Jarrett Jack is 31 years old and is in his first season with the Brooklyn Nets, his seventh team in 10 years. Most players would feel lucky playing for half as many seasons, but very few think about what they’re going to do with their lives once their NBA career is over.
Jack’s parents made sure their son thought about his post-playing career right after he decided to leave Georgia Tech following his junior season to enter the NBA draft.
“It’s something I promised my mom I would do after I decided to make my dream become a reality,” Jack told SheridanHoops in a one-on-one interview, “and I’m very, very thankful that she pushed me to stick with it.”
On Dec. 13, Jack makes another dream become reality when he graduates from a top-flight school like Georgia Tech, the culmination of several summers spent in the classroom rather than some extravagant destination other NBA players flock to during the offseason.
“It’s a tremendous feeling,” Jack said, knowing that his hard work paid off. “It’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest, accomplishments of my life.”
Jack would take two or three classes over several summers “and gradually get to the finish line.” Finally this past summer as he was traded from Cleveland to Brooklyn, “I was able to finally get everything I had taken care of and I get to see the fruits of my labor on Saturday, so it’s pretty cool.”
Even if Jack retires after this season, which seems highly unlikely, he will have made over $37.5 million in his career according to Basketball-Reference. That’s definitely a significant amount of money for anyone, but many professional athletes have quickly blown their career earnings for a wide variety of reasons.
With his degree, Jack ensures that he will have an array of opportunities in front of him that will help give him a legitimate and fulfilling life once his playing days are through.
“When I was done and transitioned out of basketball, I just wanted to be respected on all fronts and all levels and not limit myself,” Jack said. “Whatever I desire to go into, I wanted to make sure I was qualified in every area possible and not be looked at as just a basketball player.”
A total of 44 underclassmen left college early to go into the 2014 NBA draft. Fifteen of those players weren’t drafted, and a vast majority of the 29 taken by NBA teams won’t have college degrees to fall back on when their playing days are complete.
Come next week, Jack will gain something most players present and future will never get: A college degree.
“I could be looked at as a graduate from the highest possible education,” Jack said. “I think it’ll pay dividends for me.”
Jack stressed that a quality support system from his parents, along with some self-motivation, allowed him to see the larger picture that ultimately resulted in earning the requisite credits to finish school.
“I definitely just have to give a lot of thanks to my parents,” Jack said. “They’re the ones who had my back when there were days and moments when I really wanted to enjoy my summer. They pushed me to keep up with it and stay the course as much as possible and I’m glad they did.”
Jack’s path is definitely one that people who leave the NBA early can and should emulate. Success on the basketball court is elusive to most NBA players, and as one-and-done becomes the norm in college basketball, players with college degrees will become an even more endangered species.
But for Jack, a successful 10-plus year career on the court could now be followed by an even more successful and lucrative career once his life as a basketball player ends and the rest of his adult life begins.
Shlomo Sprung is a national columnist for SheridanHoops who focuses on analytics, profiles and features. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. You should follow him on Twitter.