A little more than a year ago, offensive lineman John Gaines participated in the NFL Scouting Combine and performed solidly in drills.
A year later, Gaines participated in a different type of combine, but the numbers discussed were just as impactful.
Gaines and several other current and former Cardinals recently attended the Pro Athlete Community Business Combine in Florida. The event is a week-long event aimed at educating NFL players about investing in off-field opportunities. Gaines, linebacker Owen Pappoe, wide receiver Zach Paschall and running back Emari DeMercado represented the Cardinals at the event.
He stressed to the players that it is never too early to explore business ventures outside of football.
“(Veterans and former players) say, 'You guys are really smart to be doing this now, because I wish we had this guidance when we came back,'” Gaines said. “This is really great because you know the guidelines of what to do and what not to do and it’s very transparent about it.”
Each day had an agenda centered around different topics in the business industry. Whether it was real estate rentals, franchising or entrepreneurship, players had the opportunity to sit down and ask questions from experts in those fields.
Pappow said he hopes that with the tips he learned at the PAC Business Combine, he will be able to “get a little bit of the game and potentially buy some real estate.”
“I'm a guy who has had an idea of what he wants to do outside of football, but I'm still unsure about what I really want to do,” Pappoe said. “We were able to walk them step-by-step through what it’s like to be active in this field and create generational wealth in that field. It was a really great experience because I was able to meet the “experience.'' “
Especially in the rookie class, having like-minded teammates isn't something Pappau takes for granted.
“We were talking about maybe in the future we could get together and work on a project,” Pappow said.