Why Proximity Is the Most Underrated Career Move Athletes Never Make

Most athletes spend their entire careers focused on what they can control inside the lines — their speed, their technique, their conditioning. And that focus is necessary. It's what gets you to the professional level in the first place. But there's a skill that rarely gets talked about in locker rooms, and it may be the single biggest factor in what happens to your life after the final whistle blows.

That skill is proximity — and if you're a professional athlete, you have more of it than you realize.

What Is Proximity, and Why Does It Matter?

Proximity is simply being close to the people, conversations, and environments where opportunity lives. It's not luck. It's not nepotism. It's intentional positioning — showing up to the right rooms, building the right relationships, and staying present long enough for doors to open.

Most people spend decades trying to earn the kind of access that athletes are handed from day one of their professional career. Think about it: you are regularly in the same spaces as franchise owners, C-suite executives, real estate developers, venture capitalists, and high-net-worth individuals who are passionate about your sport.

They're in your owner's suite. They're at your sponsor dinners. They're in the charity events your team hosts. They want to be around you.

The question isn't whether the access is there. The question is what you're doing with it.

You're Already in the Room — Are You Working It?

I've watched countless teammates walk through incredible rooms and never truly engage. I, myself, have been the player who didn't take advantage of the proximity opportunities I had. Post-game VIP receptions, brand partnership dinners, ownership meetings, sponsor activations — these aren't just obligations on the calendar. They are relationship-building opportunities disguised as events.

The athletes who build real wealth and real careers after sports aren't always the ones who performed the best on the field. They're the ones who stayed curious when they were off it. They asked questions. They listened. They found out what the person across the table actually cared about — and they followed up. That's proximity in action.

A lot of the major opportunity in my post-playing career trace back to a relationship I built while I was still in the game. Not after. While. That timing matters more than most athletes understand.

Your Athletic Brand Is the Key That Opens Doors

Here's something that took me a while to fully appreciate: as a professional athlete, your personal brand precedes you into every room before you even say a word. People already associate you with discipline, elite performance, and the ability to execute under pressure. That's a reputation most business professionals spend years trying to build.

The mistake I see athletes make is treating that brand like a jersey number — something attached to a contract that expires when the playing days end. Your identity as an athlete is a platform, not a phase. And the smartest move you can make is to use that platform while you still have it to get in front of the people and conversations that will shape your next chapter.

When you walk into a room as an active professional athlete, you carry weight. Executives want to partner with you. Investors want to be associated with your story. Entrepreneurs want your perspective. Use that leverage intentionally — because proximity is most powerful when you're not desperate for it.

How to Leverage Proximity While You're Still Playing

Proximity as a strategy isn't complicated, but it does require intention. Here's how to start:

Show up fully to sponsor and brand events. Most athletes treat these as checkboxes. Flip the script and treat every one of them like a networking opportunity. Ask the person behind the partnership what problems they're trying to solve. Find out what they're building. A single genuine conversation can plant a seed that turns into a business relationship years later.

Build real relationships with ownership and the front office. This isn't about politics — it's about professionalism. A lot of owners and executives genuinely want to connect with their players on a human level. When you approach those relationships with curiosity and respect, you become memorable in ways that go beyond your stats. Former teammates of mine have landed real estate deals, sports roles, and corporate jobs directly because they built authentic rapport with ownership during their playing careers.

Expand your proximity beyond your sport's ecosystem. Some of the most valuable relationships for athletes aren't with other athletes or team staff at all. Doctors, developers, restaurateurs, real estate investors, and financial advisors are showing up to your games and events every single week. They're in your network through agents, teammates, and team affiliates. The people who can change your financial future are already in your orbit — you just have to engage.

The Window Is Shorter Than You Think

No one likes to think about the end of their playing career while they're still in it. But the hard truth is that the window of athlete-level access has a timer on it. Every year you play is another year of relationship capital you could be accumulating. Every room you pass on entering is a conversation that never happens. Every event you skip to go home early is a connection left on the table.

When I was playing professionally, I started building Prime Focus Goalkeeping and intentionally paying attention to the business conversations happening in my orbit. I asked questions I didn't know the answers to. I stayed curious about how deals got done, how partnerships were structured, how businesses were built. That intentionality didn't just prepare me for life after sports — it changed the trajectory of my entire career.

The skills that made you a professional — discipline, coachability, performing under pressure, leading in high-stakes moments — are exactly what business partners are looking for. But proximity is what puts you in position to show people that. You can't demonstrate your value if you're never in the room.

Start Before You Think You Need To

The biggest mistake athletes make when it comes to proximity is waiting. Waiting until retirement to start building relationships. Waiting until they're in transition to start getting in rooms. Waiting until they need something to start networking.

By then, your leverage has shifted. The doors that were once wide open require a lot more effort to push through. The relationships that could have been built organically now have to be built strategically from a cold start.

The athletes who transition into business, investing, and entrepreneurship most successfully aren't the ones who figured it all out in retirement. They're the ones who were quietly building while they were still playing — paying attention, asking questions, staying present in rooms that had nothing to do with sports and everything to do with their future.

Proximity isn't about who you know. It's about who you're consistently around — and what you do with that access. You already have it. The only question is whether you're using it.

If you're a current or former athlete thinking about your next chapter — or you want to connect on sports entrepreneurship, personal branding, or investing — let's talk. Follow my journey and reach out on LinkedIn. The best opportunities always start with a conversation.