By Lisa Zimmerman, Player Engagement Insider
Growing up on the south side of Chicago, the focus of Tony Pashos’ family was never on sports, it was always on education. His parents were Greek immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1970s shortly after they were married. Neither his mother nor his father had attended school past the fifth grade and they relentlessly impressed upon Pashos and his three siblings the importance of education and knowledge.
So it was a bit of an unexpected twist when Pashos, an offensive tackle, entered the NFL after being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2003. During his years at the University of Illinois, the NFL was not a given career path and Pashos always had a back-up plan – law school. But, after an 11-year detour, during which he also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders, Pashos, at the age of 35, is now implementing that plan as a member of the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, class of 2019.
Pashos described the moment he received his law school acceptance notice as “humbling and flooring.”
“I was ecstatic,” Pashos, who had already moved his family back to the Chicago area, said. “I want to be back in the energy and the conversations. I loved being a student and I’m excited about being a student again, this time with more maturity and ability to focus on just that. Being able to devote all the time I devoted to football and devote it to school.”
Pashos also realized early on that the NFL could provide him with a foundation of skills and opportunities to propel him into that next chapter of his life.
“I used football,” he said. “I was really good at it, I loved it and it was something I’m attached to, but I realized it could get me my ultimate goal of getting educated, which was emphasized in my home. There are amazing benefits from the NFL and the PA (NFL Players Association) that inspire you and helped me take on my dream which was always to go to law school or be a highly educated man.
“I didn’t want to be the guy that, where five years [after you retire] you wake up and realize that, ‘I’m not in the football industry, what am I bringing of value to the business world?’ If those football leadership traits and skills aren’t applied to the business world, then what good are they?”
Pashos has always been self-motivated. He spent his childhood summers with his grandfather in Greece, listening to stories about history and global events, especially the experiences of living through World War I and World War II. His parents served as his biggest role models and he still uses them as the gold standard for his own life’s achievements, which are even more important now that he is a husband and father to two young daughters.
“[When my parents moved to Chicago] my dad was able to catch on with a steel factory. My mom worked in restaurants and retail. When I was in grade school my dad opened up a fast food restaurant and changed his hours at the factory so he could run the restaurant without leaving his other job. My parents are the most successful people I know because they maximized all of their abilities. There was no obstacle too big for my family to overcome to better their lives.”
While Pashos has not finalized the area of law or specific line of work he will pursue once he earns his law degree, he is excited about the numerous possibilities and expresses gratitude for the opportunities that the NFL has given him. He counsels other players on staying focused on the job at hand avoiding the many distractions that can come with a job like the NFL, and taking advantage of the people and resources that are available.
“Guys really need to realize that there are so many people while you’re still playing that can help you and talk to you and guide you. Go to player development, go to the union. For me football was a sport that allowed me to take those traits of working hard, being appreciated and excelling. Football is a sport where you can outwork people and beat their talent and be productive. I got what my ultimate goal was, which was to better my life and my parents’ lives and better the generations behind me.”
Lisa Zimmerman is a long-time NFL writer and reporter. She was the Jets correspondent for CBSSports.com, SportsNet New York’s TheJetsBlog.com and Sirius NFL Radio. She has also written for NFL.com.