The average career in professional sports lasts five years. It takes many years of hard work, sacrifice, determination, perseverance and a touch of timing and luck to land a contract with a professional sports team, and the glory lasts for a relatively short time in the grand scheme of things. There is a lot of money to be made in a very short period of time with a pro sports team, but very few athletes prepare financially for life after they are off the field or court for good. Here are some ways to set up and protect precious assets after retiring and transition back to the regular world.
Accustomed to being in the limelight, some pro athletes find jobs that keep them closely linked to their former sports teams. They may take jobs in sports marketing and management, broadcast journalism, or sports reporting or commentating. Others go on to have successful careers as actors, comedians or singers. The vast majority of former professional athletes step out of the limelight and fall back on the degrees that they may have obtained in college. A small percentage of former athletes go back to school for something entirely new, start an entrepreneurial business venture or fully retire to spend time with family and friends.
Whether they choose to live off of the accumulated earnings from their career as a professional athlete or change jobs and continue to earn money each year, it is vital to enlist the help of a financial advisor to assist in managing the assets and investments for long-term growth. Professional athletes typically have a considerable amount of money that needs to be managed, and that wealth needs to be placed in the hands of a trusted and respected financial advisor. Some choose to utilize the same financial planners that their former teammates hire. Others prefer to take charge of their financial portfolio, do their research and enlist the help of a professional advisor who welcomes a hands-on approach to wealth management. Fortis Lux, https://fortislux.com/pro-athletes/life-after-sports/, is an example of a firm specializing in the financial planning for professional athletes and other high-profile, top-earning professionals in various other career fields.
Wealth management is arguably the most important way to secure the assets and financial future of a professional athlete after retirement. A trusted advisor in financial planning will create a portfolio that reflects the specific long-term goals of the athlete.