Notre Dame is not just producing world-class football players but also dominating the corporate world. The Fighting Irish are stacking wins beyond the gridiron, as two of their former quarterbacks left their football careers for corporate careers as investment banking analysts.

Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne paralleled their degrees and landed jobs on Wall Street, as per a short squeeze news post on X on July 21. Buchner ended up at Goldman Sachs as an analyst within their Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) group. Meanwhile, Pyne began his role as an advisory analyst at Moelis & Company, based in New York. The best part of their story is that both started their college careers simultaneously with the Fighting Irish.

Both players arrived at South Bend as highly touted four-star quarterback recruits. Buchner was from the class of 2021 and Pyne from the class of 2022. Their paths collided directly in 2022. It won’t be a QB roster if there is no tussle for the starting QB position. Buchner landed the QB1 position in 2022, but fate had some other plans. In week 2 of the season, against a game with Marshall, he suffered a severe shoulder injury.

The backup QB, Pyne, stepped in and started the final 10 games for the rest of the season. He excelled significantly in the position and threw for 2,021 yards and 22 touchdowns with just 6 interceptions. He led the Fighting Irish to an 8–2 record in his starts. As soon as the regular season came to an end, Pyne entered the transfer portal.

Buchner was making a speedy recovery and was on the verge of returning to the team for the Gator Bowl to be evaluated for the future. The switch happened, and Buchner was back at the starting position. He led the team toward a 45–38 shootout against South Carolina and even bagged the MVP.

But head coach Marcus Freeman wanted an elite QB, and he brought in transfer QB Sam Hartman. This prompted Buchner to also enter the transfer portal. He transferred to Alabama for a short stint. Although he got the starter job, he was benched for Jalen Milroe. Buchner did earn an SEC Championship ring as a backup.

Pyne, on the other hand, could be described as a QB nomad. He played football for five seasons with 4 powerful college football programs. He transferred to Arizona State after Notre Dame. An injury plagued him, and he only had one start with the Sun Devils. In 2024, he transferred to the Missouri Tigers, where he served as backup to starter Brady Cook. His final stint was with the Bowling Green Falcons. After getting the QB1 band, he threw for 882 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Athletes from Notre Dame who also entered the corporate ladder

Despite these two, the former starting cornerback Ambrose Wooden, who played for five seasons, also became a Wall Street man. After graduating, he transitioned into finance and became a notable corporate figure. He became an associate and moved up the ranks at Goldman Sachs.

After 4 years of scholarship under Lou Holtz, Gary Kilburg also became a renowned corporate name. He entered the Chicago Board Options Exchange and eventually became a senior development director at Treasury Curve.

Alex Jones, who walked on with the Fighting Irish back in 2010, also made a 360-degree career switch. Rather than entering the corporate world, he chose an entrepreneurial path, becoming the CEO and founder of Hallow.