If you were to offer a prop wager on a site such as Canada Sports Betting devoted to the post-sporting career that an athlete would be most likely to pursue, realtor might just be the odds-on favorite.

Such a statement is quite understandable when you step back and take a look at what it takes to be an elite, world-class athlete and compare it to the talents required in order to rise to the status of A-list realtor.

First and foremost, an athlete is driven to compete. You could say it’s the elixir that quenches the utmost desires of their lives. Real estate is also all about the competition. There are bidding wars for properties. The back and forth give and take of negotiating the terms of a purchase. Market evaluation, recognizing what a property is worth and the qualities that made it valuable. These are all relatable experiences to the former pro athlete.

There’s also the team environment of a real estate office that is appealing to someone who’s spent their life working with a group in pursuit of a common objective.

Bottom line, real estate is also like sports in that it’s all about winning and losing. Players are assessed based on wins and losses. The math of statistics is how their value is determined.

In real estate, stats are also how the cream of the crop is separated from the rest. The top producers in each office are celebrated and promoted. Real estate is also about persistence, discipline and work ethic, all character traits that also serve top athletes very well.

Tom Brady, the most celebrated and successful quarterback in NFL history, began his career fourth on the depth chart with the New England Patriots. But he continued to work at his craft and by his second NFL season, was New England’s starting QB. 

It’s that type of dedication, determination and sticktoitiveness that makes someone a successful realtor.

Is it any wonder then that so many top athletes find post-sporting success as realtors? In fact, two of the greatest to ever play for the Dallas Cowboys smoothly made the transition from playing for America’s Team to buying and selling America’s real estate.

Emmitt Smith

The Hall of Fame running back with the Dallas Cowboys won three Super Bowls, an MVP award, four NFL rushing titles and three NFL rushing touchdown crowns. He finished his career with an NFL-record 18,335 yards gained on the ground.

In his post-football life, Smith is still churning up real estate at an impressive pace. 

"I bought about four Walgreens at about a 7.5 percent to 8 percent cap rate, and I sold them at a 6.8 percent cap right before the market turned," Smith told BisNet in 2016 of his first real estate deal. "It wasn't a huge spread, but at the end of the day there was enough to where I made a little bit of money and saw how the process worked."

Today, he is chairman of E Smith Advisors, a certified majority, minority-owned global firm led by highly experienced professionals who believe in personalized service and a solutions-based approach. The leadership team comprises years of real estate development, finance, construction and management experience in every asset class.

He also serves as Chairman of E Smith Legacy Holdings. E Smith Legacy Holdings combines domain knowledge and experienced professionals to create, finance and execute unique real estate solutions, which are as diverse as their client portfolio.

Roger Staubach

Another Cowboys legend, Heisman Trophy winner Staubach quarterbacked Dallas to a pair of Super Bowl titles. He was an even bigger winner in the world of high stakes real estate. During his playing days, Staubach worked in the offseason as a real estate broker.

“I was 27 and we had three children,” Staubach told Forbes.com. “If I got hurt, I knew I had a family to provide for, and it was not crazy money in the NFL then.”

In 1977, nearing the end of his NFL playing days, Staubach started his own agency called the Staubach Company. By the early 2000s, his company had grown to 50 offices throughout North America. Staubach listed 1,100 employees working under him. He was the one who taught Smith the real estate ropes, allowing the running back to work for his company in the offseason during Smith’s playing days.

When Staubach retired from his second career in 2008, he sold his company and pocketed a reported $640 million from the sale.