The Super Bowl is, to many, a national holiday focusing on the essence of all that is sports. The passion of its players, owners, fans, and media from around the world builds up, for the better part of a year, to bring a single game that will propel the winners to glory and stardom. After that final minute of the game passes, the confetti falls, the music blasts and the trophies, cars, and awards are handed out like candy.
The other side of the coin
But then you have the other 30 National Football League Teams out there that have hung up their hats for yet another season.
Another year lost in "What ifs" and "What could I have done betters." For the over 1,500 players not taking part in the festivities of the Super Bowl, and that's only including the starting players (not including Practice Squad, administrative staff, non-starters, or coaches) the offseason can be a very different time.
Only a handful of players do significant during the offseason. This may be in the form of directly working with the team, doing promotional deals or managing their own businesses. Many in fact, who may not be making the millions that people think they do, end up picking up part-time jobs during the offseason to literally pay the bills.
Let's get to work
During the course of the past few years alone, NFL employees have done a wide variety of work that may surprise the common fan.
Some of these include working for fast food restaurants, general retail, Uber & Lyft, landscaping, lifeguards and many more.
Bernard Reedy, an NFL practice squad teammate currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has worked much of his offseason working for Care Ride since 2015. His pay, $11.00 an hour.
"The money in your savings is only going to last so long.
I had to go out and get a job so I could continue to live," Reedy mentioned to ESPN. "You want to always have something you fall back on. If you don't work, you don't have any more income, so it's just decreasing. You've gotta go find a way to make some money."
Former Vikings Quarterback Brooks Bollinger is a currently a financial planner for other athletes.
"They may be in their 20's, but in their financial life it’s more like they’re 55 getting ready to retire at 59," Bollinger mentioned in a recent interview with the StarTribune.
Training camp for NFL teams starts up in the middle of July depending on the specific team. So don't be surprised if over the next five months you may see a sighting of an NFL player or employee around your local hot spots!
