Super Bowls, touchdowns, screaming fans — it’s all part of the NFL the public sees. But for the players, their careers are just a short part of their stories. What happens after the fairytale is a little less clear.Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway got his happy ending. But as most players know, Elway is the exception, not the rule.Former LSU players Trev Faulk and Eddie Kennison didn’t get Elway’s ending. Neither did 2002 first-round draft pick T.J. Duckett, Super Bowl XXXI champion Antonio Freeman or former Episcopal High School standout Jimmy Williams.Eleven athletes, including the aforementioned players, attended an LSU workshop held June 10 to 13 to learn how to be successful in their post-NFL careers.The workshop, called “Personal Branding for Athletes: Transitioning From the NFL to Your Next Career,” taught the participants skills to succeed in the current business world.LSU Executive Education Director Robin Kistler described the vision of the workshop in an email. The goal is “to help as many former NFL athletes make the transition into whatever endeavor they so choose with polish, professionalism, and being true to their core values.”Marketing Professor Tommy Karam developed the idea last year and planned the event with Kistler. They worked alongside Lamonte Winston, former Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player development.”It was important to us that we had a wide variety of players by age, years of playing experience, and location,” Kistler said in an email. “We wanted a diverse group of experiences in the room so they could learn from each other. We could not have asked for a better group of men … They participated in the program with the same level of intensity and commitment as their time in the NFL.”Duckett said the workshop taught invaluable lessons to men whose whole lives had revolved around football.”I started playing football when I was 8 years old,” Duckett said. “To not do something that you’ve been doing for so many years on a regular basis … it took some getting used to. It was a scary process. I didn’t really know what was next for me.”Duckett said he feels more confident in his ability to succeed in the business world after attending the program.Faulk said the workshop was everything he thought it would be and more.”We’ve gone over personally branding ourselves, marketing ourselves, online media, entrepreneurship, marketing and business — pretty much just a wide range of issues,” Faulk said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to come back in a few years and share some of the things I’ve learned from here that have worked for me and my business.”Each player gave a 10-minute testimonial on the last night about themselves, their passions and their future plans.The testimonials showed a side of the players rarely seen by the fans.Von Hutchins said he didn’t want to be part of the 75 percent of players who went bankrupt two years out of the league. Freeman talked about his love of giving back to community.Freeman said he gave a group of children a challenge to read 35 books over the course of a few months, something he proudly noted they accomplished.Faulk mentioned how he left LSU early to pursue the NFL after he graduated in three years. As a result, he went undrafted and bounced from team to team.Looking back, Faulk said he wouldn’t change a thing because he learned how to be a man and found God through his adversity.Kennison got emotional as he spoke of past mistakes and his two sons. “My biggest fear is not being a good father to my boys,” Kennison said.The biggest thing the players said they got out of the workshop was the ability to define themselves as people outside football.–Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]