Life Beyond the Game Requires Planning

ABOUT US

PostGame Careers provides structured, customized career strategy for professional athletes navigating careers beyond their playing days.

Most athletes spend years mastering their sport. Far fewer have a clear, disciplined plan for what will come next. This distracts them from the game today and disregards their long-term future.

We exist to close that gap.

We work with players facing uncertainty about how to prepare intelligently for life beyond the game.

Our approach is personalized, practical, proven, and strategic:

Clarify long-term direction
Translate athletic strengths into professional value
Evaluate viable career paths
Build a structured 12–24 month plan
1-on-1 support for thoughtful decision-making

This is not outplacement. That comes too late and has limited options.

This is not a recruiting firm. They represent the best interests of companies, not individuals.

This is not motivational coaching. You’re already motivated to compete and win.

This is strategic, personalized career guidance grounded in real-world sports and business experience. We are your trusted partner for identifying and navigating your path to success, inside a top company or as an entrepreneur leading your own business.

PostGame Careers is as a division of Bauer & Associates, Inc., a marketing consulting firm with decades of experience serving small, midsize, and public companies. It’s also the next iteration of The MBA Exchange, Ltd., a top education and career advisory firm that advised 5,000 individual clients over 20 years.

We bring that same strategic thinking, client dedication, and disciplined judgment to pro athletes preparing for high stakes, next career decisions.

Meet Dan Bauer

Founder & Lead Advisor

Dan Bauer is a senior business strategist and advisor with more than four decades of experience guiding professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations through complex growth and transition decisions.

A Harvard MBA graduate, Dan’s background includes senior management roles with Citibank and MasterCard as well as founding The MBA Exchange - one of America’s fastest growing private companies - as well as the Inc. Magazine Young Entrepreneurs initiative. He has been a marketing consultant to the National Basketball Association (NBA) and served on the board of the Aloha Bowl Classic all-star football game.

Since 1996, Dan has advised literally thousands of individuals and organizations across industries, functions, and markets. He has developed, refined, and utilized proprietary frameworks for identifying career goals and implementing success strategies.

Dan brings a rare perspective to professional athletes: the lens of someone who understands them and how businesses hire, promote, evaluate, and build leadership pipelines.

His work with athletes focuses on:

Long-term career positioning
Translating performance discipline into business value
Strategic timing decisions
Structured execution planning

Dan’s background spans corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, and sports-industry relationships.

He founded PostGameCareers to serve the 90% of pro athletes whose long-term careers must extend far beyond the playing field.

Meet DR. JAMES SPITALNY

Strategic Advisor

Dr. James Spitalny is a licensed psychologist and performance advisor specializing in the psychological foundations of high performance in athletics and business.

A former Division I scholarship athlete, Dr. Spitalny has combined clinical psychology with performance enhancement strategies, helping athletes and executives strengthen focus, decision-making, and mental resilience. His clients have ranged from high school and collegiate athletes to professional competitors in baseball, basketball, and more.

He worked with Caliper Inc. as Vice President of the Sports Division assessing athletes’ strengths and development opportunities. Today, he continues to advise clients on sustained performance and long-term success.