I played for Brighton and Portsmouth but quit football aged 26 - now I'm a millionaire real estate a

May 01, 2024

Retirement is often seen as the low point of a footballer's career with many left wondering what to do and how they are going to make money.

And few professional athletes decide to walk away from the beautiful game before the age of 30 in search of an entirely different field.

But that is exactly what former Brighton, Charlton and Portsmouth goalkeeper John Sullivan did after hanging up his gloves aged just 26 in 2014.

Packing up his bags and moving to America to be with his wife, the Seagulls academy graduate is now a thriving real estate agent in Las Vegas.

Pocketing at least $1million[£804k]-a-year since 2019, the 35-year-old is one of Nevada's top realtors after being ranked 35th out of 22,000 in 2022.

His life-changing gamble has certainly paid off, with Sullivan, who made 84 first team appearances in his career and played as high as League One for Brighton, revealing he earns as much in a single month as he would take home in three years as a footballer.

And his new career has seen him purchase 12 houses in the last three years to build up his portfolio which has put him in a great position for the future once he retires.

Having been used predominantly as a back-up shot-stopper throughout his career, Sullivan, who also represented Yeovil, AFC Wimbledon, Colchester and Cambridge, headed to America after Portsmouth paid him off for the last year of his contract.

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Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com about his change of vocation, he said: "I was living in America for about a year, I took a year off with my wife.

"And she just said to me one day, 'I think you'll be really good at real estate.'

"And then in my first 90 days I made a year's worth of money if I was playing football, and I was like, 'this is great!'

"But I don't get a set salary, it's commission only. It's an easy job to get into as it's commission-based, so anyone will hire you."

Commenting on the difference of the salaries, Sullivan, who works for Vegas-based Huntington & Ellis real estate agents, stated: "For me, the money couldn’t be any different.

"What I make in a month now, it would take me three years to make as a footballer."

He added: "I made $1m [£804k] last year, actually more than that to be fair.

"My biggest year so far has been around $1.5m [£1.2m], this year I should probably make... well the market has changed because of interest rates.

"But I should probably make around $1.5m [£1.2m] after interest rates. That's why I don't miss football!"

Sullivan continued: "My clients are usually around $370k [£300k], that's my bread and butter. I don't do many tense $10m [£8m]-plus deals a year."

Asked how many houses he sells a year, he remarked: "Five a day would be a good day. My goal every year is to sell 100. I know other agents whose goal it is to just sell 50.

"So in the last couple of years it has been a little less, the market has changed. But it's great working for yourself. I haven't had one day here that I haven't enjoyed."

An average day for Sullivan sees him wake up at 4am where he watches YouTube before meeting with clients and showing them their potential forever homes.

And what does Sullivan watch in the early hours of the morning, you might ask? Well none other than the White and Jordan show.

He said: "What's crazy is that I listen to talkSPORT everyday.

"I go on YouTube and I watch all the clips, Simon Jordan, Jim White, I watch their show every day. I wake up at 4am so normally I'm up at that time to get it on.

"talkSPORT's amazing, I love Simon Jordan, which as a Brighton fan is kind of weird!"

But don't expect to see Sullivan on your screens selling some form of sunset in the near future as he insists he would refuse to take part in the reality TV boom his industry finds itself in - describing the shows as '95 per cent inaccurate'.

As for his wellbeing, Sullivan has declared moving to America to start a new life was the best decision he has ever made.

He said: "I couldn't be happier. I love America and I don't miss much about England."

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