For Pro Athletes, Business School Is No Game

With so many pro ballplayers quickly losing their fortunes, attending B-school may offer more than a career boost: It can be a lifeline

By Anne VanderMey

In some ways, they're perfect MBA candidates: They know all about dedication, they've had plenty of experience in leadership, and when it comes to teamwork, they're literally pros.

Yet few professional athletes, some of whom make millions of dollars before hitting 25, actually get MBAs. In fact, financial education appears to be far from most players' minds. Three years into retirement, many ex-football and basketball pros are not only unschooled in ROI ratios—they're flat broke. And Olympians don't do much better. Anecdotal evidence abounds about athletes turning to high-school coaching or struggling with unemployment.

For most people who get an MBA, knowing the rules of business represents the difference between a fat paycheck and a fatter paycheck. For the handful of athletes who make it to campus, even those with millions to their name, business education could mean the difference between remaining a millionaire and going broke. That's not to say all pros need an MBA to fend off a highly publicized bankruptcy, just that for them the stakes are higher.

With that in mind, the NFL has beefed up its education effort, sending players to business classes through multiday programs at top business schools. Full-time MBA programs are doing their part, too. There is an Olympic water polo player at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business (Stanford Full-Time MBA Profile), an NBA retiree at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business (Duke Fuqua Full-Time MBA Profile), and even a pro skateboarder at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (Wharton Full-Time MBA Profile).

Admissions officers thrill when they see pro athletes who desire entry, as more and more programs look for nontraditional applicants. After all, what MBA program wouldn't want to enroll a sports superstar? Long hours and intense competition are their bread and butter. Faculty and admissions directors say most former pros are uniquely equipped for the rigors of earning an MBA. Greg Comella, a 7-year NFL veteran and legendary trainer, says his classes at Harvard Business School (Harvard Full-Time MBA Profile) were a lot like "implementing a playbook in training camp." After a pause, he adds: "But without the puking, I guess."

EDUCATION OR BUST

Before Lennie Friedman ever considered studying business (his undergraduate degree is in psychology), he earned his first several-hundred-thousand-dollar paycheck. He was 22. Today, the former offensive lineman, a 2011 MBA candidate, has some thoughts about good investments. At the time, he says, "I had absolutely no idea what to do with it."

"Some guys said, "You've got to buy land," or "You've got to find the right fund or investor," all this stuff, and I knew none of it," he recalls. It would have been very easy to lose everything—and he wouldn't have been alone.

Stories about big-league players making big-league mistakes are everywhere in the world of professional sports. Ex-heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson's case is perhaps the most famous: His two tigers helped put him more than $20 million in the hole. Just last week, former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar—known as a smart player on the field—filed for bankruptcy, citing debts that could reach as much as $50 million, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

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