How trash talk could help student-athletes build financial muscle

A former college and professional football player who is now a veteran financial advisor has created a league for athletes to compete against each other in the field of finance.

Pat Brown, a wealth manager in the Lawrence, Kansas-based office of registered investment advisory firm Creative Planning, beta-tested the "Athlete Finance League" in a "Jeopardy!"-style competition earlier this month with players from the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Brown, who was an all-conference linebacker and team captain with the Jayhawks in the late '90s, showed members of his onetime squad his latest new tactic to teach young athletes financial literacy. Past plays in Brown's educational playbook include a series of websites and books, as well as an organization he founded, Financial Literacy for Student Athletes.

Led by many athletes-turned-advisors, more colleges are investing in financial literacy programming. Through industry collaborations and pro bono sessions, they provide qualified advice to young people who otherwise face a lot of faulty information online. Brown launched the "league" through a website that tests athletes with five- and 10-question mobile quizzes. The quizzes cover financial topics from in-person presentations or general subjects relating to investing, taxes or credit. Players and fans can track the results online. Brown wants to expand the league to other schools and sports while engaging potential sponsors for "name, image and likeness" deals.

"A lot of the knowledge is very similar to sports or football in particular, because it's all about the repetition," Brown said. "Anytime you have athletes competing, they start talking trash, they start chirping at each other. That's the environment that I want, just with financial literacy."

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Those reps could pay off over time for participants, considering that the planning and tax implications of NCAA athletes' growing NIL payments are anything but basic. 

With many people lacking basic financial knowledge about, say, the impact of compounding interest on investments over time or how to create a budget and avoid debt, advisors' efforts to give back through educational sessions can make a big difference, according to Alex Chalekian, founder and CEO of Pasadena, California-based RIA firm Lake Avenue Financial. Chalekian and his family launched a subscription-based financial education service in 2022 that they have since converted into money and wealth lessons for the firm's clients. 

"Unfortunately, a lot of this stuff is not taught in high school," Chalekian said, noting how quickly incorrect investing ideas can spread through social media. "Having the education and the literacy is truly valuable, but you've got to also make sure that you're getting it from someone who has experience and is sharing good information."

And Brown is "one of my go-tos" for credible financial education from someone who knows what it's like to be a student-athlete, according to Ashley Goodman, the director of player development on Head Coach Lance Leipold's staff with the KU football team. The AFL's format of league play turns financial education into an engaging, interactive activity in an era of low attention spans.

"Pat does a great job," Goodman said. "Creative Planning is a great resource and partner for KU football, so we're very appreciative of the work that they're doing in always supporting our guys."

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Pat Brown

Expansion plans for financial contests

Brown is seeking to spread the knowledge through NCAA conferences and universities, as well as high schools and AAU teams. The squads from different teams or schools could challenge each other collectively, or players could play against each other individually. 

Even though some topics amount to "really, really basic stuff," the quiz contests could "give them exposure to everything" in a way that lays the foundation to go further into finance and investing in the future, Brown said. 

"I want that competitive nature to work across all levels in terms of competing on financial literacy," he said.