CFP Board Student Athletes Deserve More than Financial Literacy

CFP Board applauds the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee for holding its hearing today, March 26, 2026, on "Don't Fumble Their Future: Positioning Student-Athletes for Success in School and Beyond."

Student-athletes have busy lives, and those earning new, lucrative sources of income through NIL and revenue sharing must determine how to manage their assets, liabilities, and cash flow, identify and manage risks, minimize taxes, preserve and grow wealth, and achieve financial security. There is an opportunity for these students to travel a path from high earnings early in life to a secure retirement. But we all know that these student-athletes cannot do this alone. Left unaided, student-athletes are at significant risk of making poor decisions with lifelong consequences. Most of them will earn this kind of money only once in their lives. They may not get a second chance.

That is why CFP Board believes every student athlete deserves more than just financial literacy. They deserve individualized, competent and ethical financial planning, which CFP® professionals can provide. The NIL era has created meaningful financial opportunities for student-athletes. These must not become lost opportunities.

To read the full letter to the Senate HELP Committee, please click here.