Professional athletes have very diverse post-pro lives. We all know the stories of athletes who have lost their fortunes by making poor decisions during and after their careers. Yet for every story of bankruptcy, there’s myriad more stories of financially-successful athletes.
In today’s sports-fueled world, many athletes are opting for early retirement in order to save their bodies. Former NFL star Patrick Willis is one such athlete, opting for a career in tech over continuing with the 49ers.
While Willis works for a data storage company, many of the top sports tech trends of this year provide ample opportunity for athletes to influence their sports as well as business.
Apps and Software
Seattle has created a number of tech entrepreneurs, which is not surprising given its reputation as the Silicon Valley of the Pacific Northwest. Many a Seahawk, active or retired, has entered the sports tech field with success.
One such retired player is Lawyer Milloy, who ended a 15-year career as a safety with the Seahawks. Milloy now represents GameOn, an app that allows fans to watch video highlights of games, chat with other fans, and even do a little trash talking if necessary.
Milloy is one of many athletes and sports celebrities who work as ambassadors for the app, lending their likenesses to GameOn’s vast array of emojis and stickers. The fun part of GameOn is that it offers fans a level of interaction with each other that can’t be achieved via other apps. Fans can start “huddles” for their own friends on the app or engage in huddles automatically created for games and matches.
Milloy has even represented GameOn at the Collision Conference, a startup conference and funding conference.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality titan STRIVR has been a regular of this column for good reason: it has been developed by a team of scientists and former athletes. The National Football League contributed heavily to STRIVR’s C-suite. The company’s Vice President for Team Operations is Trent Edwards, a former NFL quarterback.
The Seahawks are also represented by former tight end Evan Moore. Moore, who wears many entrepreneurial hats, is the VP for Sales for STRIVR. With the company’s focus on athlete training, it is only natural that former athletes be heavily involved in its development. Even the Chief Science Officer, Michael Casale, is a former college athlete and Ph.D.
With many an athlete transitioning to coaching after a playing career, working in VR to train athletes is a viable post-athletics option.
Injury Prevention
The sports tech field wherein athletes, active and former, may have the most influence is injury prevention. There’s plenty of media focus on concussion prevention, especially with six former NCAA players suing the association over the injury.
Seattle, again, leads the way for Pacific Northwest athletes participating in injury prevention projects. Seahawk Doug Baldwin, Jr. is a member of VICIS’s Coalition. The coalition is comprised of current and former NFL athletes and coaches. This group of athletes contributes to the development of one of injury prevention’s most promising products: the Zero1.
Already a hot topic, the prototype helmet and others like it are pet projects for many athletes. Athletes, current and former, are also the jub of research for Nike. For Matthew Nurse, Senior Director of the Nike Explore Team Sport Research Lab, it’s athletes who provide the best data for product development. These products include footwear developments that improve running strides, which in turn cuts down on injuries.
Just as with both sports and technology, the intersection of the two is nearly limitless. As more and more athletes see the potential in the two, the greater their influence will become. They are the ones participating. Why not become more involved in improving their sports through tech?
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