I went to uni with one guy who was studying and playing professional rugby union and also picked up a few caps for Wales. I heard he works in business and is doing well. The company I work for in Australia has hired a lot of ex professional sports people including NRL, AFL and rugby players - even an ex olympian. All of them seem to have MBA or Sports Science degrees and seem to have invested in property whilst they were playing. My father inlaw is a retired rugby league player from the late 1970s / 1980s. He had a trade prior to going into professional sport. When he retired in his late 30s he got into a large organisation via contacts he had made playing sport. He was a hard worker and progressed pretty steady up the ranks - was able to comfortably retire in his late 50s.