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Former NFL player and wirehouse veteran Steven Israel is celebrating being drafted to a new team on the first day of the NFL Draft for the second time in his career: He was hired by U.S. Bank as a wealth management consultant to bolster its work with professional athletes, the firm announced Thursday.
“I’m excited to join this iconic company at such an important time as it expands its outreach to professional athletes,” said Israel, who was originally a second round (30th overall) draft pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 1992. “I look forward to helping clients—including athletes—reach their financial goals.”
Israel is moving from J.P. Morgan Private Bank, where he had been an executive director for about three years. Prior to that job, he had been an advisor at Bank of America’s private bank and the wirehouse Merrill Lynch, as well as Fifth Third Private Bank.
He also joins a firm that this year announced a multi-year partnership with the NFL as its official sponsor for banking and wealth management. That deal includes U.S. Bank serving as the presenting sponsor of the Super Bowl MVP Award and a top-tier sponsor of the NFL FLAG Championships.
Israel, who will be based in Charlotte, N.C., brings over a decade of financial services experience as well as time as a sports commentator and analyst at ESPN and Fox Sports.
The defensive back who grew up in New Jersey and played his college ball at Pitt, had five interceptions in 102 NFL games over a nine-year career with the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints.
On the wealth management side, he has worked with entrepreneurs, college endowments and sports professionals on investments, lending, estate planning, and philanthropy.
“Steve’s background in both wealth management and the NFL will help us better serve athletes with their unique financial needs,” Scott Ford, president of wealth management at U.S. Bank, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to have him ‘quarterback’ our efforts to help professional athletes.”
Money management for athletes has been a focus for a range of financial advisory firms from wirehouses to registered investment advisors in recent years. College athletes have become a particular focus point following a 2021 NCAA rule change that allowed college athletes to monetize their name, image and likeness and profit from endorsements, subscriptions and licensing deals.
Just this week, Baird’s private wealth management business announced it had brought on a $1 billion team specializing in sports-focused advisory services. Last week, $13 billion multi-family office Caprock said it was opening a Denver office that would, in part, focus on working with athletes. In March, JPMorgan Chase said it had formed a council of sports stars chaired by NBA Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade and including seven-time NFL Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winners Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe to work with executives to advise on wealth-management programs tailored to athletes.
With its NFL partnership announcement, U.S. Bank also said it is launching a financial guidance program for players called Financial Edge, part of the NFL’s broader financial empowerment pilot. The bank, which oversees about $692 billion in assets, tapped Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and a prospective 2026 NFL draft pick, to serve as “chief financial playmaker” to provide insights that will shape the Financial Edge program.
The 2026 NFL draft, where Mendoza is widely expected to be chosen first overall by the Las Vegas Raiders, runs from April 23 through April 26, in Pittsburgh.
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