Fee-only advisors for professional athletes and Olympic competitors.
Professional athletes face a compressed financial lifecycle: career spans 3-12 years of extreme earning followed by 40+ years of reduced income. Contract structure (salary + bonuses + endorsements), multi-state tax (jock tax), agent/manager structure, endorsement planning, real-estate temptations, and post-career transition make this a distinct spe
What our matched specialists handle
- Contract signed: how do I not blow $20M in 5 years?
- Jock tax — I play in 15 states a year, what's my tax filing?
- Endorsement income — how structured, what entity?
- Agent/manager structure — who's doing what and getting paid what?
- NIL → pro transition — new rules, same mistakes?
- Career-ending injury insurance — too expensive or essential?
Tools & guides
Athlete Career Earnings & Post-Career Projection
Model compressed career earnings + post-career income needed for a 40-year post-playing retirement.
Jock Tax Calculator 2026
Estimate your multi-state tax burden by league and home state. See what residency optimization saves — often $500K+/year.
Professional Athlete Financial Planning Guide
Detailed framework — rules, tradeoffs, and common mistakes.
Post-Career Financial Planning
How to fund 40+ years after playing: portfolio targets, health insurance gap, Roth strategy, and the mistakes that drive the bankruptcy rate.
NIL Financial Planning Guide 2026
NIL income is self-employment income. The tax math, entity structure, quarterly estimated payments, and habits to build before you go pro.
House v. NCAA Revenue Sharing: Tax & Financial Planning Guide 2026
$20.5M per school, starting July 2025. Revenue sharing is taxed differently from NIL — 1099-MISC royalties, no SE tax (usually), and different Roth IRA rules. What college athletes need to know before they file.
Endorsement Income: Tax & Entity Structure
LLC vs S-corp vs image-rights licensing — how to structure endorsement deals to minimize SE tax and build post-career passive income.
Career-Ending Injury Insurance
What CEII covers, how it differs from your league's T&P plan, when to buy it, and how to model the coverage gap for your specific career.
First Professional Contract: Financial Checklist
Just signed? What to do with the signing bonus, how to structure your advisory team, residency before opening day, and the mistakes that end careers financially.
Real Estate & Professional Athletes
Why real estate is uniquely risky during a 3-10 year career: carrying costs, illiquidity math, opportunity cost vs. a liquid portfolio, and when it actually makes sense.
Jock Tax Guide: How Multi-State Income Tax Works
The duty-days formula explained, state-by-state tax rates, city taxes, and why residency in the right state saves $300K–$1M+ per year.
Athlete State Domicile & Residency Planning
FL, TX, or NV domicile can save a $10M athlete $1–2M per year in state taxes. What domicile means legally, how to establish it, and the CA and NY traps that catch athletes off guard.
Professional Athlete Estate Planning Guide 2026
Wills, revocable trusts, beneficiary designations, dynasty trusts, and the permanent $15M estate tax exemption — the complete estate planning framework for athletes at every career stage and income level.
Contract Year & Free Agency Financial Planning
Extension vs. free agency NPV, domicile timing before signing, building a negotiation liquidity buffer, CEII coverage gaps, retirement front-loading, and signing bonus tax structure — the full financial checklist for your contract year.
Why Pro Athletes Go Broke: 7 Mistakes That Cost Them Everything
78% of NFL players face financial distress within 2 years of retirement. The specific mistakes behind that number — and what actually prevents it.
How to Choose a Financial Advisor for Athletes (2026)
Fee-only vs. fee-based vs. commission, credentials to look for, red flags that end careers, and 10 diagnostic questions to ask before you hire anyone.
Managing Family Financial Pressure as a Professional Athlete
The "family bank" destroys more careers financially than bad investments. How to structure family support using gift tax rules, set limits before the asks arrive, and protect your compressed earning window.
Athlete Prenuptial Agreement & Marriage Financial Planning
Community property states, QDRO pension division, signing bonus timing, and the full marriage financial checklist for professional athletes — before you sign and after.
Professional Athlete Investment Strategy 2026
How to invest when 90% of your lifetime earnings arrive before age 35: account stacking, tax-efficient taxable portfolio (LTCG + NIIT + muni bonds), asset allocation by career stage, the alternatives trap, and a 7-point red-flag checklist for investment pitches.
Professional Athlete Spending Plan: How Not to Blow $20M in 5 Years
Gross-to-net reality check, the career fund target, the 50% savings rule for compressed careers, housing budget limits, family support ceiling, and the 5 specific mistakes that drive the 78% post-career bankruptcy rate.
Your Athlete Advisory Team: Agents, CPAs, and Fee-Only Advisors
The four roles, verified fee caps by league, how to spot predatory business manager arrangements, the independent custodian requirement, and a full cost comparison between a properly structured team and common predatory alternatives.
Athlete Retirement Savings: Solo 401(k), Cash Balance, and the Roth Conversion Window
How to stack retirement accounts on a compressed career window — Solo 401(k) $72K limit, cash balance plan, IRA — and the post-career Roth conversion strategy that cuts the tax bill for decades.
Professional Athlete Tax Deductions 2026
OBBBA permanently eliminated W-2 misc. itemized deductions. What athletes can still deduct (Solo 401(k), health insurance, SE tax, HSA), the S-corp structure math, and the deductible expense checklist for self-employed athletes.
Professional Athlete Charitable Giving Guide 2026
DAF vs. private foundation vs. CRT, the OBBBA charitable deduction rules, why appreciated securities beat cash for donations, and how to front-load giving during the high-income earning window.
Health Insurance for Professional Athletes 2026
League coverage during career, COBRA election window, ACA special enrollment, minor league and independent league gaps, and the post-career coverage cliff math — $1,500–$2,500/month for 30+ years if you don't plan for it.
Professional Athlete Mortgage & Home Buying Guide
Jumbo vs. conforming loan limits, portfolio lenders for irregular athlete income, down payment strategy, buy vs. rent framework by career stage, and the endorsement S-corp income documentation trap.
Life Insurance for Professional Athletes
NFL group life limits, coverage formula for athletes (income replacement + family bank + education), term vs. permanent analysis, sport-specific underwriting, and the ILIT structure for estates above the $15M OBBBA exemption.
Athlete Salary Deferral & Deferred Compensation Guide 2026
The Ohtani playbook explained: §409A mechanics, why clubs offer deferrals (CBT luxury-tax math), an NPV calculator showing whether deferring beats taking the money now, and the California sourcing trap that makes the state-tax arbitrage much riskier than it looks.
International Athlete US Tax Guide 2026
Foreign-born players in US leagues: how US residency rules make your worldwide income taxable, FBAR and FATCA reporting requirements, the estate tax trap that hits non-resident aliens ($60K exemption vs. $15M for citizens), and the 10 mistakes that cost international athletes the most.
Sport-specific guides
NFL Player Financial Planning Guide
Rookie minimums, signing bonus tax treatment, jock tax, the NFL pension, T&P disability, and NFLPA advisory-team rules.
NBA Player Financial Planning Guide
Salary cap tiers, max contracts, jock tax in 20+ states, the NBA pension, and post-career Roth conversion strategy.
MLB Player Financial Planning Guide
Pre-arb, arbitration, free agency arc, signing bonus domicile, jock tax for a 162-game season, and MLB pension math.
NHL Player Financial Planning Guide
Entry-level contracts, escrow mechanics, cross-border jock tax in Canadian cities, NHL pension ($280K/yr max), and the advisory team.
PGA Tour Player Financial Planning Guide
Independent contractor taxes, SE tax on prize money, tournament state taxes, caddie costs, FedEx Cup retirement plan, and LIV Golf comparison.
MLS Player Financial Planning Guide
Salary cap tiers, designated player contracts, jock tax across 28+ states and Canada, the 401(k) as your only retirement plan, agent fee caps, and post-career transition.
Professional Tennis Player Financial Planning Guide
Multi-country prize money taxation, SE tax for independent contractors, the ATP pension plan, Solo 401(k) on endorsement income, the earnings cliff below rank 100, and the post-career Roth conversion window.
UFC & MMA Fighter Financial Planning Guide
The true advisory team cost (manager + trainer = 25–35% off the top), SE tax on fight purses, training camp deductions, health insurance exposure with no employer plan, and the compressed career savings strategy with no pension.
Olympic Athlete Financial Planning Guide
IRC §74(d) medal tax exemption, the new $200K USOPC post-games benefit, World Athletics prize money, endorsement SE tax math, the training cost gap, and how to build a 40-year retirement portfolio on a compressed Olympic earning window.
NASCAR & Motorsports Financial Planning Guide
No union, no pension, no CBA safety net. How NASCAR drivers get paid across three income buckets, jock tax across 20 race states, endorsement SE tax, and how to build a retirement plan from scratch.
WNBA Player Financial Planning Guide 2026
The historic 2026 CBA raised the salary cap 366% and crossed $1M for the first time. How the new salary scale, overseas play math, jock tax across WNBA cities, and endorsement income structuring work in the new era.
Professional Boxing Financial Planning Guide
Manager 33% + trainer 10% + sanctioning 3% cost stack explained, camp expense deductions, state tax by venue, promoter contract structure, and Solo 401(k) + cash balance stacking for fighters with no union and no pension.
Esports Player Financial Planning Guide 2026
Peak performance window of 18–24, no union, no pension, income across team salary + streaming + tournament prizes. How SE tax on streaming income, S-corp election, Solo 401(k) strategy, and the post-career Roth conversion window work for professional esports players.
LPGA Tour Player Financial Planning Guide 2026
$132M in 2026 prize money across 13 countries and 13 US states — yet the average LPGA player nets ~$233K after expenses before tax. How independent contractor SE tax, multi-state tournament taxes, the minimal LPGA retirement plan, and S-corp endorsement structuring work for professional women golfers.
Formula 1 Driver Financial Planning Guide 2026
22 races, 21 countries, no union, no pension — and the biggest salary spread in motorsport ($750K to $70M+). Monaco vs. UAE residency tax strategy, cross-country racing taxation, personal service company structure, and how F1 drivers fund 50 years of post-career life on a 5–10 year career window.
NWSL Player Financial Planning Guide 2026
The new CBA, the High Impact Player "Rodman rule," and 16-team expansion change NWSL financial planning. Jock tax across all 16 cities (3 California teams every season), endorsement income S-corp strategy, overseas play math, and retirement savings with no pension.
Track & Field and Road Racing Financial Planning Guide 2026
Diamond League across 14 countries, Boston/NYC marathon prize money, no union and no pension — every dollar is self-employment income. Multi-country taxation, shoe contract S-corp strategy, training cost deductions under IRC §162, and Solo 401(k) retirement savings for athletes competing without a team safety net.
Professional Volleyball Financial Planning Guide 2026
PVF indoor vs. beach volleyball: two different tax treatments on one career. SE tax mechanics for beach players (AVP/FIVB), international league complexity (Italy, Turkey), Foreign Tax Credit for US players abroad, Solo 401(k) with no pension, health insurance gap between seasons, and the S-corp election for endorsement income above $100K.
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Athlete Advisor Match is a matching service. We connect you with vetted fee-only financial advisors in our network — we don't manage money or provide advice ourselves. Advisors in our network are fiduciaries who charge transparent fees (not product commissions), and we match you based on your specific situation.