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It's rare for a startup to make money immediately, so you need to make sure that you have enough saved or that you have another income stream that can support you.

When I went pro at 13, I had plenty of sponsors that give me endorsement deals and stuff like that.

I had pro offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, who were pretty hard up for linemen in those days. If I had gone into professional football the name Jerry Ford might have been a household word today.

I almost didn't turn pro at all. I was tempted to be a career amateur. I worked as an investment banker for nine months after I got out of school, and the money was fantastic and promised to get even more lucrative.

I started a business with two guys I played with, Ronnie Lott and Harris Barton: Champion Ventures, it's a fund of funds. We have $400 million or so under management.

I believe a lot of players that start to think about money - 'Oh my goodness; I'm up for a new contract' - they don't have a great season because they're thinking about all these different things. Do your business on the field, and everything takes care of itself.

We decided to either try trades or just go with older players. If you do that and let contracts expire you can be in the lottery for about four or five years and expect your fans to be patient.

It's hard not to chase the money. You sit at home when guys are out playing for a $6 million purse, and you know you're going to drop back on the money list, so you end up playing when you don't really want to.

Some of the money going to the rookies can now be spent on people who have proved their worth. After all, the average playing life of a pro football player is about eight years and it is only fitting that the veterans get something for their efforts.

The pro athlete is a sad tale. He signs a big contract and thinks he's set for life. I didn't think I was set for life, and I don't now. As athletes, we are important, celebrities, in demand and rich. Then we are out of the game and we are not important, not celebrities, not in demand and not rich.