Professional athletes make great money—but only for a few years—and far too often their financial gains are lost shortly after they stop playing.
While it varies athlete to athlete, on average an NFL player’s career will last just under four years and Major League Baseball players get a whopping 5.6 years, according to The Bleacher Report.
During that time, these pros can make (again, on average) anywhere from $1.5 million to $4.8 million.
That money has to last them a lifetime. Savvy players (and their agents and managers) know this, which means they know that they have to invest. Interestingly, more and more athletes are funneling their funding towards tech start-ups, whether as straight-up investments or as full-on partnerships.
A recent article in Entrepreneur discusses the start-ups, everything from coaching to photography apps, that NBA stars Steph Curry and Kevin Seraphin are backing.
The National Football League Players Association is so supportive of sports-meeting-start-ups that last year the organization facilitated a “tech tour.” Players toured companies in Silicon Valley, talking with game designers at EA, learning the ins and outs of businesses such as Uber, really seeing inside the innovations.
Why technology? There are several possible reasons. As the Entrepreneur article points out, these are athletes who’ve grown up with technology.
There’s also the potential for high returns—which could appeal to the competitive nature of professional athletes. Apple is still one best-performing stocks ever.
Regarding the start-ups, there’s evidence that playing a competitive sport makes you less-likely to be alarmed by high-risk investments.
Besides, while 90 percent of start-ups fail that’s still better odds than going pro. The NCAA reports that less than two percent of college basketball and football players make it to the pros. The odds are better for baseball, at just over nine percent.
Whether it’s the appeal of a competitive marketplace, the thrill of the risk, or simply wanting to invest in their own financial future, putting money into technology does seem to be trending among athletes.
Which is great, given the long history of pros going broke after successful athletic careers.
While technology and start-ups might seem like a risk for people new to the investment game, investment pros and pro athletes know, the only shots you’re guaranteed to miss are those you don’t take.
