Education Pays Off for NFL Retirees: A Study of the Impact that an NFL Retiree’s Educational Background Has on Their Post-Retirement Financial Success

Authors

Andrew Gibbs, Bryant UniversityFollow

Document Type

Thesis

Comments

Editorial Reviewer: Laura Beaudin

First Faculty Advisor

Brendan Flaherty

Keywords

Finance; National Football League ; NFL ; Bankruptcy

Publisher

Bryant University

Rights Management

This work is licensed under a CC BY license.

Abstract

With a large frequency of professional sports retirees going broke, this study aims to uncover potential causes which may increase the risk of bankruptcy in retirees. Previous studies in the field have analyzed demographic, background, and playing career characteristics that may lead to a higher risk of bankruptcy among retirees in various professional sports leagues. This study analyzes factors pertaining to a player’s educational/collegiate background to determine whether these factors may lead to an increased risk of bankruptcy among NFL retirees. Data was collected on a sample of 80 NFL retirees, who retired between the years of 1971 and 2015. The data was run through a probit regression model to find out whether one’s educational background may increase the risk of bankruptcy. Overall, the results of study find that NFL retirees who graduated either before, during, or after their NFL career were less likely to experience bankruptcy than those who did not graduate at all.