The Super Bowl Winning Quarterback That Turned A $160,000 Salary Into A $640M Business

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Friends,

Most fans remember Roger Staubach for his super bowl championships and legendary play as quarterback of “America’s Team”, the Dallas Cowboys. But Staubach is a complicated man, with so much desire for greatness that his story couldn’t stop there.

Whether it was in the Navy, NFL, or commercial real estate - Staubach left his imprint on everything. Let’s take a look at how one man broke the mold of a traditional athlete and inspired generations to come.

(Image Source: NFL)

Roger Staubach’s historic resume started at the US Naval Academy, where he enrolled in 1961 as quarterback of the Midshipmen football team.

Staubach adapted quickly to the college game, winning the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy in 1963 - his first year as a full-time starter. Personal accolades aside, the 1963 season was special for the Midshipmen. Staubach led the team to a 9-1 record and a final ranking of No. 2 in the country. They lost in the Cotton Bowl to Texas, but beat rival Notre Dame - which they weren’t able to accomplish again until 2007, almost 44 years later (Source).

If that wasn’t enough, Staubach closed out his illustrious Midshipmen career as captain of the 1965 Baseball team. Why? Because, why not.

Despite being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1965, Roger Staubach still had to uphold his four year Naval service commitment. Although he was eligible to request assignment in the United States, Staubach instead chose to volunteer for a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam (Source).

(Image Source: US Navy)

After returning from Vietnam in 1967, Staubach still had his eyes set on football.

Staubach used all of his military vacation time to attend a portion of the 1968 Dallas Cowboys Training Camp. Practice went well and the Cowboys gave Staubach a playbook to take home, which he used to practice with other service members at the US Navy Base in Pensacola, Florida (Source).

By the 1969 NFL season, Roger Staubach had fulfilled his military commitment and joined the Dallas Cowboys full-time.

When it comes to Roger Staubach’s career in professional football, there’s simply too much to cover.

The man was a legend - let’s take a look at a few of his accomplishments:

• 2× Super Bowl Champion

• Super Bowl MVP

• 6x Pro Bowl Selection

• NFL Man of the Year Award

Fun fact - Roger Staubach created the famous term “Hail Mary”, which we still use in football today. During a 1975 playoff game, Staubach connected with WR Drew Pearson on a 50-yard pass to win the game. Asked about it during his post-game interview, Staubach said he threw the ball and said a “Hail Mary”. The term has stuck since.

Football aside, Staubach was extremely aware when it came to the financial side of professional sports. Players, and especially super bowl winning quarterbacks, didn’t make what they do now. For instance, Staubach had an annual salary of $25,000 as a 27-year old rookie and never made more than $160,000 in a year playing football (Source).

Knowing his financial compensation wouldn’t last forever, Staubach reached out to the legendary Henry S. Miller - requesting to learn more about the real estate market. Miller complied and throughout the 1970s Staubach worked during the offseason as a broker attempting to learn the business (Source).

In 1977, while still starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, Roger Staubach founded “The Staubach Company”. The Staubach Company was a commercial real estate firm focused on helping clients find office, retail and industrial space (Source).

By 1979, due to lingering health concerns, Staubach had decided to hang up his cleats and double down on his real estate endeavors.

In simple terms, his bet paid off.

(Image Source: Fortune)

Over the next 30 years, Staubach applied the same consistent work ethic that made him a 2x super bowl champion to real estate. The Staubach company built up a massive client base, with operations that included 50 offices across North America and over 1,100 employees (Source).

But with success came challenges.

Throughout the early 2000s, clients started to approach Staubach looking for international assistance. Knowing that wasn’t his area of expertise, Staubach went looking for a partner - which led him to Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL).

In 2008, JLL agreed to purchase the Staubach Company.

The price?

$640 million over a multi-year payout agreement (Source).

Staubach only owned 12% of the company, as the continuously gave out equity to employees, but it was certainly still a nice payday. The agreement keep Staubach with JLL, naming him executive chairman of the combined entity, which came with an annual salary of $12 million (Source). Prior to his retirement, Staubach’s annual salary of $12M was 75x what he made per year in professional football.

None of this would have been possible without Roger Staubach displaying the humility, work ethic, and humbleness to seek out assistance from the best, and put in the work required to be successful.

Could you imagine a super bowl winning quarterback working as a real estate broker during his offseason today?

Times have changed, maybe for the better, but that makes what Roger Staubach accomplished even more impressive.

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Extra Credit

Rather watch than read? I got you covered.

Today’s extra credit is a 4-minute clip discussing the qualities that made Roger Staubach successful in the military, the NFL, and commercial real estate.

Here’s a quote that stood out from Roger Staubach’s granddaughter, Caroline:

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