“We have great connectivity,” said Jeff Brubaker, describing ex-professional athletes such as himself. “That’s a form of capital when you think about it.”
Indeed, Brubaker, who played left wing for the New York Rangers and other NHL teams for most of the 1980s, parlayed the popularity of his sport and his own considerable talents into a career as an investment banker. His firm, Players Capital Group, employs more than two dozen former pro athletes working in half a dozen cities.
Now the Greensboro, North Carolina-based Brubaker wants to help other former pro athletes break into not just investment banking but also into private equity. He plans to hire them as junior investment bankers, give them two years of training, and then place them into roles as business development professionals at PE firms.
Many former pro athletes have degrees from top universities, Brubaker said. Moreover, the cachet of the teams that they played for and against gives them a ticket to connect with just about anyone.
Picture “a managing partner of some industrially-oriented PE fund trying to buy a foundry in Flint, Michigan,” said Brubaker. “He’s just a nameless, faceless suit to that guy that owns that foundry.” But, he said, “when that first call comes from somebody who played for the Detroit Lions or Detroit Red Wings, he’s gonna answer that. He’s probably a sports fan.”
Hiring Plan: This year, said Managing Partner Brubaker, Players Capital Group is focused on building out its digital infrastructure. Next year, the firm should be ready to start hiring junior bankers from the ranks of retired pro athletes to start their two-year programs. Eventually the firm would like to hire a couple a dozen per year. Brubaker said he expects private equity firms to pay his firm a placement fee upon hiring, just as they would an executive recruiter hired to find a BD professional.
The Firm: Players Capital Group has been operating for about 10 years, completing some 20 deals in the $5 million to $15 million range while also building a pipeline of businesses likely to be sold for far more, Brubaker said. It was co-founded by Brubaker and Kurt Walker, who played hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs and who passed away in 2018. The firm’s team page lists 27 partners, including seven who make up the executive committee. Along with Brubaker, the committee includes Los Angeles-based Managing Partners Brad Leggett, who played in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions; and Baltimore, Maryland-based Joe Washington, who played in the NFL for the Baltimore Colts and three other teams.
The Future: Brubaker has big plans for Players Capital Group. He envisions the firm operating in every major city in the country, as well as adding fund placement services to its lineup of services, which today includes sell-side investment banking and consulting. “We are moving from a loosely organized, local company to a company with a national footprint,” Brubaker said.
The Mission: Brubaker is motivated in part by a desire to help former pro-athletes navigate the transition to their second careers. He watched a number of his former teammates and opponents struggle financially, while some died young, including by suicide. “They didn’t understand that there was relatively little value in…doing podcasts or showing up at golf outings.” But, said Brubaker, “I also realized that people do take our calls. They love to hear the stories. They love to rub elbows with somebody who they used to watch play…That’s very valuable to people who are trying to deploy financial capital. Our capital is connectivity.”