HAWTHORNE : 49ers Football Star Helps Youths Tackle Studying

During football season, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Karl Wilson tackles quarterbacks and running backs. In the off-season, he takes on more formidable opponents: seventh- and eighth-graders.

The eight-year veteran of the National Football League took time out from summer training recently to teach Yukon Middle School math students how basic math is used in the world of professional sports.

“They have to realize that Mom and Dad aren’t going to be paying for everything. (The students) are going to need the education,” Wilson said.

Wilson drove from San Diego to Hawthorne for the day at the urging of Yukon math teacher and family friend Charles Salter.

Many of the students want to be professional athletes, and having Wilson teach was a good way to reach them, Salter said.

Wilson used a fictional football player to illustrate the basics.

“If John Doe signs a contract for $350,000 for his first year out of college, how much money will he take home?” Wilson asked the students.

Silence.

“Will he get it all?” Wilson asked.

“No, they take taxes,” said Jayvon Logan, a seventh-grader.

“That’s right. Uncle Sam gets his share,” Wilson said.

From there, Wilson tackled agent fees, salary bonuses, incentives, endorsements and the world of high finance.

“What should John Doe do with the money he makes?” Wilson asked.

“Buy a car and put it in the bank,” said Bevlita Moore, an eighth-grader.

Actually, he shouldn’t, Wilson said: “He should try to put it in a tax-exempt bond or mutual fund. That way it will make 8% to 10% more . . . and it’s tax free,” he told the 13- and 14-year-olds. Some smiled and nodded politely. Others stared at Wilson with blank expressions.

“I hope the kids will ask the teacher or their parents about the things they didn’t understand,” Wilson said.

While many students seemed intimidated by their 6-foot, 5-inch, 277-pound guest teacher, almost all of them wasted no time asking for autographs after the dismissal bell rang.

Studying, working hard and setting goals is the way to succeed, Wilson told the students.

“It’s not easy, but you won’t be able to do what you want in life if you don’t study,” he said.