Athlete Transition: If You Can’t Find the Role, Create It

I had a reconnect call with someone I’ve respected for a long time — and one line from the conversation hasn’t left me:

“If you can’t find it, you probably have to create it.”

That sentence perfectly captures the athlete transition most of us don’t anticipate.

The Tension of the Next Chapter

He is five months into a startup opportunity, stretching muscles he hasn’t had to use in years. New baby. New professional chapter. New expectations.

I told him I feel the same way.

I’ve been building in the sports investing space, attending club investor events, meeting with family offices, talking to league executives, founders, and players. On paper, it looks like momentum.

But internally, it feels like tension.

Not confusion — tension.

I know I have value to bring to sports beyond playing. I know I understand branding, community building, marketing strategy. I know there is a massive gap in athlete education and transition resources.

What I don’t know is where that role officially exists.

The Missing Bridge in Soccer

We talked specifically about the gap between:

• Players who want to build something off the field

• And organizations that don’t have infrastructure to support that

There’s appetite.

There’s interest.

There’s talent.

But there isn’t a clean bridge.

He pointed out something important — some leagues have had years to build that bridge and haven’t. That tells you something about institutional priorities.

So if the structure doesn’t exist internally…

Maybe it has to be built externally.

The Athlete Transition Identity Problem

Here’s the hard part about transition:

In sport, the role is defined.

You’re a starter. You’re a backup. You’re a captain. You’re a contributor.

In business — especially in sports business — there isn’t always a defined lane waiting for you.

You might have to define it.

And that’s uncomfortable.

Because athletes are trained inside systems.

Entrepreneurship requires building systems.

Geography, Family, and Reality

There’s also the practical tension.

For family reasons, I’m rooted in Charlotte right now

That changes the equation.

It forces you to think differently:

• Is it a club role?

• A league role?

• A family office sports vertical?

• An NIL agency?

• A third-party advisory platform?

• Something entirely new?

He also said something else that stuck:

These roles probably don’t exist at scale across the industry

That’s both discouraging and exciting.

The Opportunity Hidden in the Gap

When roles don’t exist, it usually means one of two things:

1. The market doesn’t value it.

2. The market hasn’t built it yet.

I don’t believe it’s the first.

I’ve spoken to former MLS players, Liga MX players, executives, and founders. There is real desire for better education, better off-field exposure, better capital literacy, and better long-term planning.

The infrastructure just isn’t consistent.

And that’s where the opportunity lives.

Build Inside or Build Outside?

There are two paths I keep circling:

Path A: Get inside an organization. Understand the ecosystem. See where the gaps are from the inside. Then build something structured.

Path B: Build the framework independently. Position it as a third-party service. Bring value to leagues and clubs instead of waiting for permission.

Neither is wrong.

Both require courage.

Both require clarity.

Both require me to flesh out the concept further — not just talk about it.

The Real Athlete Advantage

He reminded me that what I’m thinking about has value beyond just soccer

And that’s the part athletes often underestimate.

We see our identity as tied to one sport.

But the real transferable asset is:

• Competitive discipline

• Pattern recognition

• Locker room credibility

• Marketing intuition from lived experience

• Understanding how athletes actually think

That combination is rare.

It just doesn’t come packaged in a job description.

The Truth About Transition

The longer I sit in this space, the clearer it becomes:

Transition isn’t about finding the perfect job.

It’s about building clarity in ambiguity.

It’s about continuing to have conversations. Continuing to refine the framework. Continuing to pressure test the idea.

And maybe — when the role doesn’t exist —

Creating it.

That’s uncomfortable for former athletes.

But so was betting on yourself to chase a professional career in the first place.

Different arena.

Same mindset.

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If these ideas resonate, you should subscribe to the blog. I use this space to explore the realities of athlete transitions, investing, leadership, and decision-making beyond the surface-level narratives—drawing from real conversations, lived experience, and work inside sport and business. Subscribing ensures you receive future posts directly and stay connected as these themes continue to evolve.

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