Getty Images/ Doug Pensinger
Anyone who plays pro football knows he won't play forever, so players need to have post-football career plans in mind.
For some, finance is perfect. It's cutthroat and hypercompetitive, and it takes discipline to put in all those long hours.
So it should come as no surprise that a bunch of former football
stars are working in trading, investment banking, and wealth management.
We've compiled a list of some of the best football players in
finance. Many played professionally; others were college standouts. Some
did internships at investment banks during the off-season while playing
in the NFL. One even has a Super Bowl ring!
If we're missing any big names, email a bio and photo to jlaroche@businessinsider.com.
Former NFL wide receiver Wayne Chrebet now works at Stifel.
Finance Job: He's part of a six-person wealth-management team at Stifel with $2 billion in assets
led by Ed Moldaver.
School: Hofstra University (c/o 1995)
Position: wide receiver
Pro Team: New York Jets
Highlights: Chrebet played 11 seasons for the Jets.
He set the NFL record for receptions in a wide receiver's first two
seasons. During his NFL career,
he had 580 receptions and 41 touchdowns.
Investor Jack Brewer was the captain of three NFL teams.
Getty Images/ Doug Pensinger
Finance Job: Jack Brewer is the CEO of his namesake investment firm,
The Brewer Group.
School: University of Minnesota and Executive
Business Programs at Harvard School of Business (2005) and the Wharton
School of Business (2006).
Position: safety
Pro Team(s): Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Arizona Cardinals
Highlights: He was the captain of three NFL teams.
Brad Daluiso, who works at Morgan Stanley, played in the NFL for 11 seasons.
Getty Images/ Rick Stewart
Finance Job: He works at Morgan Stanley in San Diego,
Finra records show.
School: UCLA
Position: kicker
Pro Teams: Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and the Oakland Raiders
Highlights: He played in two Super Bowls: XXVI for the Bills and XXXV for the Giants.
Cade McNown, who previously worked at JPMorgan, played four seasons in the NFL as a quarterback.
Finance Job: He recently joined Beverly Hills-based Lourd Capital Management,
Finra records show. McNown previously worked at JPMorgan Securities and UBS.
School: UCLA
Position: quarterback
Pro Teams: Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, and the San Francisco 49ers
Highlights: While in the NFL, he had 515 pass attempts with
281 pass completions. He passed for 16 touchdowns while playing professionally.
Thomas "Touchdown Tommy" Vardell now runs a private-equity firm.
Getty Images/ Otto Greule Jr
Finance Job: He's a cofounder of the
private-equity firm Northgate Capital.
School: Stanford (c/o 1992)
Position: fullback
Pro Teams: Cleveland Browns (1992 to 1995), San Francisco 49ers (1996, 1999) and Detroit Lions (1997 to 1998)
Highlights: He earned the nickname
"Touchdown Tommy" while at Stanford. During his nine NFL seasons, he scored
87 points.
Brent Jones, who played for the 49ers, cofounded a private-equity firm with Tommy Vardell.
Getty Images Sport/ Andy Lyons
Finance Job: He cofounded the private-equity firm Northgate Capital.
School: Santa Clara University
Position: tight end
Pro Teams: San Francisco 49ers
Highlights: He was drafted by the Steelers in 1986. Shortly afterward,
he got in a car accident and injured his neck. He wasn't able to play and eventually got cut.
The San Francisco 49ers signed him as a free agent and he became a star. While playing for the 49ers, he had
417 receptions and 33 touchdowns.
NFL star quarterback Peyton Manning said Bryan Fletcher, who works at Credit Suisse, always has "brilliant ideas."
Finance Job: Fletcher works in equity sales at Credit Suisse. Before that, he was a financial analyst at City Securities Corp.
School: UCLA (c/o 2002)
Position: tight end
Pro Teams: Indianapolis Colts (2005 to 2007) and the Chicago Bears (2002 to 2004)
Highlights: He played in the NFL from 2002 to 2007.
In a video from 2006, Peyton Manning referred to Fletcher as "the suggestion box" and said he had "always got these brilliant ideas."
Source: LinkedIn
Former Giants wide receiver Phil McConkey runs a broker-dealer these days.
Finance Job: He's the president of the broker-dealer Academy Securities.
School: United States Naval Academy (c/o 1984)
Position: wide receiver
Pro Teams: New York Giants (1984 to 1985), Green Bay
Packers (1986), New York Giants (1986 to 1988), Phoenix Cardinals
(1989), and San Diego Chargers (1989)
Highlights: During his pro career, he caught
67 passes for 1,113 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Former NFL quarterback Jim Everett used to run his own investment-management business.
Getty Images/Imeh Akpanudosen
Finance Job: Everett ran a registered investment advisory,
Jim Everett Company.
School: Purdue University (c/o 1986). (He holds an MBA from Pepperdine University.)
Position: quarterback
Pro Teams: Los Angeles Rams (1986 to 1993), New Orleans Saints (1994 to 1996), and San Diego Chargers (1997)
Highlights: During his NFL career, he had
34,837 passing yards and 203 touchdowns.
Windhaven Investment Management managing director Timothy Kohn played for the Broncos.
Finance Job: He's a managing director for Windhaven
Investment Management, a subsidiary of Charles Schwab with over $18
billion in assets under management. He has a CFA.
School: Iowa State
Position: offensive lineman
Pro Team(s): Oakland and Denver Broncos (1997 to 2000)
Highlights: Kohn was a four-year starter and team captain at Iowa State University.
JPMorgan's Joe Azelby played for the Buffalo Bills after graduating from Harvard.
Finance Job: Azelby is CEO of the Global Real Assets Group of JPMorgan Chase.
School: Harvard University (c/o 1984)
Position: linebacker
Pro Team: Buffalo Bills
Highlights: He was captain of the Harvard football team before being drafted by the NFL.
Source: LinkedIn
Brian Toal, an associate at BTIG, played briefly for the New York Jets.
Getty Images/ Grant Halvorsen
Finance Job: He's an
associate at BTIG.
School: Boston College (c/o 2008)
Position: linebacker
Pro Teams: Las Vegas Locomotives (UFL) and New York Jets
Highlights: He signed with the Jets in January 2011 and was let go the next August.
JPMorgan associate James Marten played for the Cowboys and the Bears.
Finance Job: He's
an associate at JPMorgan in San Francisco.
School: Boston College
Position: offensive tackle
Pro Teams: Dallas Cowboys (2007), Oakland Raiders (2008 to 2009), Chicago Bears (2009 to 2010)
Highlights: He was named
second-team All-ACC during college.
Jake Stoller, who works at Barclays, was signed by the Steelers after graduating from Yale.
Finance Job: He works at
Barclays.
School: Yale (c/o 2012)
Position: defensive lineman
Pro Team: Pittsburgh Steelers. (
He was cut.)
Highlights: The Yale undrafted free agent was signed by the Steelers in 2012 and later cut. During
his senior year at Yale,
he was a Second-Team All-Ivy League selection. He also received Yale's
Jordan Oliver Award, which is given to the player who has earned the
highest respect of his teammates.
Investment-banking analyst Collin Zych was captain of the Harvard football team.
Third Point's Greg Zolman played three seasons in the NFL.
Getty Images/ Scott Halleran
Finance Job: He works at Third Point covering technology, media, and telecoms.
School: Vanderbilt (c/o 2001)
Position: quarterback
Pro Teams: Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams and Buffalo Bills.
Highlights: Zolman played three seasons in the NFL. He also spent a season with NFL Europe playing for Rhein Fire,
according to his LinkedIn profile.
Energy trader Jay McCareins played for the Arizona Cardinals.
Finance Job: He's an energy trader and analyst at the hedge fund George Weiss Associates.
School: Princeton (c/o 2006)
Position: cornerback
Pro Team: Arizona Cardinals
Highlights: At Princeton
he was a four-year starter. He was named a Sports Network, Associated
Press, and Walter Camp First-Team All-America cornerback and was a
three-time All Ivy Team selection.
Ned Bolcar, who has worked at Gleacher & Co. and Jefferies, played three seasons in the NFL.
Finance Job: Bolcar has worked at Gleacher & Co, ICAP and Jefferies & Co.,
Finra records show.
School: Notre Dame (c/o 1990)
Position: linebacker
Pro Teams: Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins
Highlights: Bolcar
completed three seasons in the NFL (one with the Seattle Seahawks and
two with the Miami Dolphins). While at Notre Dame, he was named a
two-time Second-Team All-American (1987, 1989). He also captained the
1988 championship team.
Source: Gleacher & Co.
New
Orleans Saints' offensive tackle Thomas Welch is now in business
school. He interned at Merrill Lynch during his vacation time from
football.
Finance Job: He
interned at Merrill Lynch wealth management during his vacation time from football. He's working on his MBA at
Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.
School: Vanderbilt (c/o 2010)
Position: offensive tackle
Pro Teams: New England Patriots (2011), St. Louis
Rams (2011), Philadelphia Eagles (2012), Buffalo Bills (2012 to 2013),
and New Orleans Saints (2014).
Highlights: He was considered Vanderbilt's
"most gifted lineman" in 2009.
Scott Brunner, who works in wealth management, played quarterback for the New York Giants.
Finance Job: Brunner is an
executive vice president and partner at the Net Worth Management Group at AXA Advisors. He previously worked at The Buckingham Research Group,
Finra records show.
School: University of Delaware (c/o 1980)
Position: quarterback
Pro Teams: New York Giants (1980 to 1983) and
Denver Broncos and St. Louis Cardinals.
Highlights: He was playing for the University of Delaware Blue Hens when they won the national championship in 1979.
Defensive tackle David Howard is an investment consultant at First Trust.
Finance Job: He's an
investment consultant at First Trust in Chicago. Howard took an internship at Merrill Lynch and turned it into a full-time job.
School: Brown University (c/o 2010)
Position: defensive tackle
Pro Teams: Tennessee Titans (2010), Oakland Raiders (2010), Seattle Seahawks (2011), and Jacksonville Jaguars (2012)
Former New Orleans Saints center Alex Fletcher now works at KGS Alpha Capital Market.
Finance Job: Fletcher works at KGS Alpha Capital Market
School: Stanford (c/o 2009)
Position: center
Pro Team: New Orleans Saints
Highlights: He was an undrafted rookie for the Saints. He had to retire early because of a life-threatening issue with his kidney,
according to Bleacher Report.
Former NFL running back Chuck Mercein has spent many years working on Wall Street.
Finance Job: He works at the broker-dealer Mann Mann Jensen,
Finra records show. He
has spent many years on Wall Street working for Oppenheimer, Smith
Barney, and Credit Suisse First Boston, just to name a few.
School: Yale (c/o 1965)
Position: running back
Pro Teams: New York Giants (1965 to 1967), Green Bay Packers (1967 to 1969), Washington Redskins (1969), and New York Jets (1970)
Former Notre Dame defense cornerback Ambrose Wooden works at Goldman.
Finance Job: Wooden is an associate at Goldman Sachs.
School: Notre Dame (c/o 2007)
Position: cornerback
Highlights: He played five seasons for Notre Dame,
making 116 tackles and intercepting two passes. He graduated with a
degree in finance with a 3.834 GPA in his final semester,
according to the campus newspaper.
Dave Brown, who works at Moelis & Co., played for the Giants and the Cardinals.
Finance Job: He's a managing director at Moelis
& Co. Before that, he was the cohead of private capital at Greenhill
& Co. He previously worked at Lehman Brothers.
School: Duke University (c/o 1992)
Position: quarterback
Team(s): New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals (back-up quarterback)
Highlights: Brown was a star when he played for the Duke Blue Devils. He was also a
first-round supplemental NFL draft pick.
Thomas Freeman, who works at UBS, played for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Finance Job: Freeman is a senior vice president of investments in UBS' Financial Services Group.
School: Notre Dame
Position: left guard
Pro Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Source: UBS
Jason Bell, who works in wealth management, played for the Cowboys, the Texans, and the Giants.
Finance Job: He's a financial adviser for Capital Guardian Wealth Management based in Charlotte, North Carolina,
Finra records show.
School: UCLA
Position: right cornerback
Pro Teams: Dallas Cowboys (2001), Houston Texans (2002 to 2005), and New York Giants (2006)
Highlights: During his pro career, he played in 83 games and made 71 tackles.
Credit Suisse vice president Maurice Bennett signed as a rookie free agent for the Chicago Bears.
Finance Job: He's a vice president and equity trader at Credit Suisse in New York,
according to his LinkedIn profile.
School: Lafayette College
Position: linebacker
Team(s): Chicago Bears (May 2006 to July 2006)
Highlights: He signed as a rookie free agent for the Bears. During his senior year at Lafayette,
he received every Division I-AA All-America honor possible.
Former NFL linebacker Brandon Short worked at Goldman and now runs his own firm in the Middle East.
Finance Job: He left Goldman Sachs' Dubai unit to start a closely held Middle East lender
called World Business Partners.
School: Penn State
Position: linebacker
Pro Teams: New York Giants (2000-03, 2006) and Carolina Panthers (2004-05)
Highlights: During his seven NFL seasons
he made 276 tackles.
Jamil Soriano, an equity research analyst, has three championship rings, including a Super Bowl ring.
Finance Job: After Soriano hung up his cleats, he
was hired as a debt-capital markets analyst at Credit Suisse. He is now
an equity research analyst with Ariel Investments in Chicago,
according to LinkedIn.
School: Harvard (c/o 2003)
Position: guard
Pro Teams: New England Patriots (practice squad) and Berlin Thunder
Highlights: He has three championship rings: an Ivy
League championship ring, a Super Bowl XXXVIII championship ring, and an
NFL Europe World Bowl Championship ring.
Aaron Greeno, who won a national championship at the University of Miami, works at Morgan Stanley.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Greeno
Finance Job: Greeno is a vice president at Morgan Stanley,
according to his LinkedIn page.
School: University of Miami
Position: tight end
Highlights: Greeno was a member of the University of Miami's 2001 national championship team.
Hall of Fame 49ers quarterback Steve Young now runs a private-equity firm.
Finance Job: He's the managing partner and cofounder of the private-equity firm Huntsman Gay Global Capital.
School: Brigham Young
Position: quarterback
Pro Teams: Los Angeles Express and San Francisco 49ers
Highlights: He played in the NFL for more than 15
years as a quarterback, spending most of that time with the 49ers. He
was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXIX; Sports
Illustrated and Sporting News' "Player of the Year"; and the NFL's "Most
Valuable Player" in 1992 and 1994. He is also a member of the Pro
Football Hall of Fame and the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history.
Source: Huntsman Gay Global Capital
Former Giants wide receiver Malcolm Johnson works at JPMorgan.
Photo courtesy of Malcolm Johnson
Finance Job: He's an executive director in real-estate banking at JPMorgan Chase.
School: Notre Dame
Position: wide receiver
Pro Team(s): Brief stints with the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Gary Vura, who works at Tullett Prebon Financial Services, was a UPenn quarterback.
Julia La Roche for Business Insider
Finance Job: He was hired by Tullett Prebon Financial Services from ICAP this summer.
School: Pennsylvania
Position: quarterback
Highlights: He helped his team win the
first Ivy League championship in 23 years against Harvard.
KeyBank managing director Brian Brennan played nine seasons in the NFL.
Finance Job: He's a managing director in
fixed-income sales and trading at KeyBank.
School: Boston College
Position: wide receiver
Pro Teams: Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and San Diego Chargers
Highlights: He played
nine seasons in the NFL.
Former pro John Spagnola works for an asset-management firm.
Courtesy of PFM Asset Management
Finance Job: He is a partner at PFM Asset Management.
School: Yale (c/o 1979)
Position: tight end
Highlights: He played in 11 NFL seasons from 1979 to
1987 for the Philadelphia Eagles, 1988 for the Seattle Seahawks, and in
1989 for the Green Bay Packers.
Former NFL guard Pete Kendall works at a broker.
Finance Job: He's an executive director at Boston-based broker MKM Partners.
School: Boston College
Position: guard
Highlights: He was drafted in the 1996 NFL Draft by
the Seattle Seahawks. He also played for the Arizona Cardinals, the New
York Jets, and the Redskins.
Former
NFL linebacker Matt Monger has been featured as one of Barron's Top
1000 financial advisers in the US for the past 10 years.
Finance Job: He's a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch.
School: Oklahoma State University (c/o 1984)
Position: linebacker
Highlights: He played for the Jets and the Buffalo Bills.
Merrill Lynch vp Kurt Schulz spent ten years in the NFL, making 2 Super Bowl appearances.
Finance Job: He's been at Merrill Lynch since 2003 and is a vice president.
School: Eastern Washington University
Position: safety
Highlights: He spent 10 years in the NFL making two
Super Bowl appearances and 30 interceptions. He played for the Buffalo
Bills from from 1992 until 1999 and the Detroit Lions from 1999 until
2001.
Jeff Killburg was a four-year football scholarship student-athlete at Notre Dame.
Finance Job: Jeff Kilburg is the founder of KKM
Financial. Kilburg began hs career at the CBOE and later moved to the
CBOT, now called CME Group. He regularly appears on CNBC as a
contributor.
School: Notre Dame
Position: noseguard/center
Highlights: Kilburg was a four-year football scholarship student-athlete at Notre Dame.
Pete 'The Boss' Najarian played in the NFL for the Buccaneers and the Vikings.
Finance Job: Pete Najarian is cofounder of
optionMONSTER.com. He started his career in trading at Mercury Trading
with his brother. He later headed the firm's risk and arbitrage and
eventually led its entry onto the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). You
can also see Najarian on CNBC's "Fast Money."
School: University of Minnesota
Position: linebacker
Teams: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Minnesota Vikings
Highlights: He was the Golden Golphers captain.
Jon 'Dr. J.' Najarian also played in the NFL.
Finance Job: Najarian is the cofounder of
optionMONSTER.com. He started his career in finance at the CBOE in 1981
and spent 25 years in the trading pits. In 1989, he founded Mercury
Trading and ran the firm until 2004 when he sold the trading-floor
operations to hedge fund Citadel. He regularly appears on CNBC "Fast
Money."
School: University of Minnesota
Position: linebacker
Team: Chicago Bears
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