Sarasota FL – Day 2 of The Business of Football: Rookie Edition started with a seminar for the rookies about finding financial fortitude. There are terrifying statistics surrounding NFL players and their personal success after they leave the league. The seminar began with former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs who explained that he’s seen players face challenges and faced some challenges himself. Coach Gibbs didn’t realize that when you form a partnership both partners have the ability to sign on behalf of the other. “If I had just known that one thing, I would have been much better off” he commented and explained that the first four years of his coaching career went to paying off a bad business situation created by a partnership.
Retired defensive lineman Luther Ellis then took the stage to share the difficult experiences in his financial life. Having filed for bankruptcy in 2010 after making tens of millions of dollars during his NFL career he was forced to rely on area churches to help support his twelve children. Ellis made failed investments in an auto parts manufacturing business affiliated with the Ford family and call center which he later realized the “knew nothing about.”
He then started dispensing advice to the rookies. First on his list of things to do is have a financial plan and stick to it. Comparing a player’s financial life to their football career he urged the guys to make a goal. “Every player in this room made a goal to get into the NFL and here you are” a financial plan is the same. He also advised the players to choose a financial advisor based on how much time they were willing to spend sharing knowledge and explaining what is happening to their investments. Finally, “Ask for help, don’t wait until you’re 4 million in the hole and you have no more money to pay it and you have to declare bankruptcy like me”
“Close to 80% of NFL players will end up in bankruptcy, divorced, and out of a job within 3 years of leaving the league” was another message he sent. “I’m blessed because I’m not divorced and I have a job” but the most troubling part of that already troubling statistic is “When I came to the league it was only 60% of the guys were divorced and out of a job. It keeps increasing, why is that? My belief is because we don’t have a game plan for our finances, a simple game plan”
The session ended with Karl McDonnell, president of Strayer Education who provided three points of advice to the rookies before they broke out into smaller targeted sessions. The first point is to “Take a year off before making any big financial decisions” this allows the rookies to level set adjust to their new income level. The second point is “start a savings plan early” because these earning levels usually only last as long as the players NFL career. Finally, what might seem obvious, “avoid the temptation to overspend.” While this sage advice is easy to say, our national credit card is over $850 billion so it can be a challenge when the money is flowing.
