BOSTON — Matt Light and Rob Gronkowski tried their hand in the stock market Wednesday to raise money for charity.
The Patriot teammates were on hand for BTIG's 10th annual Commissions for Charity Day, and they answered phones and traded a few stocks. A portion of the profits and commissions were donated to various charities, including the Matt Light Foundation. It took place at BTIG's corner office on the 23rd floor of a State Street building.
"I think it's huge," Light said. "The traditional model of fundraising is usually an event or something wrapped around a gathering of people. This is kind of unique because it's literally doing what they do in the normal day-to-day operations. But instead of realizing a return on their hard work, their return is going toward foundations all across the country, which is kind of a neat concept."
The concept was foreign to the players, but they attempted to take a crash course on the ins and outs of the stock market.
"In college, you definitely take some classes and learn a little bit about this kind of thing," Gronkowski said. "But actually being here, actually seeing it, you've got to be hands on to learn the most about it. I'm learning more right now than I had in a couple classes at school, so this is definitely a great experience."
Light offered some self-deprecating humor, joking that he accidentally traded for 400 kittens in Europe while Gronkowski came away with a box of someone's old toenails.
"I bought some Patriot coal, traded it right there, cleaned the guy out," Gronkowski said. "I got the best of the deal. It was good."
Light and Gronkowski were surprised with how small and organized the BTIG office was, noting they expected some mayhem like everyone sees on television with the New York Stock Exchange. The BTIG event was also being held in New York, where Giants quarterback Eli Manning, Jets head coach Rex Ryan and Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira were participating with a host of other athletes and celebrities.
Light enjoyed his taste of the action, though he said he'll still leave his stocks up to his financial advisors.
"[Former Patriots punter] Lee Johnson literally had a trading desk in the back of our locker room [in 2001]," Light said. "The guy knew what every stock had done, was going to do, how it was going to move. He traded nonstop. I always thought I couldn't be like that. That's why you hire really good people that actually do that stuff day in and day out. But it's been an interesting experience seeing how these guys do it."
Photo via Twitter/@jeffphowe
Have a question for Jeff Howe? Send it to him via Twitter at @jeffphowe or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
