Ex-Eagle Spagnola's Philly firm to manage billions for NFL players

PFM Asset Management LLC said today that its investment team, including former Eagles player John Spagnola, has been selected by the National Football League and the NFL Players' Association to "manage over $1 billion on a discretionary basis for the NFL Player Annuity Program and advise on over $1.6 billion for the NFL Player Second Career Savings Plan and the NFL Player Capital Accumulation Plan."

"I'm confident we should deliver significant improvements to the NFL retirement plans going forward," Spagnola said in a statement.

Unlike other retirement plans, which typically contemplate workers will stay on the job at least until around age 60, the short span of a typical NFL career means players may need to start drawing funds "as early as age 35," according to PFM.

The PFM asset management group, an affiliate of PFM's state and local government bond advisory business, manages or advises retirement plans totalling $13.7 billion, prior to the NFL deal. The group will succeed Michael Lipper, of Lipper Advisory Services, who had advised the NFL plan for 20 years, according to Spagnola.