Tom Brady looks on before an NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, September 22, 2024.
Cooper Neill | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
JPMorgan Chase has recruited some of the biggest names in American sports to help solve a persistent problem: the bankruptcy of professional athletes.
The bank announced Wednesday an initiative called the JPMorgan Chase Athlete Council, led by two-time NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade and featuring other high-profile athletes including Tom Brady, Sue Bird, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, A’ja Wilson and Jalen Brunson.
The stars will meet with JPMorgan executives to help the bank develop programs to serve athletes from college through professional life to retirement, JPMorgan said in a news release.
The move reflects growing competition between banks and asset managers to serve athletes, the most prominent of whom are increasingly becoming entrepreneurs, investors and media personalities.
According to JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, most athletes receive no personal finance education in school and their relatively short careers leave a narrow earning window that requires careful planning. About one in six NFL players file for bankruptcy within 12 years of retirement, the bank said.
“We’ve heard the same thing over and over again: A lot of young athletes come into money very suddenly, they develop unsustainable lifestyles, they don’t always get good advice and those are the lucky ones,” Kristin Lemkau, head of JPMorgan Wealth Management, told CNBC’s Leslie Picker on Wednesday.
Wade said in the release that the initiative gives athletes the opportunity to share hard-earned experiences with the next generation.
“The right educational resources and guidance are critical to making smart money decisions throughout your career,” he said.
WNBA player Wilson said it was important to her to be able to share her money management skills with the next cohort of professional athletes.
“We’re starting to try to turn the page and help youth in the next generation understand that you have to build trust, you have to set boundaries and know exactly how you want to manage your money,” Wilson told CNBC.
The bank is also establishing an Athlete Center of Excellence, comprised of financial professionals with sports experience, and launching a content hub with checklists for athletes familiarizing themselves with Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), a system and guides for assembling a list of advisors.
—CNBC’s Laya Neelakandan contributed to this report.
Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.