Athletes and entertainers face unique wealth management opportunities, considerations and challenges. The athletes and entertainers we interviewed shared their personal stories and perspectives to highlight the need for more financial education in the sports and entertainment world. We thank them for being strong advocates of financial literacy.
Rushia’s advice
Rushia’s advice
“Athletes need to take a greater initiative in educating themselves about wealth management. You should never allow someone to blindly take care of your money.
You need checks and balances.”
Basketball is the lifeline
Rushia credits basketball with saving her life. When she was a freshman in high school, her father passed away from cancer. She started playing basketball, a sport they loved watching together, as a way to stay connected to him. “I was feeling suicidal, and sports was what saved me."
By the time she graduated from high school, Rushia was the number two female basketball recruit in South Carolina. However, her father’s death had put the family under financial strain. “We didn’t have much. We were robbing Peter to pay Paul.” With three children to take care of, her mother worked full-time but couldn’t afford to pay for college tuition. Rushia knew a basketball scholarship was her path to a good education. She was courted by Harvard, Duke and the University of North Carolina, but enrolled at Furman University in Greenville, SC to stay near her family.
A stellar college career
At Furman, Rushia became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,169 points and was named the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Southern Conference Freshman of the Year. She was inducted into Furman’s Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Southern Conference Hall of Fame in 2014. Her No. 34 jersey was retired and hangs from the rafters of Furman’s Timmins Arena. In 1994, Rushia was applying for jobs during her last year of college when an agent called about playing basketball overseas
in Europe.
I had to figure out who I was without the ball. People saw me in a certain way: Rushia, the basketball player. People would always go back to that.
Rookie mistakes
Playing professional basketball gave Rushia the opportunity to help her family. “I could provide some financial assistance for my mom and no longer be a burden. Making $5,000 per month was a big deal, after playing for free in college. I’d send money to my younger brother.” Her first year as a professional athlete was eye-opening. Like many college athletes, she was inexperienced with finances. Rushia’s contract seemed fine, until she started talking about money with the other players.
“I was on one of the top teams, but I was the lowest-paid player. I had left all the negotiating up to my agent.” Rushia learned that there was a lot of room for negotiation in sports contracts, from her salary to perks such as free round trip plane tickets to fly
Start here
Start here
Together, we can help establish the legacy you want to leave.
Browse more profiles
Browse more profiles
Disclosures
This white paper has been prepared by UBS Financial Services Inc. (“UBS”) and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It should not be construed as a solicitation or an offer for the purchase or sale of any securities, investments, strategies or products that may be mentioned herein, including estate planning strategies, or to participate in any particular strategy. Persons included in this report may or may not be clients of UBS but were not selected for inclusion based on any existing or prospective relationship with UBS. The recipient should not construe the contents of this report as legal, tax, accounting, regulatory or other specialist or technical advice, or services or investment advice, or a personal recommendation. No representation or warranty, either express or implied, is provided in relation to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information contained herein, nor is it intended to be a complete statement or summary of the matters or developments referred to in this report. This report should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgment. Any opinions expressed in this report are those of the respective persons and not of UBS or any of its subsidiaries and/or affiliates, and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by other business areas or groups of UBS as a result of using different assumptions and criteria. In addition, the information is current as of the date indicated and is subject to change without notice. UBS is under no obligation to update or keep current the information contained herein, and past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. UBS and its affiliates do not provide legal or tax advice. Clients should consult with their legal and tax advisors regarding their personal circumstances. Neither UBS nor any of its affiliates, or their respective directors, officers, employees or agents accept any liability for any loss or damage arising out of the use of all or any part of this report or reliance upon the information contained herein.
All opinions and views expressed in this paper are those of the author or respective persons and do not represent—and may differ or be contrary to—the views and opinions of UBS or its affiliates. The individuals profiled in this document were selected based on their experiences and professional history. Neither UBS nor any of its employees or affiliates participated in any of the professional trajectories, corporate formations, capital funding, financing, sales, deals, transitions or other events discussed in this paper. This paper is not intended to be and should not be considered or construed to be a testimonial or endorsement of UBS or any UBS product or service. The individuals profiled make no representation regarding any experience or satisfaction with UBS or any UBS product and service. This material does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation or offer for the purchase or sale of any security and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. UBS, its employees, and/or clients may hold positions in the securities discussed in this paper.
As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, UBS Financial Services Inc. offers investment advisory services in its capacity as an SEC-registered investment adviser and brokerage services in its capacity as an SEC-registered broker-dealer. Investment advisory services and brokerage services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate arrangements. It is important that clients understand the ways in which we conduct business and that they carefully read the agreements and disclosures that we provide to them about the products or services we offer. A small number of our financial advisors are not permitted to offer advisory services to you, and can only work with you directly as UBS broker-dealer representatives. Your financial advisor will let you know if this is the case and, if you desire advisory services, will be happy to refer you to another financial advisor who can help you. Our agreements and disclosures will inform you about whether we and our financial advisors are acting in our capacity as an investment adviser or broker-dealer. For more information, please review the PDF document at ubs.com/relationshipsummary.
NFL and Super Bowl are the registered trademarks of NFL Properties LLC. Used with permission. Other marks are the trademarks of their respective owners.
UBS specifically prohibits the redistribution or reproduction of this brochure in whole or in part without the written permission of UBS, and UBS accepts no liability whatsoever for the actions of third parties in this respect.
©UBS 2026. All rights reserved. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a subsidiary of UBS AG. Member FINRA/SIPC.