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Athletes who have had successful second careers
Aaron Davidson / Getty Images

Athletes who have had successful second careers

The stereotype of the dumb jock certainly isn't always truthful, as so many current and former athletes have shown. Plenty of athletes go on to achieve great success in their post-playing days.

Here's a look at 31 former athletes who have had successful second careers.

 
1 of 31

David Beckham

David Beckham
Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today Sports Images

Known for his soccer career and good looks, Beckham has had even more success after retirement. He's made a fortune on endorsements, as well as with his fragrance and fashion lines, and he's part of the ownership group that will bring an MLS team to Miami.

 
2 of 31

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Bradley's No. 24 jersey was retired by the New York Knicks, and he's also had an extremely successful political career. He's a former U.S. senator representing New Jersey and also ran for president in 2000, losing out to Al Gore in the Democratic presidential primaries.

 
3 of 31

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant
Robert Hanashiro / USA Today Sports Images

Bryant hasn't been retired for long, but he's already made an impact in the movie business. He won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2018 with "Dear Basketball." In addition to his film career, Bryant has started a venture capital firm.

 
4 of 31

Jim Bunning

Jim Bunning
Bloomberg / Getty Images

An MLB Hall of Famer after 17 seasons as a starting pitcher, Bunning turned to politics after his sports career. He spent 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and 12 more years as a U.S. senator, representing Kentucky.

 
5 of 31

Doris Burke

Doris Burke
Ethan Miller / Getty Images

A former point guard at Providence who finished her career as the school's leader in assists, Burke has gone on to reach the top of the mountain in basketball broadcasting. She's a distinguished voice for the NBA on ESPN and NBA on ABC broadcasts.

 
6 of 31

Mary Carillo

Mary Carillo
Susan Mullane / USA Today Sports Images

Carillo was a professional tennis player and won the 1977 French Open mixed-doubles alongside John McEnroe. Since her tennis career, Carillo has become a top analyst for NBC and the Tennis Channel. She's also an investigative reporter on HBO's "Real Sports" and has won two Peabody Awards and one Sports Emmy Award.

 
7 of 31

Terry Crews

Terry Crews
Rich Fury / Getty Images

Crews played in the NFL for the Rams, Chargers and Redskins, but he's now best known as a comedic actor. A regular character in "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," he's also appeared in several movies.

 
8 of 31

Chris Evert

Chris Evert
Pool Photo / USA Today Sports Images

Evert is one of the greatest tennis players ever, winning 18 Grand Slams. Since her tennis career, Evert has become a commentator for ESPN.

 
9 of 31

Kate Fagan

Kate Fagan
D Dipasupil / Getty Images

An excellent basketball player at Colorado, Fagan has gone on to cover the 76ers for the Philadelphia Inquirer and is now a prominent reporter and commentator at ESPN. She appears regularly on "Outside the Lines" and "Around the Horn."

 
10 of 31

Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford
Bettmann / Getty Images

The 38th President of the United States, Ford was a great football player at the University of Michigan before he went into politics. The school went undefeated twice while Ford served as a center, linebacker and long snapper in 1932 and 1933.

 
11 of 31

George Foreman

George Foreman
David Lodge / FimMagic / Getty Images

Foreman had a long boxing career, but he's made far more money with his promotion of the George Foreman Grill. He sold the naming rights to the grill in 1999 for $138 million.

 
12 of 31

Julie Foudy

Julie Foudy
Jerritt Clark / Getty Images

Foudy made her mark with the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team as a midfielder, winning two World Cups and an Olympic gold medal. She's now an analyst and color commentator on ESPN soccer broadcasts.

 
13 of 31

Eddie George

Eddie George
Paul Zimmerman / WireImage / Getty Images

A former Heisman Trophy winner at Ohio State and four-time Pro Bowler in the NFL, George has become a Broadway actor since retiring. He starred in "Chicago" in 2016 and also holds an executive MBA from Northwestern.

 
14 of 31

Becky Hammon

Becky Hammon
Kelley L. Cox / USA Today Sports Images

A former point guard in the WNBA, Hammon became the first female assistant coach in the NBA in 2014 when she was hired by the San Antonio Spurs. During the 2018 offseason, she was mentioned as a candidate for the Detroit Pistons head coaching position, among others.

 
15 of 31

Tony Hawk

Tony Hawk
Don Arnold / WireImage / Getty Images

A pioneer in skateboarding, Hawk became a household name with his video game franchise. He's also had entrepreneurial success with Birdhouse Skateboards and his sporting goods and clothing lines.

 
16 of 31

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Aaron Davidson / Getty Images

The premier action motion picture star in America played football for the University of Miami at defensive tackle along with Hall of Famer Warren Sapp. He went on to have a great career as a wrestler in the WWE before his burgeoning movie and television career.

 
17 of 31

Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson
Kyle Terada / USA Today Sports Images

Magic developed a business empire after his Hall of Fame basketball career with the Lakers. Magic Johnson Enterprises is worth more than $700 million and includes a promotional company, movie theaters and a film studio. He also owns a stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks, Los Angeles Football Club and is a former president of basketball operations for the Lakers.

 
18 of 31

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan
Kent Smith / National Basketball Association / Getty Images

The man many consider the greatest player in the history of the NBA has gone on to big things with Nike apparel and ownership of the Charlotte Hornets NBA franchise. Due to the value of the franchise, Jordan is considered a billionaire.

 
19 of 31

Alex Karras

Alex Karras
ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images

A four-time Pro Bowler with the Detroit Lions, Karras became more well-known as an actor. He played the father in the TV sitcom "Webster."

 
20 of 31

Jack Kemp

Jack Kemp
Wally McNamee / Corbis Historical / Getty Images

Kemp was a seven-time NFL Pro Bowl quarterback before his long political career. He served in Congress for 18 years and was also the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under George H.W. Bush. In addition, he ran for president in 1988 and was Bob Dole's VP pick in the 1996 presidential election. Kemp died in 2009 at age 73.

 
21 of 31

Lisa Leslie

Lisa Leslie
David Butler II / USA Today Sports Images

Leslie is one of the greatest female basketball players ever, winning three WNBA MVP Awards and four Olympic gold medals. A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Leslie has appeared as a basketball analyst on NBC, ABC and Fox Sports. In addition, she's a co-owner of the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA franchise, a studio analyst for the Orlando Magic and the head coach of the Triplets in the BIG3 basketball league.

 
22 of 31

Jessica Mendoza

Jessica Mendoza
John Rieger / USA Today Sports Images

Mendoza played outfield for Stanford softball and was a member of the 2004 and 2010 United States women's softball team. Since then she's joined the broadcast booth as part of the team on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball."

 
23 of 31

Cheryl Miller

Cheryl Miller
Jim Rogash / Getty Images

One of the best women's college basketball players ever during her days at USC, Miller has joined her brother Reggie as a commentator on NBA broadcasts for TNT and NBA TV. She also briefly served as the head coach and GM of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.

 
24 of 31

Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus
Aaron Doster / USA Today Sports Images

The Golden Bear is known as one of the greatest pro golfers ever, but he's also had his share of success away from the green. Nicklaus has helped design numerous golf courses and is known as one of the foremost course designers in the world.

 
25 of 31

Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal
Kirby Lee / USA Today Sports Images

Shaq had quite a career on the court, and he's also been extremely successful as a TNT studio analyst and product pitch man. It's hard to watch television without seeing O'Neal, who appears in commercials for The General insurance, Gold Bond and Icy Hot, among other products. He's also a prominent investor and part owner of the Sacramento Kings. Of course, these careers have been far more successful than his attempts at music and movies (see "Kazaam").

 
26 of 31

Alan Page

Alan Page
John David Mercer / USA Today Sports Images

After Page's Hall of Fame NFL career with the Vikings, the former defensive tackle worked as a lawyer and eventually joined the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1992, where he served until 2015.

 
27 of 31

Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer
Mike Ehrmann / WireImage / USA Today Sports Images

Palmer was one of the all-time great golfers but also gained fame with golf course design, his role in helping to create The Golf Channel and the Arnold Palmer iced tea with lemonade beverage. He died in 2016 at age 87.

 
28 of 31

Roger Penske

Roger Penske
John David Mercer / USA Today Sports Images

These days Penske is better known for his business acumen and auto racing ownership than his days as a race car driver. He owns Team Penske, CJR Team Penske and the Penske Corp. However, before his bustling business career, Penske was an accomplished Formula 1 and NASCAR driver in the early 1960s.

 
29 of 31

Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley
Jim Brown / USA Today Sports Images

Staley played point guard at the University of Virginia and was the ninth overall pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft by the Charlotte Sting. She has since made her mark as a head coach in women's college basketball at Temple and South Carolina. South Carolina has been to six Sweet 16s in the last seven years and won the 2016-17 national championship.

 
30 of 31

Roger Staubach

Roger Staubach
Jerome Miron / USA Today Sports Images

Most of Staubach's notoriety comes from his Hall of Fame NFL career as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, but he's also had great success in business. He started a commercial real estate business in 1977 and sold the company in 2008 for $613 million.

 
31 of 31

Michael Strahan

Michael Strahan
Brett Davis / USA TODAY Sports Images

A Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end who played 15 seasons for the Giants, Strahan can now be seen on ABC's "Good Morning America" and "Strahan and Sara." He's also on the FOX NFL pregame show and replaced Regis Philbin on "Live! with Regis and Kelly" prior to joining "GMA."

Seth Trachtman is a fantasy sports expert and diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. He doesn't often Tweet, but when he does, you can find him on Twitter @sethroto.

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