AFTER A 19-YEAR MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER, STEVE FINLEY’S NEW
MISSION IS TO HELP YOUNGER PLAYERS MAKE THEIR BASEBALL
EARNINGS LAST A LIFETIME. BY W. DREW HAWKINS
The
PROFESSIONAL
PHOTOGRAPHS BY AARON SMITH
When you were drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the
13th round in 1987, and started in the minor leagues, how much
were you making?
I made $600 a month in my first year, and that was only
for three months! When I got drafted, I basically got a ham
sandwich and a bus ticket as my signing bonus (laughs). I
think I may have received something like $5,000 to sign, and
I had to make it last. Hopefully guys today get a bit more of a
bonus than I did.
Did you have to work other jobs during the offseason to make
ends meet?
Sure, you had to. I had various jobs. I worked as a substitute
teacher. I worked in a liquor store. You did whatever you
could to make some money and to still be able to train at the
same time.
How did things change for you financially, once you got to the
Major Leagues?
Well, I got a minimum Major League contract, which at the
time was $68,500. Back then, that was the most money I had
ever seen in my life. The second year I was in the big leagues,
I got introduced to a financial advisor by a teammate, and he
ended up being my financial advisor for the rest of my career.
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GROOMING BY LISA RIBAR
PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE SUNSET MARQUIS
How much did guys talk about money in the clubhouse?
Hardly at all. Guys will talk about stocks and things like that,
but there’s no real financial conversation going on, and I’m
not sure why. I think it would be healthy for there to be more
talk about it. There’s this idea of keeping up with the guys in
the clubhouse. It’s an expensive lifestyle with the dues you
pay, your agent fees, taxes—there are a lot more expenses.
Maybe you’re also buying a house. Guys are buying cars. You
can spend so much money annually and not even realize
what you’re spending. You don’t think you’re spending that
fast, but at the end of the year, you say to yourself, “Where
did it all go?”
So even if you’re earning six or seven figures, spending can still
seem too gradual to recognize?
Maybe you’ve got $2,000-$3,000 of credit card spending a
month. You snap your fingers and that becomes $10,000 a
month, and then $20,000. And that’s all after-tax money. It’s
your money, and it’s so easy to access. When you are making
millions of dollars, you think you are going to keep making it
forever. Guys almost never realize that this money will have
to last them for decades longer. That’s the conversation that
has to take place more in the clubhouse. What are you going
to do after the game? How long do you plan on living and
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making that money last? Once you start asking those types
of questions, guys will start to have a different perspective
on money. Maybe I’m not going to put $50,000 in that deal.
Maybe I’m going to tuck it over here. That’s a year of college
for one of my kids down the road. Baseball is a much shorter
period of your life than you imagine.
You played 19 years in the Major Leagues. There are very few
people who have accomplished that. Did you have a goal for how
long you wanted to last in the big leagues?
I thought that if I could make it to 10 years, that was the
magic number, because you could max out on your baseball
pension, and you’d have that waiting for you. I think that’s
still the goal today.
Was there a time that you finally felt financially secure?
After my fifth year, I signed a three-year contract, and that was
the first time I felt like I had some stability. I could put some
money away. At that time [1994], I felt like if I could get
$2 million in the bank, I’d be set. Today, when you consider what
things cost, that doesn’t seem like nearly as much any more.
Beyond your production on the field, how were you able to play
in the Major Leagues for nearly two decades?
I went to college and got a degree in physiology. The number
one thing for me was that I understood what nutrition
meant and how the body worked better than most players.
So I was always a little ahead of the curve in terms of working
with trainers away from the field. I worked with Evander
Holyfield’s trainer. I trained with Greg Brittenham, who also
worked with Olympic athletes. There was a woman named
Edythe Heus, and she and Marv Marinovich—the father of
Todd Marinovich—they put together a workout for me that
changed my career. It kept me playing until I was 42. I tore
my labrum when I was 41, and that was the beginning of
the end, otherwise I would have kept playing. It was a lot of
forward thinking about the way I worked out and trained. I
was never afraid to invest in myself. What I spent on nutrition and training was a pittance compared to what I could
earn if I could play at a high level for a long period of time.
You work with a lot of young players, what advice do you give
today’s generation of athletes?
If you’ve made it to the big leagues, you needed to have some
kind of discipline to get here. So you need to maintain that
same discipline in your nutrition and your training, and you
need to have that discipline in your finances and how you
handle your money, because they’re all connected. If your
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“When you’re in the game,
baseball is your whole life. Now
I look back and baseball was
such a small part of my life.”
finances are going off a cliff, it’s going to affect the way you
play, how you take care of yourself; it affects everything. To
me, it’s all about education. You need to understand your
finances better, and not be afraid to ask tough questions
of your financial advisor so that you understand how your
money is invested. How is the money allocated for the long
term? How much do you want to live off of each year? Once
you understand those goals and you see a plan put in place,
make sure you pay attention to it. It’s hard for baseball players, because the season is so long, but you should be meeting
with your financial advisor at least twice a year, and even
sometimes more than that. You just need to make sure things
are going to plan, because it’s easy to get derailed.
Did you feel you were ready to retire from baseball?
Definitely not. Mentally, I wasn’t ready to be done, but my
shoulder wasn’t going to let me continue. I wish I would
have prepared more at the end of my career for a transition
to something, but I didn’t see the end coming. It just slapped
me in the face. It took me a few years to make the transition.
And you were 42 years old when you retired!
I know! When you’re in the game, baseball is your whole life.
Now I look back and baseball was such a small part of my life.
What was I going to do next? I still had the rest of my life to
live. I really wish I would have planned in greater detail.
In addition to being part of Morgan Stanley Global Sports &
Entertainment, you’re now a television broadcaster and a roving
instructor for the San Diego Padres. You’re also doing quite a bit
of work with MLB International to help young players develop
their skills around the world. Are you finding these new professional roles rewarding?
Absolutely! Working with the young players in the Padres
organization, and then going abroad to work with other
former players like Barry Larkin, LaTroy Hawkins and Greg
Swindell, it’s been as close as I’m going to get to that feeling
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of playing again. Every time you give a kid some knowledge
that they can take with them and use one day to get to the big
leagues, it’s enormously rewarding. When you are done playing, even if you physically can no longer play anymore, the
thrill of being out there on a field in front of a huge crowd for
a big game, I don’t think that desire ever goes away. You relish
those moments, so you start to look for things to replace that.
Some guys jump into business deals, and that’s where a lot of
guys fall on their face.
Why do you think they fail?
They don’t have a plan, and they’re trying to recreate that
feeling. It usually doesn’t end up well, because it’s an arena
that we’re not well versed in. I started doing some business
development for a friend related to insurance, helping guys
set up their retirement plans. That led me to what I’m doing
now with Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment—
to help guys take care of what they earn and to help it last a
long time. For me, it’s my way of giving back to the next generation of players. You watch things like 30 for 30, and how
guys will go broke within five to seven years of their careers
being over. Morgan Stanley is trying to change that narrative.
It doesn’t have to be that way for athletes. You’re not going to
change everyone, but hopefully we can change some of those
statistics for the better. ■
W. Drew Hawkins is the Managing Director and Head
of Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment.
The views expressed herein may not necessarily reflect the views of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.
Morgan Stanley’s Global Sports & Entertainment Division engaged Athletes Quarterly to feature this profile.
© 2016 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC
CRC #1507722 (06/2016)
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The Rancho Santa Fe Group
at Morgan Stanley
Sports & Entertainment Focus
Jason Mubarak & Steve Finley
Morgan Stanley’s Global Sports & Entertainment Division is a highly specialized wealth management division
that focuses exclusively on addressing the unique needs of top professionals in the sports and entertainment
industry. With over six decades of combined experience servicing clients in the sports & entertainment (S&E)
arena, the Rancho Santa Fe Group is part of this select team focused on comprehensive wealth management
plans for high profile clients. Our clients include well known actors, producers, cinematographers, professional
athletes and sports industry personalities. Over the years we have developed a proven approach that can
provide liquidity, stable income and diversified growth, all within a managed format that tends to complement
the busy lifestyle, extended work related travel, inconsistent cash flow, and unique needs of our S&E clients.
As a both a Sports and Entertainment Director for Morgan Stanley and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Jason
has years of experience working with clients at all stages of their S&E careers, from the initial phases of setting
up their savings and retirement plans to late stage estate planning and multi-generational legacy transfers.
Our team works collaboratively with our client’s business managers, CPAs and attorneys. This day in, day out,
cooperation is essential given the very challenging work and travel schedules of S&E clients in the active phase
of their career. Whether it’s a professional athlete on the road or an actor/producer on location, the team
approach is critical to keeping financial matters on track. Jason’s long term planning skills can help buffer the
uncertainty and sometimes the stark reality that the peak earnings years of some of our clients can be
compressed into a relatively short period of their lives.
As a Sports and Entertainment Associate, Steve played 19 years in Major League Baseball and understands first
hand the many challenges faced by athletes and their financial needs. He is dedicated to working with S&E
clients to maximize the financial opportunities during their career and think strategically about life after a
sports career. Steve understands the complexities and pressures facing high-achieving professionals in the
sports and entertainment industries, and helps them make smart choices about how they save, spend, invest,
borrow, protect and give. Steve believes that education and guidance is critical to avoiding mistakes and
clearing the hurdles necessary for professional athletes to clearly define and meet their long term goals.
Jason Mubarak, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
Sports and Entertainment Director
Portfolio Management Director, Senior Vice President
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
6037 La Flecha PO Box 415 Rancho Santa Fe CA 92067
Phone: 858-613-8184
Email: [email protected]
Steve Finley, Financial Advisor
Sports and Entertainment Associate
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
6037 La Flecha PO Box 415 Rancho Santa Fe CA 92067
Phone: 858-613-8167
Email: [email protected]
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