Athlete Wealth Podcast

Stevie Rasmussen, the wife of Ray's pitcher Drew Rasmussen, has a unique story to share of their experiencing true adversity in the big leagues.

Everyone at some capacity knows that there will be hard times for families in the minor leagues. Still, few families are prepared and equipped with the tools to handle the complex circumstances that families will experience.

Drew was drafted in the first round after his junior year - only to have this opportunity taken away due to a failed medical exam. Stevie shares how they have handled and persevered through many a trying time in baseball.

Stevie shares their vulnerable story of how they went from being overnight millionaires to having to return to Oregon State for Drew's senior season - and having to take out student loan debt to fund his senior season.

Stevie's simple yet profound advice to other baseball spouses going through similar circumstances - adversity in the game of baseball is inevitable. How you respond to that adversity and support your family is what truly matters.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• 2:44 - Stevie discusses how she didn't want to be dating an athlete while at Oregon State, but Drew changed her mind
• 4:18 - Sophomore year of college - Drew received his first Tommy John Surgery. Stevie discusses how Drew felt isolated and not part of the team
• 5:09 - Stevie talks about how prior to the surgery, she saw that her identity was built around Drew and baseball, and the surgery grew their relationship
• 6:12 - After rehab Drew returned to pitch in the College World Series and subsequently get drafted in the first round of the MLB draft
• 6:33 - Drew flew to Tampa Bay to be announced as the Rays first-rounder, only to find out that his elbow was blown out again, and Drew received Tommy John surgery #2.
• 8:45 - Stevie discusses the feelings she experienced during Drew's surgery
• 10:01 - Stevie goes deeper regarding how easy it is to have her identity wrapped up in Drew - even going so far as to introduce herself as "Drew's wife"
• 11:39 - Stevie discusses her feelings of Drew's second surgery - where they went from receiving a $2.1m signing bonus to working landscaping in Corvallis OR being in student loan debt
• 15:55 - Stevie shares the 2 different draft experiences - with the second time being drafted by the Brewers
• 18:40 - Drew's debut was in COVID of 2020 - Stevie, unfortunately, watched the debut in the hotel across the street.
• 21:20 - In 2021, Drew was traded to the Rays, and Stevie shares how this was her roughest part of baseball
• 22:30 - The wives' community is strong - and showed up when Stevie needed them most. Brooke Burnes, wife of Cy Young award winner Corbin Burnes, showed up and helped Stevie pack her entire apartment.
• 27:55 - The Power of the Baseball Wives
• 28:40 - Money does not fix our problems - money is just a tool to be taken care of for what's important.
• 31:50 - Stevie discusses how fortunate they are, and how they optimize their resources for their family, their community, and giving back.
• 35:26 - Stevie discusses the powerful perspective of families navigating the questions of 'can you' afford something vs. 'should you'
• 37:53 - Stevie's advice - adversity is inevitable. Lean on the community and ask for help.

Sarah Garver, the wife of Ranger's catcher Mitch Garver, is passionate about being a wife, mother, and veterinarian. In this episode, Sarah shares why she pursues her career in conjunction with Mitch being a professional baseball player and the benefits her work provides even though she does not technically "need to work."

Given the above, it makes sense why the Garver family phrase is "It's only temporary." Sarah gives a great perspective on why that is their phrase, what it means to them, and how that governs what their family is working towards. Sarah understands that good and bad circumstance are only temporary, and as she states, "you can get through harder times if you understand that it is only temporary."

Sarah's success story is that she has fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian and continued practicing, even after Mitch was traded, after experiencing several cross-country moves and balancing her more challenging job of being a mother. As a veterinarian, Sarah provides her family flexibility, purpose, and application of the knowledge and skillsets she has obtained over many years. Through it all, Sarah affirms that she is a better mother and spouse because of her work.

Sarah's simple yet profound advice to other baseball spouses going through similar circumstances - if you want to pursue a career, do it!

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• (1:59) Garver Family Story
• (2:10) Beginnings of Mitch & Sarah's relationship in high school
• (3:32) Transition to college - while Mitch was trying to figure out where to play baseball, Sarah began pursuing the education for her career as a Vet.
• (4:12) Sarah discusses Mitch being drafted by the Twins in 2013 and her acceptance to grad school at Oregon State 1 week later.
• (6:40) Sarah and Mitch navigated being a team while having different goals.
• (7:48) Sarah discusses the implications of Mitch being a walk-on in college and ultimately signing after his senior year of college, which included a negative experience with an agent relationship.
• (9:29) How important good advice and representation are as families navigate professional baseball.
• (13:07) Sarah discusses how they navigated their marriage on limited time and money while Sarah was a grad student and Mitch was a minor league player.
• (16:09) How they believed it was important to spend the money to see each other - even when they necessarily did not have the money to do so.
• (16:33) Sarah explains how almost everything in this life is, to quote her, "Only Temporary."
• (18:50) Sarah talks about why she is a Veterinarian and the benefits being a Vet provides to their family
• (19:47) Being clear on what you accomplish matters - even while being the wife of a professional athlete.
• (24:07) Flexibility in her career allows her to continue serving animals, pursuing her passion, balancing work, and being a mother.
• (27:37) Sarah discusses the importance of her career and the positive impacts on her being a mother, being a spouse, and being part of the Garver family.
• (32:56) Sarah's advice to others contemplating pursuing a career - is “just do it and figure it out later.”

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:

Jess Skubal has a unique perspective. She has a deep understanding of what it means to be married to a professional baseball player - her husband, Tarik Skubal, is a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. She is also familiar with the most significant financial mistakes athlete families make due to her professional background working as a tax CPA for Deloitte, one of the world's top 4 public accounting firms. Jess is passionate about making sure every dollar is maximized, and as we state in the conversation: Investments are a matter of opinion, and taxes are a matter of fact.

Jess gives great insight on both the "WHY" and the "WHAT" related to tax planning and the importance of being able to take advantage of every opportunity available to the athlete.

Jess defines "WHY" as "having more money to do what is important to you.” Jess shares a personal story about how their own proactive tax planning led her and Tarik to fund their niece's college education.

Jess then also gives excellent advice on the "WHAT" by discussing three specific tax planning strategies that are available to the professional athlete and are unfortunately commonly missed:

• Opening an Individual 401(k) plan for the player's off the field income
• Recalculate your W2 received to ensure the player "pays where he plays."
• Executing a 'Back Door Roth IRA' strategy for the player and wife for $12,000 of tax-free investment growth annually.

To ensure you are taking advantage of every opportunity, Jess' simple yet profound advice to other baseball spouses going through similar circumstances - do not be afraid to ask questions of your advisor, and better yet, find an advisor who will answer and accept your questions.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• 2:51 - Jess shares the story of how she in Tarik met in High School in Kingman, AZ
• 4:00 - Jess discusses Tarik's journey to the big leagues - including not being highly sought after or recruited out of high school.
• 4:55 - Jess worked as an accounting clerk while they did long-distance dating in college.
• 6:29 - Jess chose accounting as a major because she saw an opportunity to help people who were important to her.
• 8:01 - Jess began her post-collegiate career as a CPA working for Deloitte, one of the Big 4 and most prestigious accounting firms in the world, while Tarik was a Top 100 prospect in the minor leagues.
• 9:49 - While at Deloitte, Jess worked on many clients, primarily as a tax preparer.
• 11:24 - Jess later in her career worked on closely held and family businesses, but as she quotes, her "pride and joy" client was the tax planning work she performed for a family office.
• 12:53 - While working for her family office client, the 'Patriarch' of the family passed away, which generated an almost $40m estate tax liability. The importance of the family's tax planning surfaced by saving "a generation's worth of wealth.”
• 15:00 - Josh and Jess expand on the importance of general estate planning and the importance of estate tax planning to the athlete.
• 16:31 - One of Jess' overarching beliefs is to "ask the question." Often, advisors are not asked appropriate questions by their clients, which causes critical tax planning strategies to be missed.
• 18:07 - Jess expands on the definition of tax preparation vs. tax planning.
• 18:56 - Proactive thinking and tax planning are how you arrive at the most advantageous tax outcomes.
• 19:35 - Tax planning should happen 365 days out of the year - not just when you file your return in April of the following year.
• 20:46 - Players have two streams of income: W2 income earned as an employee from the team and 1099 income earned from all trading cards and endorsement money. Those two different income streams have different tax planning strategies available to the player.
• 21:06 - Jess talks specifics on W2 vs. 1099 strategies, including the importance of estimated tax payments.
• 21:45 - Players can set up a separate retirement called an individual 401k, which, as Jess says, has a 'triple benefit' to the family if done appropriately.
• 23:11 - The individual 401k is different than the MLB Vanguard 401k - because of Tarik's the field income, Tarik and Jess were able to receive a tax deduction for the money that went into the account; the money in the account is invested for their retirement, and with the money saved on taxes, the Skubals were able to fund a 529 plan for their niece's college education.
• 24:18 - Jess expands on the purpose of money and why appropriate tax planning gets you to do 'more of what you want to do.’
• 25:50 - The W2s generated to players could potentially be wrong - which is not well known, even amongst baseball players. Real dollars in tax savings could be missed if the family's CPA does not recalculate ...

There are several questions that constantly come up when we are having conversations with athletes and business owners like:

• What should a “deal” look like from both sides of the table?
• How should an athlete think about branding themselves?
• How are businesses utilizing their newfound ability to participate in NIL?

In this episode of AWM Capital’s Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) series, we are joined by Anthony Ranaudo. Anthony is a College World Series champion, 1st round draft pick, and former MLB player. Today, Anthony is the owner and founder of Cards and Culture, a store and social platform in the collectibles, art, memorabilia, and lifestyle business that is utilizing NIL deals to help promote his business and the athletes themselves.

Anthony has a unique perspective as both a business owner utilizing NIL, and a former professional athlete who understands the brand building opportunities that come with being a high-profile athlete.

In this episode, Anthony gives us an insight into what athletes should be thinking about in terms of building their brands through NIL opportunities. He and Will discuss the importance of building a network, understanding the marketplace, spotting the right deals, staying present and humble, and more.

Episode Highlights

• 1:50: Perspective on the evolution of NIL in the first year.
• 4:08: How Anthony is utilizing NIL for his business.
• 5:20: Ways for athletes to take advantage of the NIL opportunity.
• 7:40: General perception of NIL versus reality.
• 12:30:What roadblocks are currently present for businesses entering into the NIL space?
• 13:50:Business and athlete use of trademarks and logos.
• 15:45:How and why athletes build brands and networks as a college athlete.
• 21:35:Social media presence as a high school athlete.
• 25:20:What kind of deals should an athlete look to enter into?
• 28:25:The future of NIL and what the landscape will look like in the coming years.
• 31:25:The importance of educating yourself on how to best utilize NIL

If you have any questions or would like to reach out to Anthony or Will directly, please email them at:

Anthony Ranaudo – [email protected]

Will McGuffey – [email protected]

You have worked hard for your money, which is why it never feels good when you see how much you lose to taxes. Unfortunately, most players neglect ongoing tax planning, which results in paying more in taxes than they should.

Depending on your tax bracket, you can save paying 40% to 50% in taxes on a portion of your self-employment income (1099 income) or you can maximize the opportunity to grow your money tax free.

In this episode of the MLB Players’ Podcast, Erik Averill, CPWA®, CFP® and Travis Chick, CFP® break down everything you need to do before the December 31st deadline.

If you can answer no to any of these questions, you are missing out.

• Has your CPA® prepared a year-end tax projection showing you the projected taxes you will pay or be refunded for 2020?
• Have you opened an Individual 401(k) by December 31st?
• This is NOT your MLB Vanguard 401(k)?
• Has your Certified Financial Planner implemented the Back-Door Roth IRA Strategy?

Most Common Mistake We See

• Log-in to your account, do you have a SEP IRA?

The most common mistake we see is the recommendation to open a SEP IRA. This is a great tool for the mass affluent. However, if you are in the highest tax bracket it is not ideal for you. If you have a SEP IRA, it is a red flag that you advisor does not have the specialized expertise you need.

• Limitations of the SEP IRA
• The type of contribution you make (Roth or Traditional)
• The amount of contribution you make (excludes an employee option)
• Violates IRA aggregation rule, preventing the Back-Door Roth IRA strategy which limits your ability to grow your money tax free

Episode Highlights

• Differences between W2 and 1099 income (2:04)
• What is an Individual 401(k)? (2:36)
• The difference between an Individual 401(k) and the MLB Vanguard 401(k) (3:10)
• Options for draft players and minor league players (4:06)
• Why a SEP IRA might not be your ideal option (5:05)
• The difference between tax planning and tax compliance (6:05)
• The Backdoor Roth IRA (8:01)
• How much can you actually contribute? (10:26)
• Tips for agents and parents (12:37)
• Should you set up an LLC? (13:30)