JPMorgan aims to help athletes avoid bad money habits

JPMorgan Chase said Wednesday that it will start building wealth advising services that help athletes who come into money as a result of their talents make that money work for them a long time.

The initiative is not aimed just at ultrawealthy athletes of legend. The initiative is aimed at athletes across all sports, ages and income levels, from college athletes earning royalties from their name, image and likeness for the first time, to established athletes who have earned substantial sums but are now looking at retirement in their mid-30s and need to make those sums last for decades.

JPMorgan hopes to reach these athletes early, maybe as early as high school but certainly on college campuses, in hopes of teaching them good financial habits from the start.

“They are coming into a lot of money, and they don’t know what to do with it,” said Megan Rapinoe, the professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist.

JPMorgan isn’t doing this for charity. Those few who become professional athletes can end up millionaires many times over, and the biggest stars can end up billionaires. Managing those funds through JPMorgan’s wealth management arm could lead to millions of dollars in fees for the bank, and athletes’ name recognition can bring future customers to the bank.

There have been numerous stories of athletes running into financial difficulties despite coming into tremendous wealth during their careers. Academic research has shown that one in six NFL players will end up filing for bankruptcy within 12 years of retirement. Mike Tyson reportedly made half a billion in his boxing career but had to file for bankruptcy, and there are similar stories for legends like boxer Evander Holyfield and basketball player Antoine Walker.

The stories are often the same: athletes come into tremendous wealth but are not given the education to make it last as long as it needs to.

Peloton Instructor Ally Love said she often felt embarrassed or scared to ask for financial advice, even after she found success with Peloton. She remembered one of her first meetings with a bank, where her interactions with financial advisers left her with more questions than answers.

“I was like, Who’s Roy?’ I thought Roy was spelled with a Y,” Love said in an interview with The Associated Press. Only later did Love learn that “Roy” was not a person, but an abbreviation for return on investment, or ROI.

Love is one of nine athletes who will sit on JPMorgan’s new Athlete Council. The council also includes Dwayne Wade, the two-time NBA Hall of Famer from the Miami Heat, Sue Bird, the WNBA champion, and legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady. Other athletes and personalities include Jalen Brunson from the New York Knicks, World Cup Champion Alex Morgan, Kayvon Thibodeaux of the New York Giants, and A’Ja Wilson, the four-time WNBA MVP winner.

Love talked about how she often felt bankers talked down to her, and she felt intimidated.

“I just sat there for many years and I said okay, and sure’, and did a lot of head nodding, but I wasn’t really being informed, wasn’t really being educated and I was too nervous and too scared to ask for help.”

The athlete's financial health initiative was the brainchild of Kristin Lemkau, CEO of JP Morgan Wealth Management. Lemkau invited Love to be part of the program after they saw each other at a US Open tennis match, and talked to Love about how banks all want to go after the biggest names in the business, but ignore those who probably need the most help.

“There is an underserved segment of athletes, whether they are young and in college, professionals, or retired,” Lemkau said. “They’re all different. And most financial services companies are going after the Ally Loves, the Tom Bradys and the Dwyane Wades, and 99.99 per cent of athletes don’t fit into that space.”

Lemkau and Love joked that athletes, like anyone who comes into wealth suddenly, are going to want to be able to spend their money on luxuries. But after the handbags and jewelry and cars are purchased, it’s just as important for those athletes to be able to live off what they’ve earned for decades to come.

“Enjoy the fruits, but also let the fruit last,” Love said.