Former Pitcher Launches Financial Firm for Young Athletes

A former major league baseball player who retired 21 months ago has started a financial services company aimed at helping young athletes manage sudden earnings. The firm focuses on advising clients on saving and investing rather than spending.

Background on the Founder's Career The founder walked onto a college baseball team while majoring in business finance. After his senior year, he accepted a six-figure signing bonus and later underwent elbow surgery that required a year of rehabilitation.

During that year, his father encouraged him to explore opportunities outside baseball. His grandfather arranged an internship at an investment firm, where he later earned a broker's license.

Five years ago, the founder and his mentor established Skyward Financial. The mentor recalled that the founder arrived for his internship interview with handwritten stock reports prepared during minor league bus trips. The mentor said the founder frequently exchanged messages about markets and clients, sometimes 25 to 50 times a day.

One evening after watching the founder pitch on television, the mentor received a text message asking about specific biotech stocks.

The company targets athletes receiving large payments from draft bonuses, college revenue sharing, and name, image and likeness deals. The founder uses examples from his playing days to illustrate the results of spending versus investing. One presentation describes a prospect who spent $500,000 after taxes on a red Lamborghini.

The same amount invested in an S&P 500 fund over 30 years would have grown to $8.6 million, according to the presentation. The founder said he has seen first-round draft picks spend money on cars, houses, and gambling, while others saved their signing bonuses.

He stated that his experience as a player may help his message reach athletes more effectively than advice from larger firms. A former director of financial education at a major brokerage said the market for athlete clients is oversaturated, with most large firms maintaining sports and entertainment groups.

The founder checked with a basketball agent who reported representing 24 college players, each with a different money manager. The founder expressed interest in speaking at team meetings about financial topics. A team manager said he would consider inviting the founder to address players and that he trusts him.

The founder maintains a federal record listing his employment history, which begins with a line for his former team as a pitcher.