LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- On the court they have unparalleled balance , grace and power . Unfortunately , for too many NBA stars , life away from the game can be a far trickier proposition . On target : Desmond Mason was one of the stars on the program . This can be particularly the case when it comes to money , despite the stratospheric salaries on offer , currently averaging more than $ 5 million a year , higher than in any other U.S. sport . Some players , it seems , are as adept at signing checks as they are shooting hoops . A report earlier this year cited an internal NBA Player 's Association ( NBPA ) study as showing that more than half ex-basketball pros are broke within five years of retirement , many struggling to maintain expensive lifestyles without the regular salary payments to match . But now one business school hopes to help at least some of the current crop of NBA stars become as business savvy as they are athletic . Illinois-based Northwestern University 's Kellogg School of Management has just hosted its first intake of basketball stars for a four-day executive education program covering topics including business leadership , negotiations , brand building and investing . Jointly developed by the NBPA , the scheme follows a similar program , run for several years by Kellogg and several other schools , which teach business skills to NFL stars ( covered previously on Executive Education ) . While their team mates enjoyed some downtime in the summer off season -- or at least those who were n't winning the men 's Olympic basketball gold in Beijing -- players including Quentin Richardson of the New York Knicks , Desmond Mason of the Milwaukee Bucks and Jeff Foster of the Indiana Pacers headed to the classroom for sessions with some of Kellogg 's top professors . `` It sounds kind of boring , but it 's really not , '' Richardson said afterward . `` There 's a lot of interaction and discussion . '' `` As pro athletes , we 're approached all the time with people saying , 'You can do this or that , just give me the money . ' Now maybe we 'll be a little better equipped to handle the situation , to know whether the person is serious or not , or whether they have really thought it through to see if it really makes sense . '' Mindful of the fact that the average professional basketball career lasts less than five years , the program is intended to both make the most of their earnings while they play and also consider what they might to subsequently . `` We realize that business education is helpful in preparing a person for a career move , especially for professional athletes , '' said Steve Rogers , professor of entrepreneurship at the school , who devised the syllabus , adding that the course does not `` dumb anything down '' for the sports stars . `` The program is optional for these NBA players , so their commitment level is high and they want to learn these business principles . '' Rogers now hopes to devise similar programs for other pro sports players in hockey , auto racing and other fields .
New - school program teaches business to NBA stars . They learn about management , investment and negotiation . Teaching comes from top faculty at a leading international business school .