Digital education program helps athletes achieve greater financial savvy
With student-athletes in high school readily availing themselves of name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities, Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment (GSE) has launched a new financial education program, Money in the Making™, designed specifically for young athletes and entertainers. The free program provides information that helps young athletes build and manage their assets as well as make wise financial decisions.
Over 44% of student-athletes have expressed a desire to strengthen their financial literacy, and about 49% want tax information. Topics include budgeting, saving, investing, and credit. A high-profile partner for Money in the Making is 17-year NFL veteran Larry Fitzgerald Jr., who shares the keys to his post-football financial successes. Another partner is Parity, a brand sponsorship platform focused on closing the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports.
History-making bobsledder Dr. Seun Adigun, the force behind Nigeria’s 2018 debut at the Olympic Winter Games, has been working with Parity for a couple of years. “I’m one of the athletes who has benefitted,” said Adigun, who noted that Parity has developed high-impact collaborations for female athletes. “They match us with brands to get visibility as well as being appreciated for being women in sports.”
Adigun, a chiropractor and biomechanist, said financial literacy and awareness are crucial parts of success for female athletes. Also, “understanding what it means to be a brand,” said Adigun, a track athlete before taking up bobsled. “I want to be able to help other women to understand that life is about that balance—how to do your life as an athlete and also how to live your life as a financially healthy individual,” she said.
How to finance her professional education and how to finance the improbable bobsled project was something Adigun learned through trial and error. Helping other young athletes not have to face the same challenges is deeply satisfying for her.
“You can be a professional athlete but also understand that you’re a business and you are a personal brand,” she said. “That’s so much more relevant now in the age of social media.”
“Given NIL, there has been an influx of requests to host financial education sessions,” said Sandra L. Richards, managing director, head of GSE and Segment Sales & Engagement, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Money in the Making as a digital financial education platform allows us to scale the resource to reach as many student-athletes, their parents, and anybody else in their ecosystem where they are.”
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