Young athletes dream big. They want to throw a game-winning touchdown in a packed stadium or hit a buzzer-beater in sold-out arenas. Those who are fortunate enough to live out these dreams in professional leagues have a chance for a big payday. Signing a multi-million-dollar contract nevertheless opens the door for major financial missteps.
Some professional athletes end up making more money than most people will see in their lifetime. Yet for every Michael Jordan and John Elway who parlayed their success into the business world, there are many more tragic stories of gifted athletes blowing it all, no matter the sport.
Now, with the NCAA’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals translating to big-money contracts at a much younger age, college athletes could also become cautionary tales if not given the proper skills to handle their payouts.
For the 520,000+ student athletes who competed in NCAA championship sports last year, their world is dramatically different from my time at Penn State. I started out my college career as a walk-on and worked minimum-wage jobs to earn extra cash. While most students were on summer vacation, I was in State College training in the morning, taking classes in the afternoon, and scooping ice cream at night at the famous Penn State Creamery.
It would have been a dream to earn an income from my role as an All-American at one of history’s most prestigious football programs or an endorsement from a local institution. But that dream can’t come without education. I wouldn’t have known how to manage the sudden windfall at such a young age.
It’s up to universities, collectives, and collegiate sports teams to step up and provide the right education around NIL windfalls–which have the potential to set young athletes on the path to lifelong financial freedom and even begin establishing generational wealth. Otherwise, a knowledge void threatens to leave them worse off than where they started.
Success is when preparation meets…
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