The 36 Best Football Players On Wall Street

Anyone who plays football professionally knows that they won't be able to play forever. That means they need to have post-football career plans in mind. For some, Wall Street is the perfect fit. It's cut-throat, super competitive and it takes a lot of discipline to put in all those long hours.

2013-07-15T13:28:00Z

Anyone who plays football professionally knows that they won't be able to play forever. That means they need to have post-football career plans in mind.

For some, Wall Street is the perfect fit.  It's cut-throat, super competitive and it takes a lot of discipline to put in all those long hours.

So it should come as no surprise that there are a bunch of former football stars working in trading, investment banking and wealth management.

AP Images

We've compiled a list of some of the best football players in finance. (Note: These names are not in any particular order). 

Many of these guys played professionally before heading to Wall Street. Others were standouts in college.  Some have even done internships at investment banks during the off-season while still playing in the NFL.

If we're missing any big names, feel free to send an email to jlaroche@businessinsider.com to add to the list. A photo would also be greatly appreciated. 

Former NFL wide-receiver Wayne Chrebet now works at Barclays.

Wikimedia Commons

Finance Job: He an assistant vice president in the wealth and investment management division of Barclays. 

School: Hofstra University (c/o 1995)

Position: Wide-receiver

Pro Team: New York Jets

Highlights: Chrebet played 11 seasons for the Jets.  He set the NFL record for the most receptions by a wide receiver during his first two seasons.  During his NFL career, he had 580 receptions and 41 touchdowns. 

Former Jets quarterback Richard Todd works in fixed income sales for JPMorgan.

AP Images

Finance Job: He works at JPMorgan in fixed income sales, according to a source. 

School: Alabama 

Position: Quarterback

Pro Team: New York Jets and New Orleans Saints

Highlights: During his pro career, he made 124 touchdowns and 161 interceptions.

Brad Daluiso, who works at Morgan Stanley, played in the NFL for 11 seasons.

Getty Images/ Rick Stewart

Finance Job: He works at Morgan Stanley in San Diego, FINRA records show.

School: UCLA

Position: Kicker

Pro Teams: Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, New York Giants and the Oakland Raiders

Highlights: He played in two Super Bowls — XXVI for the Bills and XXXV for the Giants.

Cade McNown, who previously worked at JPMorgan, played four seasons in the NFL as a quarterback.

Chris J. Nelson

Finance Job: He recently joined Beverly Hills-based Lourd Capital Management, FINRA records show.  McNown previously worked at JPMorgan Securities and UBS.

School: UCLA

Position: Quarterback

Pro Teams: Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers.

Highlights: While in the NFL, he had 515 pass attempts with 281 pass completions. He made 16 touchdowns while playing professionally. 

Thomas 'Touchdown Tommy' Vardell now runs a private equity firm.

Getty Images/ Otto Greule Jr

Finance Job: He's a managing director/co-founder of private equity firm Northgate Capital.

School: Stanford (c/o 1992)

Position: Fullback 

Pro Teams: Cleveland Browns (1992-1995), San Francisco 49ers (1996, 1999) and Detroit Lions (1997-1998)

Highlights: While at Stanford, he earned the nickname "Touchdown Tommy." During his nine NFL seasons, he scored 87 points.

Brent Jones, who played for the 49ers, co-founded a private equity firm with Tommy Vardell.

Getty Images Sport/ Andy Lyons

Finance Job: He co-founded private equity firm Northgate Capital. 

School: Santa Clara University 

Position: Tight End

Pro Teams: San Francisco 49ers

Highlights: He was drafted by the Steelers in 1986.  Shortly after, he got in a car accident and injured his neck. He wasn't able to play and eventually got cut.  

The San Francisco 49ers signed him as a free agent and he became a star.  While playing for the 49ers, he had 417 receptions and 33 touchdowns. 

NFL star quarterback Peyton Manning said Bryan Fletcher, who works at Credit Suisse, always has 'brilliant ideas.'

AP Images

Finance Job: Fletcher works in equity sales at Credit Suisse. Before that, he was a financial analyst at City Securities Corporation. 

School: UCLA (c/o 2002)

Position: Tight End

Pro Teams: Indianapolis Colts (2005 to 2007) and the Chicago Bears (2002 to 2004)

Highlights: He played in the NFL for the from 2002 until 2007.

In a video from 2006, Peyton Manning referred to Fletcher as "the suggestion box" and that he has "always got these brilliant ideas."

Source: LinkedIn 

Former Giants wide-receiver Phil McConkey runs a broker-dealer these days.

AP Images

Finance Job: He's the president of broker-dealer Academy Securities.

School: United States Naval Academy (c/o 1984)

Position: Wide-receiver

Pro Teams: New York Giants (1984 to 1985), Green Bay Packers (1986), New York Giants (1986 to 1988), Phoenix Cardinals (1989) and San Diego Chargers (1989)

Highlights: During his pro career, he caught 67 passes for 1,113 yards and scored 2 touchdowns.

Former NFL tight end Pete Mitchell works at an investment management firm now.

AP Images

Finance Job: He's a senior portfolio specialist at Thornburg Investment Management in Florida, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

School: Boston College (c/o 1994)

Position: Tight End

Pro Teams: Jacksonville Jaguars (1995 to 1998, 2002), New York Giants (1999 to 2000), Detroit Lions 2001, and Indianapolis Colts (2003 to 2004)

Highlights: During Mitchell's NFL career, he played in 114 games, had 2,885 receiving yards and made 15 touchdowns. 

Former NFL quarterback Jim Everett runs his own investment management business.

Getty Images/Imeh Akpanudosen

Finance Job: Everett runs his namesake Registered Investment Advisory, Jim Everett Company.  

School: Purdue University (c/o 1986) (He holds an MBA from Pepperdine University)

Position: Quarterback

Pro Teams: Los Angeles Rams (1986 to 1993), New Orleans Saints (1994 to 1996) and San Diego Chargers (1997)

Highlights: During his NFL career, he had a total of 34,837 passing yards and 203 touchdowns.

Brian Toal, who works at Knight Capital, played briefly for the New York Jets.

Getty Images/ Grant Halvorsen

Finance Job: He's an associate at Knight Capital

School: Boston College (c/o 2008)

Position: Linebacker

Pro Teams: Los Vegas Locomotives (UFL) and New York Jets

Highlights: He signed with the Jets in January 2011 and was let go in August. 

Jake Stoller, who works at Barclays, was signed by the Steelers after graduating from Yale.

AP Images

Finance Job: He works at Barclays.

School: Yale (c/o 2012)

Position: Defensive Lineman

Pro Team: Pittsburgh Steelers (He was cut)

Highlights: The Yale undrafted free agent was signed by the Steelers in 2012 and later cut.  During his senior year at Yale, he was named "Second-team All-Ivy League" selection.  He also received Yale's Jordan Oliver Award, which is awarded to the player who has earned the highest respect of his teammates. 

Investment banking analyst Collin Zych was the captain of the Harvard football team.

Getty Images

Finance Job: He's an investment banking analyst at Cogent Partners.

School: Harvard University (c/o 2011)

Position: Free Safety

Pro Team: Dallas Cowboys (He was cut from the regular season roster)

Highlights: He was captain of the Harvard football team and a two-time First Team All-Ivy

Last year's 'Wall Street's Best Athlete' RBC decathlon winner Mark Rubin, who works at Barclays, played briefly for the St. Louis Rams.

Getty Images

Finance Job: He works in fixed income futures sales at Barclays. 

School: Penn State (c/o 2010)

Position: Safety

Pro Team: St. Louis Rams

Highlights: He had a brief stint with the St. Louis Rams. Last year, he was named "Wall Street's Best Athlete" after winning the annual RBC Decathlon.

Third Point's Greg Zolman played three seasons in the NFL.

Getty Images/ Scott Halleran

Finance Job: He works at Third Point LLC covering Technology, Media & Telecom.

School: Vanderbilt (c/o 2001)

Position: Quarterback

Pro Teams: Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams and Buffalo Bills.

Highlights:  Zolman played three seasons in the NFL. He also spent a season with NFL-Europe playing for Rhein Fire, according to his LinkedIn profile

Energy trader Jay McCareins played for the Arizona Cardinals.

Getty Images/Stringer

Finance Job: He's an energy trader/ analyst at hedge fund George Weiss Associates. 

School: Princeton (c/o 2006)

Position: Cornerback

Pro Team: Arizona Cardinals

Highlights: While at Princeton, he was a four-year starter.  He was named Sports Network, Associated Press and Walter Camp First Team Football All-American Cornerback and was a three-time All Ivy Team. 

Ned Bolcar, who has worked at Gleacher & Co. and Jefferies, played three seasons in the NFL.

AP Images

Finance Job: In the past, Bolcar has worked at Gleacher & Co, ICAP and Jefferies & Co, FINRA records show

School: Notre Dame (c/o 1990)

Position: Linebacker

Pro Teams: Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins

Highlights: Bolcar completed three seasons in the NFL (one with the Seattle Seahawks and two with the Miami Dolphins).  While at Notre Dame, he was named a two-time second team All-American (1987, 1989).  He also captained the 1988 championship team.  

Source: Gleacher & Co.

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Thomas Welch interned at Merrill Lynch during his vacation time.

Getty Images

Finance Job: He interned at Merrill Lynch wealth management during his vacation time from football.  

School: Vanderbilt (c/o 2010)

Position: Offensive Tackle

Pro Teams: New England Patriots (2011), St. Louis Rams (2011), Philadelphia Eagles (2012) and Buffalo Bills (2012 to present).

Highlights: He's considered Vanderbilt's "most gifted lineman."

Scott Brunner, who works in wealth management, played quarterback for the New York Giants.

Wikimedia Commons

Finance Job: Brunner is an executive vice president and partner at the Net Worth Management Group at AXA Advisors.  He previously worked at The Buckingham Research Group, FINRA records show.

School: University of Delaware (c/o 1980)

Position: Quarterback

Pro Teams: New York Giants (1980 to 1983) and Denver Broncos and St. Louis Cardinals
 
Highlights: He was playing
 for the University of Delaware Blue Hens when they won the national championship in 1979.  

Defensive tackle David Howard turned his Merrill Lynch internship into a full-time job.

Getty Images

Finance Job: Howard took an internship at Merrill Lynch and turned it into a full-time job.  He currently works in wealth management in Towson, Maryland. 

School: Brown University (c/o 2010)

Position: Defensive Tackle 

Pro Teams: Tennessee Titans (2010), Oakland Raiders (2010), Seattle Seahawks (2011) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2012). 

Highlights: He was drafted by the Titans in 2010 and released in September.  While playing at Brown, 

Former New Orleans Saints center Alex Fletcher now works at Merrill Lynch.

AP Images

Finance Job: Fletcher works as an associate at Merrill Lynch, FINRA records show.

School: Stanford (c/o 2009)

Position: Center

Pro Team: New Orleans Saints 

Highlights: He was an undrafted rookie for the Saints. He had to retire early due to a life-threatening issue with his kidney, according to BleacherReport.com. 

Craig Sheppard, an associate at Citi, played for the UCLA Bruins.

Getty Images

Finance Job: He's an associate at Citi.

School: UCLA (c/o 2010)

Position: Tailback

Highlights:  He was a walk-on for UCLA.  He played three seasons for the UCLA Bruins and saw action in ten games. 

He's competing in the RBC Decathlon for the title of "Wall Street's Best Athlete."

Source: UCLABruins.com

Courtney Hall

Getty Images/ Gary Newkirk

Finance Job: He works at Hillcrest Venture Partners

School: Rice (JD/MBA from the University of Chicago)

Position: Center, Guard

Pro Team: San Diego Chargers

Highlights: He was the captain of the only Chargers team to play in the Super Bowl. 

Former NFL running back Chuck Mercein has spent many years working on Wall Street.

AP Images

Finance Job: He currently works at broker-dealer Mann Mann Jensen, FINRA records show.  He has spent many years on Wall Street working for Oppenheimer, Smith Barney and Credit Suisse First Boston, just to name a few.

School: Yale (c/o 1965)

Position: Running Back

Pro Teams: New York Giants (1965 to 1967), Green Bay Packers (1967 to 1969), Washington Redskins (1969) and New York Jets (1970)

Former Notre Dame defense cornerback Ambrose Wooden works at Goldman.

AP Images

Finance Job: Wooden is an associate at Goldman Sachs.

School: Notre Dame (c/o 2007)

Position: Defensive Cornerback

Highlights: He played five seasons for Notre Dame making 116 tackles and intercepting two passes. He graduated with a degree in finance with a 3.834 GPA his final semester, according to the campus newspaper.

Dave Brown, who works at Greenhill & Co., played for the Giants and the Cardinals.

AP Images

Finance Job: He's the co-head of private capital at Greenhill & Co. 

School: Duke University (c/o 1992)

Position: Quarterback

Team(s): New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals (back-up quarterback)

Highlights: Brown was a star when he played for the Duke Blue Devils.  He was also a first round supplemental NFL pick.

Thomas Freeman, who works at UBS, played for the Kansas City Chiefs.

via Linkedin

Finance Job: Freeman is a senior vice president of investments in UBS's Financial Services Group. 

School: Notre Dame

Position: Left Guard

Pro Team: Kansas City Chiefs 

Source: UBS

Jason Bell, who also works in wealth management, played for the Cowboys, Texans and Giants.

Getty Images

Finance Job: He's a financial advisor for Capital Guardian Wealth Management based in Charlotte, North Carolina, FINRA records show. 

School: UCLA

Position: Right Cornerback

Pro Teams: Dallas Cowboys (2001), the Houston Texans (2002 to 2005) and the Giants (2006).  

Highlights: During his pro career, he played in 83 games, made 71 tackles and 12 assists.

Former Buffalo Bills player Walter Stith works as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley.

Getty Images Sport

Finance Job: He's a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in Atlanta. 

School: North Carolina A&T

Position: Offensive Tackle

Team(s): Buffalo Bills

Highlights: Stith was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns. He's 6'9" and he weighed 320 pounds when he played in the NFL. 

John Shaffer

Wall Street Career: Shaffer is a partner at Goldman Sachs.  Before Goldman, he was in debt and equity at Merrill Lynch.

School: Penn State

Position: Quarterback

Highlights: Shaffer was the 1986 National Championship quarterback at Penn State. 

Goldman's global co-head of TMT Anthony Noto was a standout playing for West Point.

Getty Images/ Brian Ach

Finance Job: He's the co-head of global TMT investment banking at Goldman Sachs.  The star analyst left Goldman in early 2008 to take a job as CFO of the NFL.  In 2010, he left the NFL to return to Goldman. 

School: United States Military Academy at West Point 

Position: Linebacker

Highlights: He was an All-East and Academic All-American football player

Credit Suisse vice president Maurice Bennett signed as a rookie free agent for the Chicago Bears.

via YouTube/ Lafayette Leopards

Finance Job: He's a vice president and credit focused equity trader at Credit Suisse in New York, according to his LinkedIn.

School: Lafayette College

Position: Linebacker

Team(s): Chicago Bears (May 2006 to July 2006)

Highlights: He signed as a rookie free agent for the Bears.  During his senior year at Lafayette, he received every Division I-AA All America honor possible.

Former NFL linebacker Brandon Short worked at Goldman and is now launching his own firm.

AP Images

Finance Job: He recently left Goldman Sachs' Dubai unit to start a closely held Islamic lender, Bloomberg News reported.

School: Penn State

Position: Linebacker

Pro Teams: New York Giants (2000 to 2003), Carolina Panthers (2004 to 2005) and the New York Giants (2006)

Highlights: During his 7 NFL seasons, he made a total of 267 tackles.

Jamil Soriano, who is an equity research analyst, has three championship rings, including a Super Bowl ring.

via LinkedIn

Finance Job: After Soriano hung up his cleats, he was hired as a debt capital markets analyst at Credit Suisse. He's currently and equity research analyst with Ariel Investments in Chicago, according to his LinkedIn.

School: Harvard (c/o 2003)

Position: Guard

Pro Teams: New England Patriots (practice squad) and Berlin Thunder

Highlights: He has three championship rings — an Ivy League championship ring, Super Bowl XXXVIII championship ring and a NFL Europe World Bowl Championship ring.

Aaron Greeno, who played for the University of Miami's national championship team, works at Morgan Stanley.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Greeno

Finance Job: Greeno is a vice president at Morgan Stanley, according to his LinkedIn page.

School: University of Miami

Position: Tight End

Highlights: Greeno was a member of the University of Miami's 2001 national championship team. 

Steve Young, who runs a private equity firm, was a famous quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers and is now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

AP Images

Finance Job: He's the managing partner and co-founder of private equity firm Huntsman Gay Global Capital. 

School: Brigham Young

Position: Quarterback

Pro Teams: Los Angeles Express and San Francisco 49ers.

Highlights: He played in the NFL for more than 15 years as a quarterback spending most of that time with the San Francisco 49ers.  He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl XXIX, Sports Illustrated and Sporting News's "Player of the Year", and the NFL's "Most Value able Player" in 1992 and 1994.  He's also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history.  

Source: Huntsman Gay Global Capital

Steve Young is also one of our sexiest people in finance...

Reuters

Meet The Sexiest Wall Streeters Alive >

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyjsdKtZJ%2Bnn6mvorjLZqelmamav7R5zqdksJmcoXq0wNGenK1lYmV%2BdHmV

 Share!