The University of Michigan will receive some unusual applicants next year.
Several dozen current and former National Football League players are expected to apply to the Ross Business School to learn how to open franchise businesses.
Dubbed the "NFL Franchising Boot Camp," the program will educate 30 of these athletes from across the country about the ins and outs of running a food, hotel or fitness chain.
During the four-day program this April, former professional football players will stay on the Ann Arbor campus and attend workshops with the school's faculty and business owners."The plan is that they leave having a really good sense of whether they want to go into this kind of business or not. And if they do, they've started a business plan," said the business school's Melanie Barnett.
Barnett says many NFL players retire young.
"And many of them do have money that they want to parlay into something productive that they want to do for the rest of their lives."
Barnett says the business school is looking into creating an annual program.
-Elaine Ezekiel, Michigan Radio Newsroom
