However, for many newbies the need to be perceived upfront as a "player" is just too irresistible to avoid getting sucked in.

@Caroline C. thank you for the valuable questions, also really good advice with the 30 day cancellation notice, I had never thought of prioritizing that! 

No wonder they don’t have any Big Players on here.

I don't generally ask if they lead has other property in the area, but I will absolutely ask about financing/proof of funds, timeline, future goals, etc. before scheduling a showing with a new lead.But another way, if someone called me to discuss real estate, and then wouldn't answer a basic real estate question like "do you own real estate", I probably wouldn't be prioritizing them as a potential buyer.My advice is that if you are going to cold call Realtors to discuss real estate (as opposed to building a relationship with one or two), then plan to have a two way conversation about your real estate business instead of expecting them to just hop in the car and show some random guy their listing.

However if you prioritize cash flow over extracted value (I do not and neither does most other successful RE investors), you can achieve outstanding cash flow simply by not extracting value

Don't do that.There are several factors at play here, the tax brackets of the players involved, the ability for getting financing, was it a personal residence of the person who has the loan, inheritance issues, who applied what funds in the purchase, mortgage and maintenance, how much money dad wants back, does it need to be cash, and a bunch of other questions.  

A 200lb NFL player is likely fitter than myself at 190lbs.

Considering your circumstances, I would suggest prioritizing your student loans by using a portion of the equity, perhaps around $100k.

There was a guy who took a picture with one of the Broncos players cars at the Denver Bentley/Ferarri dealership.

He's the best football player ever, so it MUST be worth the hype!