington) got teary-eyed during his first day with the Dolphins and wanted his old jersey with the number 18 back. He even offered $40,000 as a reward to the person who got it, with a bonus of a chain bracelet his girlfriend gave him worth $20,000.
Meanwhile, Charles Greane (Omar Benson Miller), now a car salesman, continues to adjust to life off the field. Larry Seifert (Dule Hill), a team GM, visits him everyday, telling him he could have played for at least two more years.
Sportsgrid gave the show and the episode a scathing review, calling it "a bunch of over-the-top sports cars surrounded by over-the-top actors."
"Toothless humor is shoehorned into scenes seemingly out of nowhere, with hackneyed gags that fail to reveal anything about the characters or their testosterone-soaked world," the review said.
