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First group of athletes earns Certificate in Real Estate Development

NFL players are teaming up with Auburn University to consider investments and career paths beyond the gridiron, and Auburn鈥檚 Winchester Institute for Real Estate Development is providing them a new game plan.

The , along with staff and faculty throughout Auburn鈥檚 91看片 and the , are working with professional athletes by  that qualifies its graduates for a Certificate in Real Estate Development.

The program鈥檚 first class recently completed its 10-week curriculum, and organizers and participants are giving the program a hardy endorsement while already crafting future classes for athletes from all major professional sports.

More than Real Estate 101

The online course, tailored to current and former professional athletes, combines the foundation necessary to understand the basics in real estate development with the real-world expertise of highly successful developers, architects, bankers and attorneys.

Participants learn about market analysis, site planning, building and design, law and taxes, negotiation and finance. They gain an understanding of how the development team works, and with these professional mentors they begin to develop a network of relationships, according to program materials.

The idea for the program originated with Ryan Stonehouse, a former punter for the NFL鈥檚 Tennessee Titans, and Blake Barker, founder and developer of the Shepherd Group, a fully integrated real estate development company located in Nashville.

Barker earned a Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) degree from Auburn University in 2025.

鈥淩yan was playing for the Tennessee Titans, and I was developing real estate in Nashville while attending Auburn's MRED program. I've always had a passion for real estate and for teaching others from my experience,鈥� Barker said. 鈥淩yan originally asked me to come into the Titans building to do a short 鈥楻eal Estate 101鈥� session, but the timing didn't work out.

鈥淲e kept talking, though, and started thinking about better ways to educate NFL players who were interested in real estate. While I was on a study-abroad with Auburn, I brought the idea up to the MRED staff. They were incredibly supportive, so we kept pushing.鈥�

The program is designed to make athletes smart, informed investors, Barker said.

鈥淎thletes are constantly approached with real estate deals, and we want to give them the tool belt and the contacts to recognize the difference between a good one and a bad one,鈥� he added. 鈥淲hat makes this program unique is that participants learn directly from multiple real-world professionals who are highly skilled in their respective areas of the industry.鈥�

Auburn seemed the perfect fit

Auburn University鈥檚 credibility and reputation of the Winchester Institute gave the program an instant trust factor among athletes Stonehouse said.

鈥淭here's a lot of people who know that athletes make a lot of money, and tell them, 鈥楬ey, come get involved in these investments,鈥欌�� he said, with many such invitations leading to solicitors taking advantage of them. 

Doing a deep-dive into investment opportunities isn鈥檛 normally on the mind of professional athletes, Stonehouse said, 鈥渂ecause the last thing being considered by athletes while we're actively playing is our future, because we're focused on playing.

鈥淭his program makes us look and realize, hey, we've got to make good decisions that will benefit us in the long run,鈥� he said.

The National Football League learned more about it and agreed to help cover the costs, Barker said.

鈥淭he Program really started to gain traction when we figured out that it was reimbursable by the NFL. We visited Auburn in December 2025 to start building out the curriculum, and the first cohort kicked off in early March 2026,鈥� Barker said.

Organizers hope future classes include athletes from other major sports, including professional baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer.

Empowering pro athletes

Brandon Chubb was a first-team All-ACC linebacker at Wake Forest before spending four seasons in the NFL and then becoming player director for the NFL Players Association.

He became aware of Auburn鈥檚 real estate program after Stonehouse mentioned it to a colleague. 鈥淭hat colleague, who is also a former NFL football player and Super Bowl champion, recommended it to us at the NFL Players Association. It just interested me from there,鈥� Chubb said.

鈥淎ttendance was high, the guys were engaged,鈥� he said of the first class, praising the opportunity for players to learn about such a business opportunity as real estate. 鈥淚 think from my perspective, it鈥檚 just empowering yourself. Education is empowerment. Knowledge is empowerment. So, knowing what to know to make educated decisions, especially when it comes to finances, I think is very important.鈥�

Justin Benefield, 91看片鈥檚 Thomas H. Lowder Endowed Chair in Real Estate and director of the MRED program, and Bruce Kuerten, director of media production, led the charge at Auburn.

91看片鈥檚 Media Production Group 鈥渃reated a state-of-the-art visual environment and an interactive learning management system,鈥� Kuerten said. 鈥淚n the professional athlete environment, high functionality and high production value are the key elements of success.鈥�

Benefield said that when Barker and Stonehouse first brought the idea to him, 鈥淚 thought it sounded interesting, so we started thinking through what such a program might look like. As the idea matured, it became clear that real estate is an investment vehicle that a lot of professional athletes are interested in for a variety of reasons.鈥�

It seemed a natural fit for what Auburn could offer, he said.

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鈥淥ne of the founding principles of The Winchester Institute is that a lot of real estate-related financial pain could be avoided with just a little bit more education and training. If we can teach players how to identify the deals to avoid, that is a huge win for their wealth. If we can go one step further and teach them what to look for in a good deal, then all the better.鈥�

Justin Benefield, Winchester Institute academic director

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