Danica Patrick and A-Rod's Post-Retirement Strategy to Remain Relevant
Season 2 of “The Corp” with Big Cat and Alex Rodriguez unveiled two more episodes today. The first guest featured retired professional race car driving superstar Danica Patrick. The trio discussed her driving career, sponsorships, mentors, and much more. The below excerpt spotlights the strategy that both Danica Patrick and A-Rod have used after retiring from racing and baseball, respectively.
Big Cat: I think both you guys are perfect examples where a lot of athletes do retire and kind of fade away and it is hard to write that second chapter of your career where you stay in the public eye and relevant in a different way. And you both have done it very well and it's hard to do though.
Danica Patrick: Well look, I think that you know we both have retired at a reasonable age with dignity and you know we're not hanging on for dear life and fading out within our careers. So, I don't know, maybe this is like you and I talking for a second here since you work for him.
Big Cat: Yeah, I'm kind of in the prime of my career, not to brag.
Danica Patrick: (Laughing) I don't know. Did it make it easier to make the decision because you had other things to do so you had something to look forward to?
Alex Rodriguez: I think that, and I think I left it all out there. There was never a regret of oh my god, did I do too much? It was the other way I think I did try to do too much. And I think knowing that I have maximized every ounce of my skill and my talent. I never wanted to look back and go, if I would have worked harder, if I would have taken less vacation. No, I left it and that was for me what made me satisfied with the end. I was tired.
Danica Patrick: There were just things that I was so over having to do anymore. I mean even look, it's ironic to say that I was so sick of doing the interviews and we're sitting here for an hour. I talk to you for an hour. I mean, I guess it's because that's a lot longer, but it's different. There's a difference between actually having a conversation, or time flies and being pounded with like, multiple seven and five to seven-minute interviews over and over and over and over.
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Off the top of my head, it seems as if athletes take one of two routes after calling it a career playing sports. 1. Broadcasting, or 2. Traveling/Family Time. A-Rod has been heavily involved in both of those categories, but Danica Patrick has her own list of hobbies that are keeping her busy outside of the speedway, in addition to being a racing analyst for NBC's coverage of the Indy 500 back in May. This includes owning a winery, a passion for clothing, CrossFit, and more. Big Cat did bring up a great point during the interview, mentioning the fact that there is no shortage of athletes out there who immediately fall off the map after retiring from professional sports. Danica Patrick and Alex Rodriguez are not remotely close to this radar though, and it’ll definitely be interesting to see where each of their post-athletic careers continue to take off from here.