How Fanatics is teaching business acumen to pro athletes

CNBC

16 hours ago

Sports merchandising giant Fanatics is aiming to build a training camp for athletes to prepare them for life off the field.
More than two dozen NBA, NFL and NHL players participated in the company's Athlete Immersion Program this past weekend as part of Fanatics Fest in New York City. The program included three days of workshops on business, entrepreneurship, tech and more.
"This definitely opened my eyes," said Cole Anthony, a guard for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. "I'm already trying to do things on the business side with my partners, my family. It just motivates me more."
The "coaches" for the business boot camp included Fanatics founder Michael Rubin, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Apollo Global cofounder and Philadelphia 76ers managing partner Josh Harris, Raising Cane's founder Todd Graves, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and Boardroom cofounder and CEO Rich Kleiman.
Aaron Donald, who retired from the NFL's Los Angeles Rams in 2024 after winning the Super Bowl, has already begun a new career in business, including an ownership stake in sports nutrition company Ready. But Donald, likely a future Hall of Famer, said he was blown away by the all-star team of business leaders.
"I think it's one of hell of an opportunity," said Donald. "I'm in a room with guys running companies worth billions of dollars. How many opportunities are you going to get to do that? You have to take advantage of all of those opportunities and knowledge."
Fanatics launched the Athlete Immersion Program in 2023 and this year is partnering with Boardroom, a media and advisory company cofounded by Kleiman and NBA superstar Kevin Durant.
"I think it's great to be able to give them a bit of a blueprint," said Kleiman. "Being able to put them in the room with people that have the answers, that have done it, that lead industries. I think you get so much power and opportunity just from the information you get from watching, from learning and from being in these rooms and understanding how to move."
Kleiman pointed to former NBA player Junior Bridgeman, who made less than $3 million during his 12-year career in the league, but built a net worth of more than $1 billion after retirement primarily through investments in Wendy's, Pizza Hut and Chili's franchises and then later through Coca-Cola distribution.
"What he did, he's exceptional," said Kleiman of Bridgeman, who died in March. "He wasn't just a name. He actually built an operational team, built them up, oversaw them, and he was a tycoon of a business mind."
Fanatics Chief People Officer Toretha McGuire said the program is focused on helping athletes use their playing days, what they describe as their "1.0 career" to fuel their "2.0 career."
It's an experience similar to a business school with lectures, case studies and projects, in which each athlete creates their own limited-edition clothing line with vintage sports apparel company Mitchell & Ness, a subsidiary of Fanatics.
"They go through a base business case, we teach them business fundamentals, we take them through the Fanatics business case where we bring them to 2021 where Michael [Rubin] did a final capital raise and we basically say, 'What would you have done?'" McGuire said.
Most professional athletes retire from playing when they're still young, she added.
"The opportunities they have in their 1.0 careers in terms of access and expanding their networks are going to be very critical," she said.
Graves, who founded the popular fried chicken chain Raising Cane's, spoke on a panel about the realities and challenges of entrepreneurship
"If you absolutely want to start a business, imagine how hard it is, multiply that by infinity to be able to make it work," he said. "You have to be passionate, you have to be in the details 100%. And you have to know what you don't know, right? So that is bringing in great people to try and grow it."
The Athlete Immersion Program is meant to be a continuous learning opportunity through which players receive support, education and networking opportunities from Fanatics and Boardroom before and after they begin their business journey.
The next session will be held in December for WNBA, NWSL and MLB athletes in the offseason.
For Anthony, who was recently traded to the Grizzlies from the Orlando Magic, it's also shown him the real parallels between competing in sports and competing in business.
"The common thing with everyone who has spoken to us and I've been able to talk to one-on-one is that every person I met here has been a grinder," he said. "They make whatever it is they are passionate about, or what they are working on their priority. I think that's just dope to hear from other people I can relate to in that sense."
A decade ago, reports suggested 16% of NFL players ultimately filed for bankruptcy — a sign of the type of financial strain many professional athletes face and a cautionary tale of life after the game.
But today, many of the people participating in the Fanatics curriculum believe opportunities like the Athlete Immersion Program can change the narrative — and their financial future.
For Donald, who will be remembered as one of the greatest defenders in NFL history, the focus now is finding the greatest opportunities for the next chapter of his life.
"It would be silly for me to stop the hard work, discipline, the structure that got me to a certain point," he said. "I'm trying to build generational wealth for my kids."