Mar 17, 2026 Building the Right Advisory Team

A Conversation with Allen Schreiber, Partner, TSG Wealth Management

For professional athletes, wealth can arrive quickly — but managing it effectively requires far more than investment selection or contract negotiation. It demands structure, coordination, education, and a unified strategy that preserves today’s earnings while building long-term security.

Athletes often assemble a circle of trusted advisors early in their careers: agents, attorneys, tax professionals, and wealth managers. Each plays a critical role. Yet true financial durability isn’t created by individual expertise alone — it’s built through alignment. When legal strategy, tax planning strategies, and wealth management operate in concert, decisions become more intentional, risks are mitigated proactively, and opportunities can be pursued with greater clarity.

We spoke with Allen Schreiber about what it takes to build a high-functioning advisory team and why collaboration between disciplines — paired with ongoing education — is essential to transforming short-term success into lasting financial strength.

When an athlete comes into significant wealth for the first time, what’s the first priority?

Clarity, coordination, and education.

Most athletes quickly assemble a team — agent, attorney, CPA, wealth manager — but the real risk isn’t in having multiple advisors. It’s in those advisors operating independently and the athlete not fully understanding how the pieces fit together.

The first priority is creating structure where contract terms, tax exposure, liquidity planning, and investment strategy are aligned. Today, TSG Tax Management is able to coordinate tax strategy or collaborate closely with a client’s existing CPA to ensure seamless execution. That integration allows us to translate contractual design into long-term financial modeling in real time.

Equally important is helping the athlete — and often their family — understand the wealth building strategy. Education builds confidence. When clients understand not just what decisions are being made, but why, they become empowered stewards of their wealth rather than passive participants.

From your perspective, what role does a sports attorney play in long-term wealth strategy?

An essential one.

Sports attorneys shape the legal and structural framework that everything else rests on — contract language, deferred compensation, endorsement terms, entity formation, intellectual property rights, and asset preservation strategies.

Each of those decisions carries downstream financial consequences. When we collaborate during negotiations or structuring phases, we can proactively model tax implications and cash flow timing with TSG Tax Management and investment strategy through our team at TSG Wealth Management — this gives our clients solutions without having to go multiple places. That said, when clients already have a trusted tax professional we make every effort to work alongside the client’s CPA.

The earlier that integration happens, the more powerful the outcome — and the clearer the roadmap becomes for the athlete and their family.

What does a well-functioning advisory team look like?

It’s proactive, communicative, and clearly defined.

Legal counsel perserves the athlete’s contractual and structural interests. Through a trusted CPA, tax efficiency can be addressed in real time. And with a tested wealth manager we can oversee comprehensive wealth strategy: investment allocation, liquidity management, long-term projections, and risk oversight.

But the key is communication and transparency. With client consent, sharing relevant updates ensures that investment decisions reflect legal realities and legal decisions reflect financial strategy.

And throughout it all, we prioritize education. From rookie season through retirement and beyond, athletes and their families should understand how cash flow works, how taxes impact income, how investments grow, and how long-term planning sustains generational wealth. A strong advisory team doesn’t just manage assets — it develops financially informed decision-makers.

Where do you most often see breakdowns?

A lack of coordination and a lack of clarity.

A contract may be negotiated without modeling long-term cash flow implications. An investment may be made without awareness of pending legal exposure. A business venture might launch without coordinated review from both legal and financial advisors.

None of this stems from lack of expertise — it stems from lack of integration.

Another breakdown occurs when athletes are not fully educated about their financial structure. Without understanding the broader strategy, it’s difficult to make disciplined decisions during peak earning years or major life transitions. Collaboration — paired with education — reduces risk and enhances opportunity.

Many athletic careers are short. How does that change your approach?

It changes the urgency and the discipline required.

Athletes often earn the majority of their lifetime income in a compressed window. That makes coordinated planning between legal structure, tax strategy, and financial oversight critical from day one.

Deferred compensation, trust design, asset preservation vehicles, and proactive tax planning strategies all influence how effectively earnings are preserved and grown. Through integrated coordination we can move quickly and strategically.

We also begin preparing athletes and their families for the post-playing chapter early. Education during peak earning years lays the groundwork for confident decision-making later. The goal is not simply to manage wealth during a career, but to help clients transition into entrepreneurship, media, philanthropy, or new ventures with clarity and financial independence.

If you could give one piece of advice to sports attorneys working with high-earning athletes, what would it be?

Encourage early integration and shared education.

When legal strategy, tax strategy, and wealth strategy are aligned from the outset of a client’s career, the benefits compound — financially and structurally. Collaboration doesn’t blur professional boundaries; it strengthens them.

And when the athlete and their family are educated throughout the process, they become long-term partners in the strategy — not just recipients of advice.

Ultimately, we share the same goal: preserving the athlete’s interests today while positioning them for security long after their playing career ends.

In Closing

For attorneys and advisors seeking a coordinated approach to preserving and growing athlete wealth, the TSG Sports & Entertainment team was built around collaboration and integration. With the addition of TSG Tax Management, we are able to align tax strategy alongside wealth planning in-house or work seamlessly with a client’s existing advisors — ensuring every discipline is moving in the same direction.

Just as importantly, we believe in equipping athletes and their families with the knowledge and perspective needed to navigate both playing and post-playing years with confidence.

We invite you to learn more about how we partner with advisors to support clients at every stage of their careers by visiting our Sports & Entertainment page at tsgwm.com/sports 

 TSG Tax Management is not affiliated with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network.