Pro Athlete Community Prepares Athletes For Life After Sports

Pro Athlete Community is one of the largest growing organizations for professional athletes. It offers current and retired players the opportunity to set-up their lives after sports.

Courtesy of PAC (JFR Photography Corp. 2024)

We’ve all heard the stories. A professional athlete makes tens or hundreds of millions of dollars during his or her career, only to file for bankruptcy several years after retirement. According to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, 15.7% of NFL athletes declare bankruptcy within 12 years of retiring. Pro Athlete Community (PAC) is changing that by offering professional athletes financial guidance and control over the rest of their lives.

PAC is an exclusive network built to help professional athletes “navigate life beyond sports.” Since its creation in 2022, over 800 athletes, from the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, PGA, and other major leagues, have benefited from the financial and professional training that PAC offers its members. In early August, PAC opened its doors to any current or former professional athlete from a verified league, with over 300 athletes joining in the initial two-week intake window.

“It’s truly an honor to support the greatest athletes in the world, and empower them to apply their grit, rigor, and intelligence in a new context,” said Chip Paucek, PAC Co-Founder and CEO. “We’re building a new locker room for their long-term future — a place where like-minded athletes and trusted educators and advisors come together to grow, invest, and elevate what’s next.”

Creating PAC

PAC is the brainchild of Kaleb Thornhill, the former Head of Player Development at the Miami Dolphins. A successful linebacker during his college days at Michigan State, in 2021 Thornhill hosted a “business combine” for the Dolphins’ players focused on real estate investment, entrepreneurship and networking. The voluntary seminar provided players professional training and networking opportunities with business executives and government officials.

Former Dolphins’ safety Jason McCourty attended the seminar, alongside current star linebacker Jaelan Phillips. McCourty, a 13-year veteran at the time, was astonished by the program Thornhill put together. He says, “I had never had that experience before,” and quickly called his brother Devin, then at the New England Patriots.

Three-time Super Bowl champion Devin recalls the phone call from Jason, in which his brother told him, “This is the greatest thing I’ve been a part of. You need to find a way to get it to New England.” When Devin finally got the chance to attend one of Thornhill’s events, he says, “it blew me away.”

The initial “business combine” expanded into what is now PAC, when Thornhill met Chip Paucek. Paucek, a first-generation college student and successful education entrepreneur, was happy to help Thornhill run the second edition. The response to his sessions was incredible and both men knew they had unlocked something of value.

And in just three years, Paucek and Thornhill have grown PAC into one of the biggest organizations for sports professionals, which Paucek calls “ a blessing.”

Giving Athletes Community

Players are constantly training to become the best in their sport, but very rarely are they given the guidance or instilled with the belief that they can do the same off the field. Devin McCourty says “We’re always told as players that we’re a business, but it’s only about being good at football. No one talks to you about being the CEO of your life.”

PAC’s focus is providing coaching, mentoring and education to every member athlete. It is a safe space for professional athletes to find community and direction away from those who may not have their best interests at heart. As Paucek says, “We basically just help remind them of their eliteness, boost their confidence, and provide them with resources.”

The McCourty brothers now operate as co-chairs of PAC. They focus on growing the community by spreading the word to new athletes, explaining the opportunities they might have once they hang up their pads, and securing funding.

Jaelan Phillips is one of PAC’s first fellows. During the NFL offseason, he attended an event in Scottsdale, Arizona where he jumped in on different sales meetings, spoke to players and served as a PAC liaison — all valuable business experience for a man yet to hit his peak in the NFL.

Phillips has always been interested in real estate investing, so to him it made sense to become part of the Professional Athlete Community. Speaking to me over the phone during training camp, Phillips said “We spend so much time in our profession, if we don’t spend time investing in our relationships, we’re playing catch-up afterward.” PAC gives Phillips the opportunity to plant seeds for his future while playing football.

In its early years, PAC has been centered around the NFL, but the McCourtys are working hard to bring in athletes from other sports.

As part of PAC’s progression, the organization is developing an app that will enhance player engagement and enable current and former pros to share a virtual locker room. PAC also offers in-person combines every few months in some of the major cities across the U.S. and has ongoing virtual professional development sessions. Once becoming a member, athletes can attend any virtual or in-person session and are assigned a career coach who will help them work towards different professional objectives.

PAC’s main product is “Next Chapter U,” as in next chapter university. It is a program which prepares players for their life beyond the field, with individualized mentoring. Players and affiliated leagues can also purchase “pathway programs” which will help them specialize in a certain field. The goal is to make sure athletes no longer feel “behind the rest of the world” when they decide to leave their sport.

Advice for Professional Athletes

Jason McCourty was entering his 13th season when he moved to the Miami Dolphins. He entered the season knowing it would be his last, and seven games in, he got injured and had to have season-ending surgery. He admits he “felt dissatisfied” with how his career was ending — asking, “Why me?” by the time he attended the Dolphins’ “business combine.”

Despite having been nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in his community, and having an established podcast, he was feeling unsure about himself and the next steps after football. He credits the seminar Thornhill prepared with changing his attitude and pushing him to adopt a growth mindset.

Looking back, McCourty says he would counsel current players “give yourself grace.” There is always more growing an individual can do, especially those who are retiring with so much life left to be lived. After the initial business combine with the Dolphins, Jason McCourty attended a broadcast bootcamp and walked away with three job offers before taking up his current role on Good Morning Football.

Twin brother Devin felt a sense of loss after leaving football. The two-time Pro Bowler suffered during the transition from locker room to home life. He admits he “lost sense of who he was and what he needed,” but notes that because of his experience with PAC he knew “it was okay to seek help.”

The McCourty brothers want current athletes to know that there is life after sports, and it can be full of amazing opportunities. Devin says, “I would tell men or women, as you get exposed to new things, let that expansion happen, have that growth mentality.” Jason, meanwhile, says he would remind retiring athletes, “they were in the one percent of the one percent, they’ve beaten all the odds and overcome adversity, they can transfer that into the next thing.”

For Jaelan Phillips, PAC is simply an unmissable opportunity, which he says players would “be remiss if they didn’t take advantage of.” Be it podcasting, television, real estate, or law, there are endless opportunities for athletes with the determination to learn new skills. In PAC they will find a community designed to help them thrive, a place of education and inspiration.