“What am I missing?”

Jon Bostic kept asking himself this question a few years back while prepping for another NFL campaign in his native South Florida and pondering his next entrepreneurial move.

Offseasons allow players needed downtime from their demanding profession. That can mean vacationing at exotic ports of call or traveling to work with trainers, doctors, massage therapists and other specialists. No matter where, the constant work and focus on their body never truly ends.

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That doesn’t mean the grind, for veterans or the next generation, should be a hassle. Bostic plans to open a massive $38 million athletic training complex in summer 2024, which he sees as a one-stop solution.

COMING SOON: 2024
Wellington Sports Academy

The Wellington Sports Academy will be a state of the art comprehensive training facility in Wellington, FL. Our 38 million dollar training complex is situated on 17.2 acres. Sitting at almost 130,000 sq ft, this multi sport training… https://t.co/cZVCsofibN pic.twitter.com/UAzMAMUvcT

— Jonathan Bostic (@JonBostic) March 10, 2023

“Biggest training facility in the state of Florida. First of its kind in the country,” is how Bostic, an NFL linebacker for a decade, including the past four seasons with Washington, described the planned 127,000-square-foot complex in Wellington, a suburb of his hometown West Palm Beach. He said the plan is to break ground on the public-private project in July.

Facilities will include a nearly 10,000-square-foot indoor baseball and softball complex, seven full indoor basketball courts, multipurpose football, soccer and lacrosse fields, and a membership-based weight room. Cheerleaders and esports gamers will have designated spaces, too. Bostic’s goals include hosting AAU tournaments and sponsoring participants.

Bostic isn’t focused on turning the facility into a football-only haven — he sees it becoming an offseason hub — but his gridiron journey helped shape this vision.

Only Texas and California have produced more current NFL players than Florida. That doesn’t include the multitude of out-of-towners who set up shop in Miami or elsewhere in the Sunshine State. Beyond the kempt grass turf and sparkling equipment, Bostic sees convenience becoming the draw.

The physical aspect of the sport has players training obsessively “pretty much year-round,” Bostic said, while the disciplined nature of football often makes players routine-oriented. As he pondered the “missing” part of his athlete mecca, Bostic considered the inconvenience of his schedule.

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Football maintenance includes working with his skills and personal trainers and visiting a chiropractor and massage therapist. That’s not including rehab sessions when injuries strike, like Bostic’s season-ending left foot fracture suffered during a joint training camp practice ahead of the 2016 season with the Lions. The primary issue with all these appointments? Time.

“My massage therapist is 25 minutes west of me. One of my trainers is 25 minutes north of me. I was doing rehab 40 minutes south. My chiropractor is 45 minutes north,” Bostic said. “It’s like you’re sitting in the car and driving all over the place.”

The new setup will be designed to eliminate the go here, there and everywhere aspect for regimented athletes with the space for each training component. If Bostic seeks hot and cold tubs, he has to wait until he’s back at the Commanders’ headquarters. In Wellington, athletes will be able to walk down a hall from the training room or stroll off the field directly to a tub.

“New technology came out during my career that has helped extend my career,” Bostic said. “The average player last two years in the NFL. Playing 10 is a huge accomplishment, and so much of that is about caring for my body. To be able to put all those tools and tricks and help under one roof is only going to help athletes and make this a place they want to come to.”

Bostic says other professional athletes — including Team USA softball players — will be on-site training and directly involved with the “academy” portion of the project, for those seeking daily intense training. That includes prospects prepping for the annual NFL Scouting Combine, a precursor to the league’s draft.

Bostic spoke with The Athletic after the NFLPA released a player survey of team facilities and services that ranked Washington last among 32 teams. The Commanders are expected to eventually replace the headquarters built in the 1990s once plans for a new stadium are finalized.

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“The facilities got put on the back burner a little bit,” Bostic kindly said.

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As someone in the midst of designing his own workout world, the linebacker files away what works and what requires more.

“Obviously, you want state-of-the-art. But, me being a businessman, I understand certain aspects of it,” Bostic said.

Yes, this is quite the endeavor. And no, this isn’t Bostic’s way of saying he’s done playing football.

The new NFL free-agency period begins next week. Bostic, who turns 32 in May, is one of the hundreds of players wondering where he will play next. He hopes that’s with the Commanders. Bostic isn’t the type to wait and see what comes next. His portfolio includes 22 home rental properties in nearby Rockland, Fla., along with recently purchased land he will eventually use to build new houses.

“So many of us walking away from the game literally have nothing to show for it,” Bostic said. “You get an offseason, but that’s when you’re working on your body or figuring out your next contract. Being able to put something like this out there … with this size and magnitude, especially as a current player, it’s unheard of.”

Competitive athletes always look for an edge. Bostic sees this project as helping them conveniently find what they are missing.

(Top photo: Jerome Miron / USA Today)

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