Olympic champions, WNBA legends and a former pro football player are all stepping away from their sports. The past few weeks have seen a flurry of athlete retirement news – Super Bowl hero Nick Foles is hanging up his jersey, two-time World Cup champion Alex Morgan has played her final game, and world-renowned track and field star Dafne Schippers retired from the sport last year after winning three Olympics medals.

The transition from elite athlete to regular person can be hard for many people, but it can be particularly challenging for athletes who have built their identity around their sport. “Elite sport environments are characterized by clear social and cultural expectations,” says Dr. Caroline Cavallerio, a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University. “These expectations are often associated with a sense of belonging and personal identity.”

When an athlete retires from their sport, this can impact their personal and professional life in many ways. They may lose their motivation to exercise, struggle to find self-identity outside of their sport and have trouble adjusting to not training and competing. They also may struggle to adjust to the financial realities of retirement, which can include dropping from high-end salaries to budgeting for elite training and equipment. Those costs can quickly add up, leading to financial difficulties for some athletes who report living on food stamps and credit card debt in their early post-athletic careers.

Athletes who are preparing for the transition into retirement need to ensure they have a plan in place that will help them financially and emotionally. For example, they can work with a wealth management expert to create passive income through investments and other sources to generate a stream of income that will support them in their retirement years.