By Tanya Stanish, Senior Partner

My son is a sophomore playing Division I football in the SEC. Like so many young men I've met in those locker rooms and stadium tunnels, he has big dreams. He wants to make it to the NFL.

I've watched him chase that dream for years. There were early-morning workouts before school, long summers of training, recruiting visits, and the day he committed to play at the highest level of college football. Now I spend fall Saturdays in some of the loudest stadiums in the country, watching him and his teammates compete for their shot. I've gotten to know many of those players and their families. Almost every one of them shares the same goal: make it to the league and take care of the people I love.

I'm also a family law attorney. I represent clients in Chicago, across Chicagoland, and throughout Illinois. I prepare premarital agreements for athletes and others; I represent the other side of those agreements; and I represent mothers and fathers working through child support, decision-making, and parenting time. Being an SEC football parent and an Illinois family lawyer at the same time has taught me something I want every young athlete and his family to hear:

The hard work that gets you to the league deserves the same care once you get there.

How Can Sudden Wealth Affect an Athlete and Their Family?

Watching my son and his teammates, I see how fast things can change. One day a player is a college athlete living a good life with revenue sharing, NIL money, and a meal plan. A few months later, a draft pick can bring a signing bonus and a contract worth more than most families earn in a lifetime.

Relationships don't pause while that happens. Many of these young men have girlfriends they've known long before anyone knew their name. Some already have children. Some are thinking about marriage. None of that is a problem. It's life. But when large sums of money enter a young person's life, planning ahead protects everyone, including the people he loves.

As a mom, I think about this for my own son, who already has a committed relationship and talks about marriage. As a lawyer, I help families plan for it every day.

Why Should Athletes Consider a Premarital Agreement?

When I bring up premarital agreements, the first reaction is often, "That's saying you expect the marriage to fail." I see it differently.

A premarital agreement is a conversation about money, held while two people still love each other and before anything has gone wrong. In Illinois, these agreements are governed by the Illinois Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, and they can address things like:

    • Pre-marriage assets: existing player contracts, signing bonuses, NIL earnings, and investments earned before the wedding
    • Future earnings and endorsements: how contract income and deals will be treated during the marriage
    • Business interests: brands, companies, and ventures an athlete builds
    • Spousal support (maintenance): whether and how support would be handled if the marriage ends
    • Short careers: NFL careers are often brief, so long term planning has to be realistic

One important limit: under Illinois law, a premarital agreement cannot limit child support. Those decisions are always based on what's best for the child.

For an athlete whose peak earning years may be only a handful of seasons, clarity is valuable. It lets both people go into the marriage knowing where they stand.

Why Should Both Partners Have Their Own Attorney?

Here's something I tell every athlete client: your future spouse should have his or her own lawyer, and a good one.

I've represented the athlete, and I've represented the other side. Both matter. A premarital agreement is strongest when each person has independent advice, understands what they're signing, receives full and fair financial disclosure, and has enough time to decide. One attorney can't represent both people in the same agreement. Each party needs someone looking out only for them.

That isn't just fair. It's smart. In Illinois, an agreement can be challenged if it wasn't signed voluntarily, or if it was unconscionable and signed without fair disclosure of the other person's finances. An agreement that was rushed, one-sided, or signed without real understanding is the kind most likely to end up in court. When both sides are well represented, the result is an agreement both people can live with and one far more likely to hold up.

If you're an athlete's partner and you've been handed an agreement to sign, you're entitled to your own advice. Asking for it isn't a sign of distrust. It's how the process is supposed to work.

How Do Child Support and Parenting Time Work for Professional Athletes?

Many young athletes become parents before or during their careers. I've represented both fathers and mothers in these cases, and the best outcomes come when both parents focus on the child instead of the conflict.

Illinois no longer uses the words "custody" and "visitation." Instead, the law talks about allocating parental responsibilities, which covers decision-making and parenting time. Here's how those issues come up for athlete families:

Child support. Illinois uses an "income shares" model, which looks at both parents' incomes to calculate support. A professional athlete's income can push those numbers well beyond typical cases, and at higher incomes courts have more discretion in setting support. Income may also swing widely from year to year because of bonuses, incentives, injuries, trades, or retirement. Good planning, and sometimes creative agreements, can help account for those changes.

Decision-making. Illinois law refers to "significant decision-making responsibilities" for major issues like education, health care, religion, and extracurricular activities. Parents need a clear plan for who makes those decisions and how they'll make them together or separately.

Parenting time. Illinois requires parents to submit a parenting plan, and an NFL schedule – like many other sports - doesn't follow a normal calendar. Training camp, the regular season, away games, and the offseason all affect a parent's availability. A good plan centers on the child's needs while remaining realistic about a parent's career, with more time in the offseason, video calls during the season, travel arrangements, and a fair way to handle holidays.

A father who plays in the NFL wants to be present in his child's life. A mother raising that child deserves stability and support. Both can be true, and with good legal guidance on each side, both parents can get there.

What Should Athletes and Their Families Do to Prepare?

From one football parent to another sports family, here's what I'd suggest:

    • Start early. Don't wait until the month before the wedding to talk about a premarital agreement. Give both people time to get advice and think it through.
    • Be transparent. Full financial disclosure protects everyone and strengthens the agreement.
    • Encourage independent counsel for your partner. It's the right thing to do, and it protects the agreement.
    • Put the children first. Support and parenting plans work best when they're built around the child, not the conflict.
    • Plan for life after sports. Careers are sometimes short. Your legal planning should look beyond your playing years.

How Can Planning Protect Both the Athlete and Their Family?

I don't know yet where my son's football journey will take him. I do know how hard he has worked, and I've seen that same determination in so many of his teammates. These young men deserve to protect what they've built. The people they love, whether a future spouse or the other parent of their child, deserve fair treatment and their own voice in the process.

Good family law isn't about one side winning. It's about each person being heard, understood, and fairly represented, so everyone can move forward with confidence, built on their dreams and their hard work.

If you are an athlete, an athlete's partner or parent, or have questions about how a prenuptial agreement, child support, or parenting responsibilities may affect your family, contact our family law team. We can help you understand your options and plan for what comes next.

This article is for general information only and isn't legal advice. Reading it doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different, so talk with a licensed Illinois attorney about yours.