From the desk of Andrew Neitlich

Today my wife met a woman married to a former NFL football player. His story is a telling reminder about how painful it can be to transition out of professional sports. 

This particular athlete played for the Florida Gators and was recruited by an NFL team. Six months in, he was injured and released. A hall of fame coach from another team invited him to try out a year later, and he was one of just 2 players out of 120 accepted to the team. Six months later, he was injured again and his football career ended right there.

This former player is now 50 years old. To this very day, he  will not talk to anyone about his NFL experiences. It is simply too painful for him to recall those days compared to where he is now. His wife says that he thinks of his past even with a bit of embarrassment, rather than feeling grateful to have had a couple of years when he was among the best athletes in the world.

This player's experience is common, and I feel for him.

Every day we speak to players who:

- Suffered major depression when their playing days came to an end.

- Went broke after playing, because they never learned about how to save and spend money (including players making the really big salaries).

- Got divorced due to the stress of the transition.

- Lost all of their money starting up or investing in foolish businesses, disregarding how hard it really is to succeed as an entrepreneur.

- Wonder what happened to their entourage of so-called friends and all those phone calls once they stopped playing (and their big checks stopped right along with their playing days).

- Are frustrated because they didn't do any research about careers after sports, or finish their education, and so they aren't attractive job candidates.

- Are currently playing, but are making the same mistakes that former players who are broke, depressed, and ungrounded have made before them. They aren't saving their money, are living an entitled life, and are clueless about what they will do during their remaining 30 - 40 years of productive life after playing sports.

- Are currently playing, and don't think that they will get injured or cut. They think they are the exception to the trend of decreasing playing life in professional sports.

Please prepare you now for the inevitable transition out of sports. We find it sad that many professional athletes have no problem blowing $100,000 on a new Benley, or $5,000 on a new set of rims, but won't make a small investment in a sports life or career transition coach. We don't understand how 20-something athletes can be coachable when it comes to performance on the field, but think they are immortal and invulnerable when it comes to life off the field.

Do yourself a favor -- Call Corey Crowder or any of the other coaches here at Elite Pro Coaching. At least have a conversation to learn what you might not even know that you don't know.

When you get that career-ending injury, get cut, or just want to do something else besides play professional sports, you will be glad you reached out to us.