By Troy Vincent
NFL Player Engagement
More and more each day, I am hearing how players wish they had taken advantage of the off-field opportunities presented to them during their actual time on a team.
“If I could do it over again, I wish I would have done more” is becoming an increasingly familiar refrain from players transitioning out of the game.
Unfortunately, do-overs are not an option, but working with us at Player Engagement is. Our mission is to provide hope and guidance to players moving on in life after the NFL, which for some can mean a loss of their personal identity since football was with them throughout their lives.
But the best time to begin this process is now, while you are still playing in the NFL and your profile is at its highest.
A good example of this is former New England Patriot Matt Light, whose unique foundation event we feature in this month’s NEXT section.
This offensive lineman, who retired 18 months ago, started his foundation to benefit disadvantaged teens while he was still winning his three Super Bowls.
Not only was he starting up his foundation’s signature event, called the Celebrity Shoot-Out and featuring a clay-shooting competition, he was also taking advantage of Player Engagement programs, attending our entrepreneurial programs at Harvard, Kellogg, and Wharton while he was still playing.
This proved to be a winning combination as he applied what he was learning to elevate his Foundation event, while also watching it grow each year as celebrity teammates like Tom Brady and Troy Brown -- and many, many more -- attended each and every year.
This not only raised the profile of the event itself, which regularly received massive media coverage, it allowed his teammates to see for themselves how a well-run Foundation functions.
A win-win for everyone, and certainly food for thought for you current players who may want to attend your teammates’ Foundation events, which may someday lead to you starting your own.
Additionally, you can also be applying for our offseason Career Development services, which begin in February with multi-day career programs/boot camps, and also includes job shadows and internships.
In fact, I feel so strongly about this approach that the remarks of another former player we recently profiled are worth repeating.
“Taking these (NFLPE) courses opened up a whole new world for me, and taught me not to ask what the League is doing for me, but rather to ask what I am doing for myself. There is no other industry in America that gives you a head-start on your next career like the NFL.”
Those words come from Jack Brewer, not only CEO of The Brewer Group, but like Matt Light, the founder of his own Jack Brewer Foundation.
Both were do-ers on and off-the-field while playing, and now are too busy with their post-NFL career success to ever have time to think about do-overs.