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Donald Kushner of DK Sports Financial Wants to be Athletes’ “Financial Coach”

If you are a regular reader of Sports Agent Blog, you have undoubtedly come across an article written by Donald Kushner at some point-in-time.  Kushner, President of DK Sports Financial (http://www.dksportsfinancial.com/) in Scottsdale, Arizona, has contributed pieces concerning the concept of athletes “paying themselves first,” what athletes should do when they experience financial pain, the idea of athletes having a “financial coach,” and much more.  In fact, Kushner prefers to be considered as a coach instead of being referenced as “President” of a company.  When he meets athletes, he explains to them that they have a head coach with whatever team they play for, they have assistant coaches that focus on specific areas, they have a strength and conditioning coach to help them stay in game shape form, and they have a coach, who is their agent, for their contract.  Kushner wants to be their financial coach – and he has had success in that specific role in the past.

The following contains some background information on Kushner:

  • has 34 years of experience with major investment banking firms;
  • has assistants consisting of those who place transactions, wire funds, open new accounts, and oversee legal and compliance;
  • employs no-fee daily financial management of bill paying for clients;
  • his financial plans encompass: a) Investment planning and management, b) College education analysis and funding, C) Expense and budget allocation, D) Life, Disability, and Long Term Care needs, E) Financial Independence analysis and implementation, F) Estate planning and funding, and G) Tax planning.

Unlike the other aforementioned “coaches,” when a player retires, it is rare for his head coach, strength and conditioning coach and often an agent to continue to contact the player continually for the rest of his life.  Kushner’s creed is: “A relationship based upon the performance of investments is no relationship at all, and most ultimately end badly.  But a relationship based upon faith and trust in a Financial Consultant can last forever.”

It is my pleasure to highlight those non-agent members of the “athlete business team” who truly care about the well-being of athletes.  One of Kushner’s clients recently told him, “Thanks Don, really appreciate how much you look out for the guys…means the world to me!”  And he has an impressive list of people that he has helped, including Aaron
Brooks, Pervis Ellison, Carl Landry, and many more.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.