"The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off," said Oklahoma City University basketball coach Abe Lemons. For some former athletes, that seems to be all too true—they're busy writing, endorsing, day-trading, acting. Others are far less occupied in moneymaking ventures. Here, what 10 former sports stars are up to.
by Christine Lenzo
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Lenny Dykstra
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The former Mets all-star player turned day-trader/entrepreneur after retiring from baseball at the age of 35. He owned a chain of Castrol Quick Lube centers, writes a strategy column for TheStreet.com, and manages his own portfolio. He is the founder of
The Players Club, which teaches athletes how to protect and invest their income.
George Foreman
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This two-time World Heavyweight Champion is almost more famous for his "lean, mean, grilling machine" than his boxing career. Since the introduction of the George Foreman Grill in 1995, over 100 million have been sold. Foreman, who retired in 1999, has made an estimated $240 million from all his product endorsements. He was a judge in the second season of American Inventor, and just published his fourth book.
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Michael Jordan
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The former "greatest basketball player of all time," who retired in 2003, owns a professional closed-course motorcycle road-racing team and is part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats basketball team.
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Gale Sayers
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Gale Sayers, a.k.a. the Kansas Comet, played for the Chicago Bears his entire career. He retired from football in 1971 and now runs an independent I.T. company in Chicago. It is partnered with the Gale Sayers Center, which provides mentoring and after-school learning programs for children ages 8 through 12.
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Bruce Jenner
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Winner of the 1976 Summer Olympics decathlon, Bruce Jenner currently stars on the E! reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which documents the lives of the Jenner-Kardashian family. He owns Bruce Jenner Aviation, a company based in South Carolina that specializes in corporate aircraft sales.
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John McEnroe
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A former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, McEnroe is a sports commentator who has also appeared in film and television comedies such as 30 Rock, Mr. Deeds, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2002 he published an autobiography titled You Cannot Be Serious. McEnroe also owns an art gallery in downtown Manhattan and recently donated an Andy Warhol portrait of himself and his ex-wife, Tatum O'Neal, to Habitat for Humanity.
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Terry Bradshaw
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Terry Bradshaw, who retired as quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1983, went on to record six albums of country-gospel music. He has written five books and was the first N.F.L. player to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his appearances in three Burt Reynolds movies: Hooper, Smoky and the Bandit II, and The Cannonball Run. He is now a football analyst and Fox N.F.L. Sunday contributor.
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Joe Frazier
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Joe Frazier retired from heavyweight boxing in 1981; he now lives in Philadelphia where he owns and manages a boxing gym. In his autobiography, Smokin' Joe, published in 1996, he criticized his longtime rival Muhammad Ali. Ten years later, Ali reportedly attempted reconciliation, but Frazier told the New York Times that he still has bitterness towards Ali. "I am what I am," he said.
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Rich Gossage
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Rich "Goose" Gossage, retired as a major league relief pitcher in 1994. He now runs a sports program for youths in his hometown of Colorado Springs. Gossage has his own sports complex made up of five fields specifically designated for youth baseball games. He also owns the casual burger joint Burgers N Sports in Parker, Colorado.
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José Canseco
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The former outfielder from Cuba retired from Major League Baseball in 2002. After admitting that he took anabolic steroids in 2005, Canseco wrote a tell-all book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big, which became a New York Times bestseller.
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