By front office position at NFL / NHL / NBA do you mean quarterback, running back, wide receiver, point guard etc. or just any playing position? A better way would be through a top sports state school and playing for that team and getting drafted. IB --> NHL/NBA/NFL will be very tough even if you're looking for second string positions

 
philliesphan:
By front office position at NFL / NHL / NBA do you mean quarterback, running back, wide receiver, point guard etc. or just any playing position? A better way would be through a top sports state school and playing for that team and getting drafted. IB --> NHL/NBA/NFL will be very tough even if you're looking for second string positions

I see your hyperbole, but still, fail. I stated front office pretty explicitly, which doesn't include players. Take a lap sport.

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This is definitely done. I had a good friend who did one year at MS in IBD (I think their media group) and literally found a job in NFL corporate right after. i think he found it through monstertrak or maybe even just the general NFL.com site. He's been there ever since. I'm not exactly sure what his role is, but it's something that allows him to go to the superbowl.

 

I'm also very interested in this topic. It seems like IB's skillset isn't as related to finance within a team organization, since M&A/capital markets aren't a big factor. By front-office, do mean a business role, or something like the GM who deals with talent etc? Unfortunately, I think the GM side would be very tough without a sports background. I imagine a position like CFO would not be any harder than at a F500 company though.

Also, where's the love for MLB? It actually might be more related bc there is no salary cap, making everything a little more finance oriented. I haven't read it yet, but Moneyball by Michael Lewis (writer of Liars Poker, Big Short) is supposed to be a great book about finance in baseball. You might wanna check it out.

I'd be interested to hear more

 
Best Response
ibintx:
I'm also very interested in this topic. It seems like IB's skillset isn't as related to finance within a team organization, since M&A/capital markets aren't a big factor. By front-office, do mean a business role, or something like the GM who deals with talent etc? Unfortunately, I think the GM side would be very tough without a sports background. I imagine a position like CFO would not be any harder than at a F500 company though.

Also, where's the love for MLB? It actually might be more related bc there is no salary cap, making everything a little more finance oriented. I haven't read it yet, but Moneyball by Michael Lewis (writer of Liars Poker, Big Short) is supposed to be a great book about finance in baseball. You might wanna check it out.

I'd be interested to hear more

Front office in pro sports is almost exclusively positions that have direct impact on management and direction of team. You won't be using a ton of your finance, but I feel like the cynicism you pick up during your time in banking would lend well to sifting through the epic amounts of bullshit that people to pass off on you all the time.

The new president of the Denver Nuggets was an analyst at Lehman, and it also helped his dad owns the team.

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The CFO from the local NFL team came to speak at my school last year, and I got the impression that the job had almost nothing to do with actual team/player management, etc. It was really all about accounting, sales, etc. Kind of killed my excitement on it.

When you really think about it, IB is a pretty good set-up for any finance/business position, if nothing else bc of the abilities it requires (work ethic, etc. as opposed to the actual skills learned on the job). If you're in banking, you likely earned it somehow given the competitiveness of getting in. Not to mention, in the end it's all about connections anyway. And ya, I'm sure it helps if your dad owns the team haha.

On glassdoor, an NBA "Manager" (like the one REbanker poster i guess) makes about 80K, with a "senior manager" at about 85k. Those are only one datapoint each, so not too reliable, but still-Thats a pretty big paycut despite the difference in hours. Be interested to hear what other FO salaries are like..

 

I have a couple friends working for pro teams in lower/mid level management positions. I think moving up the ranks is something that requires you to put the time in. A lot of these teams are family owned so that is going to be an issue for outsides. Banking and sports has nothing in common. I think F500 would have much more transferable skills.

 

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