It’s all too commonplace for reports to be spread about professional athletes who went broke after their playing years, which is why Jamal Mashburn’s story is that much sweeter.

College basketball fans know the name from his All-American tenure at the University of Kentucky during the top of the 1990s. NBA heads remember how he emerge unscathed from a failed Dallas Mavericks dream team (alongside Jason Kidd and Jimmy Jackson) to become a NBA All-Star late in his career.

Since retiring in 2006, Mashburn has become an aggressive entrepreneur who now owns more than 80 franchises and business which include 40 Papa Johns pizzerias, 38 Outback Steakhouses, four Dunkin Donuts spots and several car dealships.

In a new profile with BlackEntrepreneur.com, the 42-year-old former pro broke down his keys to success.

I had a vision of what I wanted to be at an early age, not just a basketball player. I’ve always disliked the stereotypes of athletes can only do their sport and they can’t do anything else. I’ve always been the guy that had broader interests. I am a humble guy that likes to find out information at its lowest level and build myself up. The transition started for me when I was 15, 16 years old looking at guys on the train station carrying briefcases because that is what I wanted to be. I looked at basketball as, Do I want to play until I’m 35 or 40 years old? Probably not because I had a feeling that I would get bored at that particular point. I needed different challenges in my life. I had other goals and other visions, so planning the execution and having another vision beyond athletics is something I’ve always thought of. I remember my mother telling me all the time, she didn’t know a whole lot about sports or know how good I was. She would always say, You better get your books and get into computers because you want to have something to fall back on in case basketball doesn’t work out. I have always looked at it as basketball will work out because I am pretty good at it and I am going to apply time to it and work at it, but I wanted to leave the game with a healthy quality of life and an ability to step into something. It’s almost like not falling back on something, but falling forward to something.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Mashburn’s estimated holdings is $45 million. Active players should relax and take notes.

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Photo: WENN