NFL Insider: Classroom time can prevent players' 'bad deals'
By Larry Weisman, USA TODAY
In their 1932 film riff on college football, the Marx Brothers poked fun at the idea of a game carrying more weight on campus than learning.
Declaring that Huxley College could no longer afford a stadium and academics, president Quincy Adams Wagstaff (Groucho Marx) opts for the sport and declares the other buildings should be torn down. Asked where the students would sleep, he replies: "Where they always sleep. In the classroom."
Try telling that to the 95 NFL players now availing themselves of the league's continuing education program at some of the finest business schools throughout the country. Given an opportunity to learn from top teachers and professionals, they network, take copious notes and make plans for the years that will follow their playing days.
Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints quarterback, went back for a second helping. He took classes at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 2005 and spent part of the first week of March at Stanford University.
"We went from 8 a.m. to 7:30 at night," Brees says. "There's a lot of reading, case studies on companies, and then the heads of those companies come in and we discuss the decisions they made and why they made them."
About 220 players take part in a variety of programs each year, finishing their undergraduate degrees, beginning work on advanced degrees or through internships. More than 300 players have earned degrees through this venture since 1992.
New England Patriots tight end Ben Watson wants to keep developing the religiously-themed foundation he started with his wife. He attended seminars at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management to burnish his degree in finance from Georgia.
"You come together with so many different minds and get a better sense of what's out there," Watson says. "It's amazing how many ideas in business can transfer over to a non-profit."
The football season leaves little time for these pursuits so the program provides the perfect opportunity for Watson.
"Football is my main job, my career right now. I have to devote most of my time to football. That's the bread winner from March to June and July to January. There are small pockets where you can think about other things," he says. "Ronnie Lott came to talk to us and told us to 'work that other muscle,' our minds. … There's more to us than football."
Lance Legree, a retired defensive lineman, took classes at Harvard Business School in 2006. Now he works in the league office, overseeing the program.
"I saw it as a perfect opportunity while I was playing for a segue into business, to see how businesses are run and how to develop them from scratch. Playing professional football doesn't allow you a lot of time to gain the experience and determine the skills you need in business so this was a perfect opportunity," he says.
It's critical for players to find out what they might not want to do or avoid in the business world as well as to sharpen their focus on their goals.
"For a lot of guys, the biggest thing they get out of it is which businesses not to get into. It deters them from bad deals, from bad experiences," Legree says. "Being high-profile guys, they get approached often. If we can keep them from bad deals, we've helped them."
Brees says he is convinced that whatever business he finds himself in 20 years hence, he will put his imprint on it.
"I absolutely see myself very much hands-on," he says. "I'd have a hard time relinquishing control. I think I would be bored."
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