These NFL players are in a class by themselves

David Sweet • E-mail

EVANSTON, Ill. - In front of Northwestern University professor Tim Calkins sit two dozen students, armed with three-ring binders and surrounded by bottled waters. Calkins eyes the class and asks them to describe a negative brand. The answers come quickly.

“Britney Spears!”
“Pit bulls!”

After one student says “Patriots,” the room erupts in laughter. Another student — about 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds — turns around to glare at the jokester.

”I’m filming this whole thing,” says New England tackle Matt Light, prompting even more laughter.

That’s one of the more humorous moments during a serious get-together. At Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, 23 current National Football League players and one retired player, Lance Legree, just spent four days immersed in classes and study groups at the James L. Allen Center. While other NFL players worried about potential free-agent contracts, this group tackled money in a different way.

On Tuesday, Green Bay Packers quarterback — and future Hall of Famer — Brett Favre announced his retirement after 17 seasons. Favre will be leaving pro football a multimillionaire, his financial future more than secure. But for the majority of former NFL players, this is not the case. Though the average NFL salary seems high (above $1.4 million a year), that doesn't guarantee a leisurely retirement when the typical career is shorter than a U.S. presidential term.

The NFL Players Association and the league have created a program that will help prepare players for life after football and to help them get a leg up on business ventures they have already forged.

More than 110 NFL players this year will go through the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program, offered at Harvard Business School, the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania along with Kellogg.

Given that the average NFL retiree is about 26 years old and often wracked by injuries, there is good reason why players would forgo a vacation in Mexico to endure 12-hour days learning about topics like value creation amid icy winds whipping off Lake Michigan.

”You have some of the greatest instructors, and you have the full attention of the staff,” said Light, 29, who attended sessions at Harvard and Wharton during previous off-seasons and who is focusing on real estate properties outside of football.

”The biggest thing that appeals to me is the business side of it. I get business deals all the time. How do you choose?” explained 28-year-old Washington wide receiver Antwaan Randle El.

All players who wish to join the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program must send an application to the NFL office. “They have to show an interest in business,” said NFL spokesman Dan Masonson.

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