Which Sports Organizations Are Good Plan Sponsors?

“It’s easy to see our favorite athletes and sports teams on television and not relate to them as employees of their respective organizations with retirement plans, just like you and me,” said Brooks Herman, head of Data and Research for BrightScope. “However, saving for the future is still very important even for members of public and popular organizations like these. We recognize these high quality plans to inspire other companies to put more effort into improving the quality of their plans in order to provide a winning financial future to employees.”

BrightScope found sports organizations with the best 401(k) plans have an average account balance of $91,933 and an average participation rate of 88.89%. The average company contribution for the listed plans is $8,343, and the median is $1,910. Average salary deferral is $6,784, and the median is $5,467.

The 15 sports organizations with the highest ranked 401(k) plans include:

Company – Plan Name – BrightScope Rating

1.National Basketball Association – NBA-NBPA 401K Savings Plan – 91.91

2.United States Member Clubs of the National Hockey League – National Hockey League Pension Plan for Players of United States Member Clubs – 90.46

3.Pension Committee of MLB Players Benefit Plan – Major League Baseball Players Investment Plan – 90.00

4.Board of Trustees of the National Hockey League Players’ Pension Plan – National Hockey League Players’ Pension Plan – 87.25

5.Savings Board of the NFL Player Second Career Savings Plan – NFL Player Second Career Savings Plan – 83.36

6.National Basketball Association – NBA Retirement Plan – 81.52

7.Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner – Major League Baseball 401k Plan and Trust – 80.91

8.National Football League – NFL Pension Plan – 76.48

9.National Hockey League – National Hockey League Savings Plan for National Hockey League/NHL Enterprises Employees – 76.47

10.National Football League – The National Football League Capital Accumulation Plan – 71.75

11.Joe Gibbs Racing, Inc. – Joe Gibbs Racing 401k Savings Plan – 69.60

12.Speedway Motorsports, Inc. – Speedway Motorsports, Inc. 401k Plan and Trust – 64.55

13.Penske Racing South, Inc. – Performance Group 401k Retirement Savings Plan – 63.59

14.Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc. – Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc. 401k Plan – 61.91

15.New York Racing Association, Inc. – The 401k Plan of the New York Racing Association, Inc. – 59.72

BrightScope obtains an increasing amount of its data directly from plan sponsors and recordkeepers, and augments these primary sources with data from publicly available sources such as the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission.