These NFL players are in a class by themselves

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Depending on which school they attend, accepted applicants pay $5,000 or $10,000 to enroll in classes such as Equity & Debt Financing and Angel Investing (under the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, player educational expenses of up to $15,000 a year at institutions of higher learning are reimbursed).

Once a program ended in a recent year, Masonson said a survey showed 48 percent of players decided to pursue what they had originally thought they were interested in, while 43 percent did not, because the program revealed reasons to curtail their interest. Masonson found the latter number important because the program prevented players from entering a field they likely would have abandoned down the line.

Kellogg professor Steve Rogers, who chooses the classes, recruits professors and oversees the annual session in Evanston, said the program — in its fourth year — is set up like the other executive management programs at the school. Nothing is dumbed down. Players must attend all classes.

Rogers said financial education is crucial for NFL players.

”They don’t learn on the job in football. They shouldn’t be learning about entrepreneurship during their first investment,” said Rogers, who teaches entrepreneurial finance at the school.

NFL students are so serious that Rogers said the only social activity involves soft drinks before dinner every night. (He has found that most players don’t want alcohol.) Last year, the NCAA basketball championship game was on, and the school set up a big-screen TV and snacks for players once study groups ended at 9 p.m.

”They stayed in their study groups until 11 p.m.,” he said. “I was in there watching the game by myself.”

This summer, Northwestern will host a similar program for about 20 NBA players, the only one of its kind in the country for basketball pros (it is moving from Stanford after a two-year stay there). He would like to eventually unveil an offering to teach all pro athletes – from NASCAR drivers to NHL players – about different industries.

Back in the classroom, Kellogg’s Calkins is trying to get the players to think of themselves as brands, first by introducing examples of well-known products.

”When you see Dom Perignon, you think …”

Rivals on the field in the NFC South, two players collide once again off it.

”Nasty,” says Atlanta’s Chauncey Davis.

”Classy,” says Tampa Bay’s Phillip Buchanon.

When the 90-minute session on brands is over, Light – who starred in a 2005 Visa commercial as a pillar of protection for quarterback Tom Brady – is asked if he feels like he’s protecting a brand when he’s steering rushers away from the NFL marketing powerhouse.

”No,” he said. “He does a pretty good job of protecting his brand on his own.”