Brandon Moore’s nickname is “Meat.” That might lead you to believe the Jets veteran right guard is some stereotype Neanderthal with beating people up the only thing occupying his one-track mind.
This isn’t the case at all.
Moore, having started 89 consecutive regular-season games as well as six in the postseason for the Jets, could be excused for being focused only on his athletic career.
Having signed a four-year contract worth $16 million with some $10 million in guaranteed money a year ago, you could excuse Moore for thinking he’s set for life, that his wife and daughter would be taken care of in the long term.
And, with the Jets having advanced to the AFC Championship game, thus shortening their offseason, you could excuse Moore if he wanted to slack off for a few weeks.
But Moore, one of the softest-spoken players on an offensive line that has started a league-high 35 consecutive games together, has a broader vision on life, which is why he spent last week attending the NFL’s Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program at the Harvard Business School.
This isn’t the first step Moore, who entered the league as an undrafted free-agent defensive tackle before being converted to an offensive lineman in 2002, has had a forward-thinking moment during his playing career. In 2005, he participated in the NFL’s Continuing Education Program at the Wharton Sports Business Initiative.
“I’ve been so concerned about putting food on the table as a player I wasn’t thinking with post-career plans,” Moore said yesterday. “There are a lot of statistics out there about post-career success (for athletes) — like a 78-percent rate with being broke, divorced with no career.
“I’ve been playing football since the seventh grade. I haven’t had a real job in my life other than cutting grass in the seventh grade — no real job outside of football my whole life.
“You can become trapped or stuck on this conveyer belt of football, and once it’s over they kick you off. I had to leverage myself for the future and this was one of the spokes in the wheel to get it going.
“I knew the transition had to be made sooner than later, so I decided this was the year to see what’s out there. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of getting educated by some of the best minds in the world.”
Moore said, with this the first in three years he hasn’t had offseason surgery, the free time was there for him.
Moore, a native of Gary, Ind., got his undergraduate degree in English at Illinois and said he planned to pursue coaching or teaching.
He said the Harvard program, which lasted a week, dealt with evaluating businesses, how to read a business statement, how to negotiate, how to evaluate real estate and how to decide what your strengths and weaknesses are.
Dave Szott, a former NFL offensive lineman who’s now the Jets director of player development, encourages the players to participate in these programs for a number of reasons beyond the obvious planning for the future.
“I’ve asked a number of guys if they feel when they have an idea of what they what to do after football if it takes the pressure off of them and they’ve said, ‘Absolutely,’ ” Szott said. “It’s year-to-year and day-to-day for some guys. At some point your playing days are going to be over. When you have no idea what you’re going to do that creates a lot of stress.”
Moore said he went to Harvard “with a couple of questions and left with even more questions — and someone said that’s a good