and at that point it changes quite a bit if the guy somehow is good enough to keep being an athlete. First of all the working out becomes his job, which he would have even if he wasn't an athlete, so he is just at work plus he doesn't have all of that plus school classes and time studying. The daily time commitment probably decreases quite a bit for pro athletes in comparison to college athletes.

Plus at that point he is probably bringing in pretty fat checks and that goes a log way towards making his time away less lonely for the wife. What I mean by that is that there is a real tangible benefit for her whereas she isn't seeing any personal benefit for her husband to be a college athlete.

He still has to be on the road, and that might be even more time than when he was in college depending on what sport he plays but once again those big fat checks have a tempering effect on her angst over him not being there. It changes the dynamic tremendously.