Advice for NFL Players, From a Financial Advisor Who's Been There
Walter Stith, a former NFL offensive tackle-turned-financial advisor, is rooting for the San Francisco 49ers in their Super Bowl matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
He has several reasons — not the least of which is that he has a client who happens to play for the 49ers.
Stith, who had NFL stints with the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns, as well as with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, works mostly with professional athletes as a financial advisor with the RM Compass Group at Morgan Stanley, with assets under management of $2.5 billion.
Stith, who is based in Atlanta, is also a Global Sports and Entertainment director at Morgan Stanley, helping other financial advisors serve their athlete and entertainment industry clients.
In the interview with Stith, who joined Morgan Stanley as an advisor in 2011, he discusses the challenge that NFL players have in saving for an extended retirement and offers advice to rookie advisors without the luxury of joining a family practice. “You have to be relentless in your pursuit,” he maintains.
Here are highlights of our conversation:
THINKADVISOR: What are your expectations for the Super Bowl?
WALTER STITH: I’m rooting for the 49ers. This is a rematch of the 2020 Super Bowl; Kansas City won that one. This season has been volatile for both the 49ers and Chiefs.
But I feel pretty good about the 49ers’ chances to win. Plus, I have a client that plays for the 49ers!
It’s going to be a great game. Viewership will be even higher because of Taylor Swift’s effect on NFL viewership [attending games and rooting for boyfriend Travis Kelce of the Chiefs].
Her fans are looking forward to seeing her at the Super Bowl. She has almost a hundred million followers on X. The NFL has, like, 30 million!
Is there anything new within the NFL that you particularly like?
A lot more Black coaches and Black general managers have been hired.
That’s a good thing: 75% of players are Black. That should be reflected in leadership as well as coaching.
As a Global Sports and Entertainment director, what are your responsibilities?
I’m an advisor to athletes and people in entertainment [among others]. I also support the advisors that work with those markets, [providing] the resources necessary to meet the unique needs of the clients.
What’s a salient characteristic of these clients that advisors need to keep in mind?
Many times, they’re really young. They get huge payouts, but then they have to live on them until they get their next year’s payout.
One of the biggest ways to give support is to [equip them with] educational resources.
Broadly, what can be done to increase financial literacy among pro athletes?
The sooner a student-athlete is exposed to financial literacy and understands how to set up a budget, what investing is and how you should think about your future, plan and save now, the better: The average career in pro sports is [only] between three and five years.
What are the implications?
You’ll make a lot of money in a very short time, but you need that money to last through retirement, which is longer. Players are done in their 30s and are retired for 60 years.
