Fmr pro-NFL stars helping athletes avoid fumbling their careers says league wants to avoid 'bad press'
'I declared I was retiring March 10th. March 11th, I'm no longer a part of the New England Patriots,' Devin McCourty explained
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When professional athletes head to the big leagues, it's easy to picture a world of fast cars, big homes, and flashy new wardrobes – but many fail to consider what happens after their athletic careers are over.
Hundreds of former and current athletes aren't taking their chances on becoming another pro-gone-broke, joining, instead, a groundbreaking organization that is educating players on their finances.
"We come into the league, and we see the ESPN '30 for 30: Broke.' You read the books, you see the stories – horror stories. Terrifying. And so, I think in our preparation for the NFL, you go through a rookie symposium or you have rookie meetings and it's more so telling you what not to do. These are the steps that they take to prevent people from having financial issues when they're done," the five-time Pro Bowl tackle Terron Armstead explained in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
The National Football League logo is pictured with an illustration of falling money. The graphic comes as many current and professional athletes are sounding the alarm about the growing need for financial literacy education within professional sports (Fox News / Fox News)
"There is not really a lot of, ‘these are the opportunities. This is what you can do. Learn finance,'" he added. "That gap, it was a huge, huge void. Huge void. And I think the [Pro Athlete Community] fills it, and it overflows in that space right there."
"I think these leagues want to help because they don't like the bad press."
PAC, which Armstead is a member of, is a start-up company working to help players most effectively manage their finances post-pro by uniting a network of professional athletes and advisers.
The organization has over 300 members — including both current and former professional athletes — and continues to grow under the leadership of co-founder and co-CEO Chip Paucek.
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When speaking with 13-year NFL veteran Devin McCourty about PAC, he candidly revealed the real reason why pro sports leagues have not attempted to fill this gap before.
"We don't make the league any money. So, the truth of the matter is, they are going to put some programs in the NFL, the NFLPA [National Football League Players Association]. They have different things you can get involved in. The Legends Community, the Trust of the PA. But the truth of the matter is, as a player, you have to learn that your finances, your life, that's up to you," the two-time Pro Bowl safety explained.
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"When I declared I was retiring March 10th, 2023…March 11th, I'm no longer a part of the New England Patriots. As much as they might care for me, there's no place to go and hang out in the locker room. There's nowhere to go get treatment. All of that stuff ends, and it's because they have to now focus on who is going to be our starting free safety, who's going to be the captain. Everything is about moving forward for these teams. So overall, I think these leagues want to help because they don't like the bad press."
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 01: Devin McCourty #32 of the New England Patriots tries to intercept a Miami Dolphins pass during the game at Gillette Stadium on January 01, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. | Getty Images
Not only is PAC providing players with that financial literacy, they are helping players with their confidence outside their sport.
"The level of confidence I've built up to go play football was through the roof. There was never a time when I was nervous or anything, like if I was going to play football, there was no doubt in my mind I'm going to go do that. But I would say for the most part, every other new venture that happened in life, it was brand new," McCourty shared.
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"PAC has given me the confidence to step into new arenas and not feel out of place, but to say, ‘hey, I belong, I can do this.’"
Some players revealed that they even felt an unshakable sense of "embarrassment" about their lack of fiscal education.
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"It was my 10th year in the league when I signed to the Dolphins, so I had already been around for a long time. Dabbled in some business. I thought I was doing way more than I actually was, and I continue to tell the story of my level of embarrassment when I got to PAC and how much I didn't know, and it exposed me in a great way. I'm not embarrassed to say anymore," Armstead said.
The current Miami Dolphins player argues that launching his journey into financial education has been one of the "best decisions" of his life.
"The awareness that it brought excited me. It ignited me to pursue and to really gain knowledge in areas that I really need that I just didn't know existed in order to grow as a professional, as a businessman, on and off the field."
