"I am sure your phone will be ringing with opportunities." This is what I was told.
The phone never rang...I had to pick it up and call. That was my reality.
This was the start of my transition out of professional baseball.
To understand this you have to know where I was coming from:
I had played professional baseball for 11 years.
I had started when I was just 18 and now I was 29.
I had thought this baseball thing would last forever.
So there I was 29 years old, no one calling wondering what was next. Sure I had a skillset from baseball but I wasn't sure how that translated to the business world. My whole life I was known as the baseball player and now I was what...the former baseball player.
The jaws of life were staring me in the face and it was time to figure it out.
Transitioning out of professional sports is hard, as in really hard. In this blog, I am going to provide a guide on what to do, how to approach it, and the steps I took to make a successful transition from athlete to entrepreneur. After all, when it comes to athlete wealth management it is as much about managing your post-career as it is your playing career.
Life After Sports
At some point, it ends for all of us.
Whether you are hanging on, a proven veteran, or a future hall of famer. Father time holds no punches and comes for everyone.
For 99% of professional athletes, it doesn't come with a retirement ceremony or a celebratory season, it comes with the harsh reality that the game has moved on.
The identity you forged as a professional athlete, the one who beat the odds, the person people thought was cool is over.
You will go from high perceived status to low status overnight.
The key to a successful transition is understanding this ~ you need to humble yourself.
Yes, the current pro-athlete side is over but life outside of that is far bigger than you can imagine and that is just starting.
Everything I am about to talk about works, it is a proven playbook to make a successful transition. Yet it only works if you come into it humble. That is your choice.
I want you to consider this analogy as we walk through this ~ you have climbed one mountain (pro sports) but you are now back at base camp preparing for another one. Accept this, don't try to shortcut the path, and understand it will take time.
Let's dive in
Taking Stock
Now is not the time to sugarcoat things, you need to be real with yourself. Imagine trying to climb Everest and not having any gear, yeah not a smart move.
Well before you leave base camp you had better be sure you have all the proper gear, the skills required and are taking the right route.
The first step in this process is understanding where you are today and where you want to be in the future.
Every athlete ends their career in a different place financially but collectively we can break this down into three groups.
Those that:
Can do nothing (security)
Can do something (optionality)
Need to do something (priority)
I encourage every athlete to speak with their financial team to understand which one of these three buckets they are in.
This first step isn’t starting with your passions or considering how you could make money doing little work (that is not a thing). It is the reality check that we all need (me included) to kickstart the transition process.
Assess Where You Are
Get Real With Your Situation
Determine Which Bucket You Are In
The answers to those questions need to dictate the next steps you take, let me explain…
If you have little savings and a family to support, it is time to kick it into gear. There is no time for thinking potential job opportunities are beneath your skill set.
If you have significant savings and financial security, be real you don’t need to dive into something right away. In fact, I recommend taking the necessary time to assess before diving in.
See the difference? Well, it all starts with taking stock of where you are today.
Make Your List
Your list is everything that you think you have an interest in. Remember, you are not going to set out on day one with a clear vision of that future.
The things I like revolve around sports, money, and people.
So I created a list of opportunities around those things.
When I made my list here is what it looked like:
Agents
Advisors
Real Estate
Investment Banking
You see how broad this is? Remember I didn’t have some grand plan on day one either.
The list only comes after you assess your situation. If you are in need of turning on the income stream right away, ignore the list (passions) and get to work.
If you have optionality or security, create the list and understand the profile of what you are looking for.
Take stock then make the list, here is why…
Your Network
Your network is only as powerful as you make it. Consider this, if you have the best gear to climb Mount Everest but the guide you hired is used to doing tours of New York City…what are you odds of success?
Yeah pretty low…
Think about your network the same way, you want to leverage your network based on your answers to the first two elements.
Example: If you need to work, leverage your network for people hiring your skill set today. If you have optionality leverage your network to explore your list.
Here is how I did this:
My list was agents, advisors, real estate, and investment banking. So I went to my network as asked anyone in those areas to spend a few minutes with me and share their journey.
This right here was the question I wanted the answer to ~ “If you were starting over again, would you choose the same career path?”
Sure all of these individuals were successful today but what I wanted to know is what is worth it?
For some, it was a resounding yes.
For others, it was a hesitation followed by a “Have you thought about this other path”.
It gave me the insight I needed to determine which path I wanted to go down.
Remember still no grand plan just another step closer to what I thought I wanted to do.
Then came the work.
Craft Your Offer
No one is going to hire you just because you played professional sports. Just remove that thought from your head.
They will hire you if you can articulate the skill set you have from professional sports.
They will hire you if you can help their business continue to grow.
They will hire you if you can give them an unbeatable offer.
See the theme? You need to be valuable to them…today.
Now the good news is you have the skills to set yourself apart in the business world, you just need to understand what they are.
It could be:
Your Grit
Your Network
Your Leadership
Once you understand that, to craft your unbeatable offer go back to your reality.
Do you need income today or do you want to develop skills today?
For me I wanted to develop skills so here is what my offer looked like:
Let me come work for you for six months at a rate your business can afford so I can better understand if I want to pursue this path.
This was my offer to a wealth management company.
They get a cheap (nearly free) team member.
I get to learn valuable skills and explore an industry I love.
Those six months were the most valuable part of my entire transition, yet at the moment many of those days stunk.
It was so different than baseball. I was the low man on the pecking order.
Yet doing what was required (not just what I wanted), set me up for future success.
Go All In
Remember how we started with the analogy of being at base camp of Mount Everest?
Well, now we are ready to climb.
You have the gear (skills).
You know the best route (list).
You leveraged the right guide (network).
You have done a few test runs (offer/experiences).
It is now time to go all in. Now let me be clear, this isn’t going to be easy.
Yet you are as prepared as you will ever be. Let me say that again, you are as prepared as you will ever be. You will still feel incredible uncertainty, that is normal.
My first year going all in was littered with failures. It was essentially 365 days of trying something, failing, and trying something new.
To succeed you are going to have to commit ~ you have to go all in.
That might mean looking silly. That will mean having your circle questioning what you are doing. That looks like people saying they believe in you but not backing it up.
It’s ok, remember you haven't done anything yet…why would they?
Remember how I said to make this work you need to be humble, I meant it.
I followed this playbook to transition from professional sports to business. It helped me build a successful business in less than 3 years.
I tell you this offer encouragement that you can do it too.
I have no superpowers, but I am elite at showing up. A skill honed over 11 years of successes and failures in professional sports.
For our team at Moment retirement planning as a professional athlete is as much about helping athletes with their money as it is about helping them transition to what is next.
If you are a current or former professional athlete looking for help managing your wealth and questioning what is next schedule a call with our team.
Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor.
Get in Touch With An Advisor
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic.
How does Moment Private Wealth help athletes transition? The first step is helping athletes be real with where they are at financially and then we leverage our network to get them started on their transition process.
What types of roles have clients of Moment Private Wealth taken after sports? Our clients have gone on to become investors, business owners, content creators, and industry leaders after their playing career has ended.
How does Moment Private Wealth help athlete manage their wealth after their playing career? We work to help athletes understand the most important numbers in their financial lives. The cost to be them and if they can afford that cost. If they can we set out a path to continue that and if not we work with them to make adjustments to ensure a successful life after sports.
*Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.
