NFL Players Association and Financial Planning Magazine Enter Partnership to Produce Conferences for Financial Advisors

Players Association program helps athletes find ethical financial advisors

New York, NY – March 6, 2006 – Financial Planning magazine, the leading trade magazine for financial planners with a circulation of over 100,000, has joined forces with the National Football League Players Association’s Financial Advisors Program, which registers financial advisors to NFL Players, to produce educational conferences for financial advisors. The National Football League Players Association (NFL-PA) program offers NFL players access to a diverse group of pre-qualified financial advisors, and is the first of its kind in professional sports. The conferences cover sports contracts and regulations, advisors’ issues, and the special needs and concerns of athletes.

“Young players’ financial inexperience can put their earnings at great risk,” said Marion Asnes, editor-in-chief of Financial Planning magazine. “The program’s purpose is to help highly qualified advisors understand the special needs and concerns of these players who, despite their talent and intelligence, may not be equipped to make smart money decisions.”

The NFL-PA has reported that 78 pro football players were defrauded out of at least $42 million between 1999 and the end of 2002. The group encourages all players to consult with advisers that have passed the NFL-PA screening process. Advisors that want to participate in the NFL-PA program must meet appropriate qualifications including: three to five years of experience, proof of designation certification, errors and omission insurance and clean criminal and civil background checks.

The first NFL-PA/Financial Planning conference in late January drew more than 150 advisors and focused on educating the advisor community on the unique circumstances that face NFL athletes, such as: family issues and understanding financial risks. Contributing speakers included Glenn Kautt, a Financial Planning columnist who spoke on asset allocation, and John Nersesian, a contributing writer to Financial Planning who discussed portfolio management and communication tools for clients.

The NFLPA and Financial Planning will hold a second Financial Advisors Program conference April 3-4, 2006 in Santa Monica, California.