How these ex-Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest stars made serious money after retiring from football | OneFootball

Jota and Dexter Blackstock have proven that money is still there to be made following a professional footballing career

Most professional footballers who make it to the top of the professional game make enough money throughout their careers to retire happy without the desperate need to remain at work.

But others find their passion in other walks of life, and use their experiences and the money they’ve made during their time as a footballer to build a new career.

Both Jota and Dexter Blackstock played the majority of their careers in the Championship, but did make appearances in the Premier League during their 10+ year careers. They didn’t have to build new lives following their retirements around the age of 30.

However, both are CEOs of companies and have arguably made more money post-football than they did during their playing careers.

How Jota became a billionaire following retirement from football

Jota was a solid operator at Championship level for the likes of Brentford and Birmingham City, and managed to make a few sporadic Premier League appearances for Aston Villa towards the end of his career.

A season playing for Alaves followed his departure from Villa Park, and then he retired from football in October 2022, aged 31.

Now, he plies his trade in the agriculture business and is the founder and CEO of Groinn, a company with the mission to transform the agriculture sector using technology and data to improve efficiency and enhance product quality.

This technology uses solar-powered devices to capture and relay data to farmers to inform them on their soil quality and weather conditions, and it is in use across the entire globe, including in Saudi Arabian forests and Spanish greenhouses.

According to the Daily Mail, Groinn is projected to reach a valuation of £3 billion in 2026, which would make Jota, who had his contract cut at Aston Villa in 2020, a lot more wealthy now than he would have been during his playing days.

Dexter Blackstock’s business ventures post-retirement

Now, more than ever, footballers have to be smart with their finances, and given how different players can wind up playing across the world, ensuring that their money can be converted quickly and safely is a necessity.

Dexter Blackstock’s career, outside his opening campaign as a teenager at Southampton, was played solely in the Championship, playing consistently in the second tier for 12 seasons for the likes of Nottingham Forest, QPR and Rotherham United.

Upon retirement, he became the CEO of MediConnect, a company dedicated to ensuring that patients aren’t over-prescribed medication. He held this post until July 2024, when he became the CEO of Wiremit.

Wiremit focuses on financial inclusion and ensuring that the clientele can send money transfers securely across Zimbabwe and beyond without excessive bank fees.

so it’s uncertain how much he has earned in the past year at his new job.

But like Jota, the idea is that the bulk of this money has come from his investments outside of his playing career, rather than his football wages.