Why a move into advice appeals to sports stars

Premier League stars on eight-figure salaries do not have this problem as they are more often than not sorted for life.

But sportspeople who play in lower leagues, such as League 2, may need to think about finding another job as the salary level drops to under £200,000, according to a report from Salary Sport.

While this seems like a great salary to those of us earning below this figure, it is important to remember that while we will comfortably work into our fifties and even sixties, footballers, rugby players and others in the sports industry often retire in their thirties.

Now when you are retiring this young, money will very quickly run out, hence the need to try out a new career.

And here enters advice.

Why the advice profession?

When at school, children often say things like, 'When I grow up I want to be a popstar, a football player, a princess, or a pirate'.

Why is this? Because they are things they recognise and interact with on a regular basis.

The same can be said for sportspeople and the advice profession. Most sportspeople would have an adviser to help them decide what to invest in to make their money go further, how to plan their pensions and help them get a mortgage when they buy property.

Because they have been exposed to the advice profession from an early age, many see it as a lucrative career that they can delve into once their professional sports career comes to an end.

For example, Northern premier league player, Nathan Blissett, has set up his own mortgage brokerage in Telford as part of his plans to transition away from professional football.

Having big names that young people relate to promoting a career in advice could encourage more school leavers to consider this as a job for themselves.

The nephew of former England player Luther Blissett is continuing his football career with Stafford Rangers, but he is also planning for the future by running Dwello Mortgages as founder and principal mortgage adviser.

And this is not uncommon.

Last summer, former professional rugby player Dave Lewis told FTAdviser that it was a series of coincidences that led him to become a financial planner with Timothy James & Partners after being introduced to the idea by a representative from the Rugby Players Association. 

Similarly, former professional football player Tommie Hoban decided to qualify as a financial adviser after retiring and took up a role in his father’s firm. 

Firms have also noted this trend and have jumped on board to try and get more sportspeople thinking about a career in advice.

In November last year, Evelyn Partners launched a financial education programme for boxing professionals, while Advanta Wealth introduced a three-year partnership with the Rugby Players Association.

It even goes further than advice into wider financial services with England and Arsenal footballer Leah Williamson training to become an accountant after telling the PA that pursuing a qualification started off as an “insurance policy” for herself. 

How the profession can use this

Having big names that young people relate to promoting a career in advice could encourage more college and school leavers to consider looking into this as a job for themselves.

This in turn could help solve the issue that too many advisers at present are over the age of 60 and could potentially retire very soon.

It could also help others see that you do not need to study for advice qualifications at an early age. This could mean more second careerists turn to the advice profession.

Just because when someone left school and went straight into, for example, a sales role, it does not mean it is too late for them to retrain, do their qualifications and become an adviser or a broker.

By people seeing that it is possible, it makes it more of a reality for them. And the advice profession could use all the young advisers it can get its hands on.

Amy Austin is news editor at FTAdviser