What is the difference between amateur and professional baseball? Money.

Overnight, with your name being called in the MLB Draft and the signing of a contract, you instantly transform into a professional.  Even though this might be your first decision based on money, you have been a part of the industry of baseball for years.  Everyone around you has been making monetary decisions about you for years. A few examples include:

• Perfect Game has estimated revenues in excess of $80 million
• Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) is creeping into the amateur ranks
• MLB is an almost $12 billion dollar industry and they have been spending tens of thousands of dollars to evaluate you
• Agents are making financial decisions about what you are worth to their business and whether you are a good investment

The industry of baseball has been preparing for you, but have you been preparing for the industry of baseball?

With everyone else placing a value on you and trying to maximize their return on investment, do you know how you can maximize your value to yourself, or even where to start?

Whether you have the skillsets or not and whether you are prepared for it, you are now the CEO of a multimillion-dollar business.  As the CEO, you have the responsibility of whether the business of you will succeed or fail.  That is a lot of pressure, but the earlier you recognize this fact, the better you can prepare yourself to handle this responsibility and maximize your opportunity.

One of the most important jobs CEOs have is surrounding themselves with the right team.  As a professional baseball player, you don’t just need to hire a team, you need to hire the right team.

Your team should consist of:

• Trainers
• Physical Therapists
• Dieticians
• Pitching/Hitting/Fielding Coaches
• Agents
• A Financial Team
• Mental Health Coaches
• Recovery Specialists

A team like this will put you in the best position to be one of the few players that makes it to arbitration and free agency as well as to avoid the 4 times more likelihood of bankruptcy that MLB players face.

This harsh reality isn’t meant to scare you.  Rather, it is to help educate and prepare you to seize the opportunity in front of you.  Whether you succeed as the CEO of the business of you is dependent on understanding the opportunity in front of you.

It’s time for you to get to work!