How sports stars pay the bills
Some stars find life after sport is a breeze, but others struggle to find a replacement income, writes Daniel Dunkley.
When sports stars reach the end of their careers, they can often struggle to replace the adrenaline rush of competing at the very top level.
After facing down fearsome fast bowlers, or rowing their way to Olympic success, athletes also face some difficult choices about what to do with their lives, and how to make money when the final whistle blows.
The transition to life after sport can be a breeze for some. Former track and field athlete Les Mills set up a single gym in Auckland in 1968, which has blossomed into one of the world’s biggest fitness empires.
Former world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman lent his name to a lean, mean, grilling machine in the
mid-1990s, and feasted on millions in royalties.
For some, the adjustment can be much more difficult. The late, great Jonah Lomu struggled financially before his death in
2015. Former Blues winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca recently went public with his money woes, despite earning big bucks during a spell in France.
Even our most decorated sports stars have to navigate their way outside the sporting world at some point.
All Blacks legend Dan Carter has turned his steely gaze to entrepreneurship over the past decade, backing companies including the soon-to-be NZXlisted dry cleaning and laundry business Laundromap. Carter’s former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, meanwhile, teamed up with his old teammate to invest in retirement villages, and has also put money into the transport and aviation sectors.
A host of well-known Black Caps have also ventured into the business world.
World Cup hero Grant Elliott helped to set up career development platform Minded after pondering his prospects after sport. T20 specialist Mitchell McClenaghan backed a Paleo food business and runs a franchise for high-intensity fitness chain F45. Fellow Black Cap Chris Martin bought and operated a Four Square in Palmerston North.
Not all sports stars are showered with advertising endorsements forever, or go into coaching when they retire.
New Zealand sporting legends say athletes have to be prepared for the real world.
Former Black Cap Nathan McCullum says he didn’t think about life after sport until the ‘‘latter stages’’ of his career. McCullum says most of his
former teammates weren’t planning for a day job either.
‘‘I never really knew what I wanted to do, just that it was something to do with people, like real estate, sales, or management,’’ he says.
‘‘Some [teammates] were more interested in outside opportunities, but others were just focused on cricket and thinking ‘I’ll think about my career later’,’’ he adds.
During the last few years of his career, and in the run-up to the 2015 World Cup, McCullum began working for friends in a recruitment company and also started working with a business mentor. He also credits NZ Cricket management, including Mike Sandle, and Mike Hesson, with providing valuable career advice.
After building contacts in the civil construction industry, McCullum struck up a friendship with the owner of Auckland-business Total Property Worx. He now works in Auckland for the commercial and maintenance business as a general manager.
For some, the journey into life after sport is aided by a bit of serendipity. Ivan Sutherland, a rower who won bronze at the 1976 Montreal Olympics as part of the New Zealand eight, comes from an all-star sporting family in Blenheim, with two brothers elite rugby players, and one of them, Alan, an All Black. His home patch of Marlborough delivered the perfect opportunity to start a business.
Sutherland worked throughout his career, back when Olympic athletes had little financial support. After studying agriculture at university, he noticed an upand-coming industry in Marlborough — wine-making.
‘‘At the end of my university life, Montana came into Marlborough in 1973, bought some land, and planted grapes. I was watching this, and a cousin asked me about five years later whether I wanted to go into viticulture.’’
Sutherland didn’t look back after buying land and was one of the first private individuals to plant grapes in Marlborough. For decades, he worked in partnership with preeminent vineyard Cloudy Bay, before launching his own label, Dog Point, in 2003.
‘‘It’s been an amazing experience, and my wife and I feel very privileged to be part of the Marlborough industry’s expansion,’’ Sutherland adds.
Sutherland stayed involved with sport and was chair of NZ Rowing until the London 2012 Olympics. He believes his sport is doing more to help young athletes prepare for their later lives.
‘‘We’ve come a long way in sport from the amateurism days to the professionalism we have today. Part of that professionalism is helping athletes prepare and adjust for when their sporting life ends,’’ Sutherland adds.
Another man who knows a thing or two about the transition from sport to business is former New Zealand test cricketer Bruce Edgar. Edgar is best known for being a tough opening batsman, and was at the non-striker’s end when Australian bowler Trevor Chappell rolled his controversial underarm ball in
1981.
Back in Edgar’s playing days, cricketers didn’t have today’s salaries or the prospect of Indian Premier League riches, so always had one eye beyond the boundary and on their dayjobs. For Edgar, that meant carving out a career in marketing.
‘‘I always played for the love of the game. It was never gonna pay the bills,’’ Edgar says. ‘‘After one semi-final in Edgbaston in 79’, which we lost, I had to go down to London and sit an exam. I guess it was a good distraction!’’
Edgar has carved out a long career in marketing, consultancy and business development, and has worked for corporations including oil giant Shell. He currently works for KiwiSaver scheme provider and investment manager Booster as an independent director.
Edgar has always kept a foot in the cricketing world, and was a NZ Cricket selector up to the
2015 World Cup and Wellington Firebirds head coach between
2015 and this May. As trustee of the Cricketers’ Hardship Trust, which helps former first-class cricketers with financial issues, he knows full-well the importance of carving out a post-sport career.
Edgar says modern sports stars need to think about how they’ll transition to normal life and make a living when they can no longer compete on the field.
‘‘Athletes need a distraction from sport. At Wellington, some of our guys worked at Deloitte, others at Xero. They are much more balanced and betterprepared individuals from that. They weren’t just worried about the next ball, or being hit for six,’’ Edgar adds.
McCullum agrees, and is keen to help the next generation of Kiwi sports stars adapt. Alongside some other former athletes, he has formed the Black Club, a mentoring programme to help sports stars transition to the business world, ‘‘and make it easier for them than it was for us’’.
‘‘Start making a map for yourself sooner, rather than later,’’ McCullum advises young stars.
‘‘You don’t have to commit to working part-time, but start to understand what you like and what industry you want to be involved in. Discuss it with other athletes and their challenges, and see what you can learn.’’