Share
3rd November 2015
01:46pm GMT
Heaslip is well-known for his wide range of interests outside the game, and while discussing his investment portfolio, which includes Bear restaurant, The Bridge pub in Ballsbridge, website Lovin Dublin and the very successful sports analytics firm Kitman Labs, he came out with a warning about the importance of professional athletes preparing for the 'afterlife'.
"The stats show that the average rugby career is 6-7 years, and we wouldn't be on even a fraction of the money from the NFL," Heaslip said.
'If you don't think about what we call the afterlife, you're going to come out the other end and all these people that you thought were going to help you, they very quickly start not answering your calls.
'You're going to be sitting there with no-one else really to blame but yourself for not preparing.
'The players' associations are stepping up to the mark, we've got IRUPA and the NFL have really strong player reps, they just look after and prepare the players for that. IRUPA are getting better year after year, but any sportsman has to take on the responsibility yourself, you can't have someone else do it for you.'Explore more on these topics:
