With the Super Bowl two days away, we thought we'd catch up with a handful of Atlanta commercial real estate pros who played in the NFL and one former cheerleader. Commercial real estate is a natural progression for many retired athletes who still seek a competitive arena.

Steve Dils, Executive Vice President, Avison Young

Steve recently launched Toronto-based services firm Avison Young's Atlanta office and has an extensive track record in brokerage and management, having also served in leadership roles at Grubb & Ellis and PM Realty. Early in his pro football career, he began working in brokerage and development during the off season in Southern California and Minneapolis and started working on Piedmont Center's leasing team in 1989.

"I knew I wanted to be in real estate when I retired, but it was just a matter of where," Dils said. "Because I got hurt, I had some time to look around, and I thought (Atlanta) was a great place to live. Real estate's been great. Each job, everything you did previously, prepares you for the next step."

A New Orleans win Sunday would give former Saints offensive lineman Chris Port two champs in one year. His high school, Don Bosco Prep in Northern New Jersey, was USA Today's No. 1 team last year. His college alma mater, Duke, was ... much improved, finishing 5-6.

Port's wife is a local, so after his NFL career, they moved to Atlanta where he pursued a commercial real estate career. Brett Hunsaker hired him at CB Richard Ellis in 1997. Chris is not a small man, so Brett was probably scared not to hire him. Over the past 13 years, Port has risen to become one of metro Atlanta's top agency leasing brokers.

"We need about three million square feet of tenants to move to Atlanta in the next 18 months and a Saints win in the Super Bowl," Port said. "It would sure make Mardis Gras better the next week."

Rick Strom, Leasing Manager, Manulife Financial

After wrapping up a stellar career as Georgia Tech's quarterback, Rick Strom had a childhood dream come true when the Steelers drafted him.

"Having grown up in Pittsburgh, it was a real thrill to go back and play for the Steelers," Strom said. "It's every kid's dream. I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Strom's seven-year NFL career included stops in Detroit and Buffalo, as well. In Pittsburgh, his commercial real estate career began at Trammell Crow, but, like Port, marrying a Georgia girl brought him back to Atlanta, where he's worked on Manulife's leasing team for five years.

Floyd Hodge, Business Development in Carter's K-12 Construction Team

Former Falcon Floyd Hodge developed a bond with Carter President Scott Taylor through Hodge's Infinity Football Academy, and that bond lead to an opportunity for Hodge to combine two of his passions - helping children and professional sales. Hodge recently joined the business development team for Carter's K-12 construction program.

"I knew the role I would be playing would fulfill some of the goals I've always had," Hodge said. "Selling the K-12 program was right in line with what I've always tried to do, help kids."

Hodge grew up in Los Angeles and played college ball at the University of Utah, afterward spending four years with the Falcons in the 1980s as a wide receiver.

Jeannie Cave, Senior Real Estate Manager, Cox Enterprises

Hopefully, Jeannie Cave won't kill her husband, Ed, President of VeenendaalCave, for suggesting we do this story and talk to her about her time as a cheerleader in the Tampa Bay area.

"I was a cheerleader in high school and then a cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the professional soccer team, and then with the Tampa Bay Bandits in the USFL and then on to the NFL," Jeannie Cave said. "It was a natural progression - yeah, I know, a professional cheerleader."

A St. Petersburg, Fla., native, Cave now serves as Cox Enterprises Inc.'s senior real estate manager, where she directs the media company's real estate transactions across the U.S. She moved to Atlanta in the late 1980s and worked in Sharp Boylston's project management group.

Jim Bob Taylor, Senior Vice President in CB Richard Ellis

Jim Bob Taylor has an interesting sense of timing. A Texas native, Taylor originally attended SMU before transferring to Georgia Tech, where he was starting quarterback during the 1982 season. The Baltimore Colts picked Taylor in the 11^th round of the 1983 NFL draft, but the Colts also drafted a guy named John Elway in the first round. Lucky for Taylor, Elway didn't want to play for the Colts and demanded to be traded. The next year, Taylor ended up with the Cleveland Browns, who subsequently drafted Bernie Kosar.

"Timing is key, but it was just great to experience it," Taylor said.

Taylor returned to Georgia Tech to finish his degree and noticed some of his teammates had started commercial real estate careers, guys like Tony Kepano, who's also at CBRE now; Duane Wood, who recently started his own investment and development firm; and Mark Sheffield, a senior vice president at NAI Brannen Goddard. After graduating from Tech, Taylor joined LaVista Associates and later moved to Trammell Crow Co. before it was acquired by CB Richard Ellis.

"There were a lot of guys who I played with in real estate who were doing well, and I figured I could do it, too," Taylor said.

Gannon Shepherd, Senior Associate, Jones Lang LaSalle

Gannon Shepherd fun facts: he and his wife moved AND welcomed a new baby girl into the world this week; Gannon does a wicked karaoke version of "Welcome to the Jungle;" he played defensive line at Marist and Duke and then offensive line for five NFL teams in four years; and his brother in law is Tim Tebow. Oh, and he's part of a powerhouse office tenant rep team, working with Duncan Gibbs at Jones Lang LaSalle. Is Gannon Shepherd the most interesting man in the world?

He won't deny it, but he freely admits the football part - five teams in four years, injuries, the pink slips - isn't a glamorous as it seems. He does admit it was good preparation for commercial real estate, though, a career he started in 2004 at Advantis.

"You have to really believe in what you're doing for the long haul and be capable of dealing with a lot of rejection," Shepherd said of real estate and football's similarities. "If you're doing the right thing and working hard at it, long-term it works out for you. It's competitive and can be frustrating, but when you have success, it's very gratifying."