Former NFL star reflects on past financial mistakes, issues warning to current players: ‘It’s a short career’

Former NFL star Wale Ogunleye is using his financial expertise to work with current and former professional athletes who want to avoid burning through their fortune.

Adewale “Wale” Ogunleye, a former Pro-Bowl defensive end, leads the UBS Sports and Entertainment business for Wealth Management, giving him the unique opportunity to help athletes avoid making the same financial mistakes he, and many other athletes, have made.

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“When it came to my finances, I was putting my own hard-earned money at risk by not understanding my finances,” the former captain for the Chicago Bears told “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” on Wednesday.

Ogunleye highlighted the importance of surrounding yourself with people who are seeking a “real relationship,” not just a transactional one.

“[Athletes] can’t make mistakes. And those mistakes are magnified tenfold when it comes to the short lifespans that they have.”

– Former NFL player Wale Oguneleye

“What we’ve been doing at UBS is making sure that the advisers that are in our Sports Entertainment Division understand who these athletes are, understand why it’s important that they think about life after sports,” Ogunleye explained to host Neil Cavuto. 

“At the end of the day, it’s a short career. And if you plan now, get the right people around you, that’s setting yourself up for success.”

The former NFL star warned athletes not to be a “head-nodder” like he was.

“I would hear terms that I didn’t understand, and so I didn’t look like I didn’t know what I was saying. I would nod my head and say, ‘yes.’ But the truth of the matter is, most individuals, not just athletes, most Americans don’t understand their finances,” he said Wednesday. 

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“It becomes a problem with athletes because it’s a short period of time that they have to earn this money. They can’t make mistakes. And those mistakes are magnified tenfold when it comes to the short lifespans that they have,” he warned.

“For us, we’re trying to make sure that we put our clients, our athletes, entertainers in positions that they’re thinking about their future; that they’re surrounding us with a network of individuals within their ecosystems that are going to help build a lasting legacy,” Ogunleye argued.

The financial expert concluded, saying that even if you are Tom Brady who played for 20 years, “you still have to figure out what’s next.”