Hopefully it's a long time before Torrey Smith's NFL career is over.
But the wide receiver is smart enough to get a head start on things now.
Smith was one of seven current NFL players who took part in the first-ever NFL Boot Camp: Consumer Products this week.
The NFL Player Engagement program was held in conjunction with the Consumer Products Summit at the Baltimore Convention Center. The University of Maryland Robert H. School of Business was also a part of the program.
Smith went through several days of seminars and took a tour around the Consumer Products Summit to talk to different NFL merchandise vendors and pick their brains on how they broke into the market.
It all led to him and his team, "The Champs," making a pitch to judges at Under Armour headquarters, similar to that seen in the TV show "The Apprentice."
Smith was partnered up with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress, former running back Charlie Garner and Cynthia Zorich, the wife of former player Mike Zordich, who is also a well-known photographer.
Smith was the lead presenter for the group, tasked with the job of finding a way to advance men's lifestyle. They pitched a luxury NFL and team-branded cologne line which also branched out to include luxury items such as shaving kits, shoe-shining kits and jeans.
Their product was tailored for young professionals who want to smell and look good. Because after all, if you can't play like a Raven, why not smell like a Raven?
The panel of judges were complimentary of their idea and former player and Senior Vice President of NFL Player Engagement Troy Vincent said it was something he could even see himself wearing.
"I thought it went well," Smith said of the presentation. "Obviously I got nominated to represent my team. It was fine. I'm fine talking in front of people and I think we did a good job. We had a good idea."
Smith's team didn't win the competition, which was split between five groups. But that didn't matter too much. It was more about learning about a new field.
"I learned a lot, whether it's operating a business to marketing or how to convince people to like your product," Smith said. "Literally everything you can learn about this business, they taught us this week. For guys who have businesses, I would definitely recommend it to them."
So does Smith think he'll get into the consumer product sphere when he's done with football?
He said he still has "absolutely no clue" what he wants to do, but did appreciate the opportunity to dip his toes into a new pool.
The criminal justice graduate interned with Maryland U.S. Representative (D) Elijah Cummings last year. He's even launched his own blog because he enjoys the media as well.
"When you're done, you're literally out there on your own," Smith said.
"I want to know what I'm doing before I'm done versus waiting and it's too long and I'm trying to figure things out. Football doesn't last forever. [General Manager] Ozzie [Newsome] is going to kick me out of here sooner or later, so I have to enjoy it while I can but take advantage."
