Catching Up With Former Player Rep: Rhett Hall

What inspired you to become a Player Rep?

I would say that my main motivation was a little selfish. Primarily, I wanted to get educated. I also understood the responsibility of educating my teammates, bringing information to them, and acting as the conduit between the PA and the players. So, it was really about getting educated on where we were with benefits, what the PA was fighting for, and those types of things.

What lessons and experiences were you able to take away from being a Player Rep?  

I think a big lesson was that you're not going to please everyone all the time. No matter the information that was discussed and the information we presented to players, there was always a small fraction of players who weren't happy with something for a particular reason. But I think it was also a great opportunity for me to look at, not individually, but the greater good, the collective organization of what the NFL is and what the NFL players are, and how we were doing all we could to try to cover everyone, not just each individual's particular needs.

Why should more players look to get involved/be active within the NFLPA?

I think that over time the collective bargaining agreement has become more complex. I believe there are more benefits available to today's players. So, I think it's imperative, it's more important than ever that every player is educated on what the collective bargaining agreement is, and how that affects them post-retirement from the NFL. It's like all the cliché stuff; you only have so many years in the NFL and then you have the rest of your life to carry on and take care of yourself in one form or another and that's different for each of us. But there's no question, if you played in the NFL, the NFLPA is going to play a role in your retirement and it's important to get to know the people there who can help you and understand what benefits are available for us. 

What’s a piece of advice that you have for players transitioning out of football?

From a work standpoint, a creativity standpoint, or just pursuing other goals in your life, pursue the things that bring you joy. Pursue the things that you're good at. I think one way or another, that the group of men that play in the NFL are highly competitive individuals and collectively competitive as a team. I'm pretty confident I go to war with those guys every day of the week. I kind of know what that makeup is. A lot of the skill sets that we've used during our playing time, we can use that in our post careers. So do what you like, do what brings you joy.

What are you doing now in your career?

I work at UBS Financial Services, one of the largest financial services firms in the country, and in the world really. I've been here for about six years. I've been at Wells Fargo and I've been a financial advisor for about 22 years. That's what takes up my time now, I'm still working away. I have a client base and I get to talk to people every day about what's going on in their lives and how I can help them, and stay in touch with people who appreciate and enjoy working with me. It's been great, I really enjoy my second career. It's different than my first one, of course, but I really enjoyed it.

How have you applied the lessons you learned playing football to your post-playing career?

The ability to just have conversations with people and listen. With your exposure in the NFL, we have the luxury of being around some very talented people, some very talented thinkers, and that's not necessarily the players. It's all people who support the game, are around the game, and love the game. We get exposure to different kinds of artists and entrepreneurs and all of that just because we are playing in the NFL. The ability to talk with those people and just handle the situation for what it is, that's a skill that you're introduced to like it or not and it's going to work for you for the rest of your life. Then of course all the work ethic things. What it takes to be a professional athlete and stay on top of it. From a nutrition standpoint to just getting in the weight room and then all your on-field work and things like that, those disciplines carry over for sure. 

What’s a piece of advice that you wish you had early in your career?

This may sound odd, but I really wish someone would have beat into my head, just enjoy the ride, enjoy the process, enjoy it. We get so focused and bogged down in the grind of what we're trying to accomplish that we don't always look up and appreciate just how good we have it and how much fun we're having. I really wish that I would have taken more time to enjoy my time in the league and it not be such a grind. Then in this second job, I've done a better job with enjoying the process a little more.

What does the NFLPA Fraternity mean to you?

NFLPA Fraternity means that I was able to participate in the greatest game on earth for a period of time. Simple.