Alex Morgan doesnt like the word retirement. Ive been saying post-playing career, she said, because retirement makes it sound like Im old. Its definitely more of a transition.Morgan, 35, announced her retirement in September, along with the news that shes pregnant with her second child. In her 15-year career, Morgan was prolific on the pitch, scoring 123 goals for the U.S. Womens National Team (fifth-most all-time) and winning two World Cups, an Olympic gold medal, four Concacaf Player of the Year awards, and many more accolades along the way.Perhaps more importantly, her career spanned a period of meteoric growth in womens sports that saw breakthroughs in gender equality, with Morgan at the fore of some of the most crucial efforts. In 2016, she was part of a group of USWNT players who filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over inequality in pay and treatment in U.S. womens soccer. In 2022, the results of that filing required men and women to be paid an equal rate for all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup. She also fought for anti-harassment policies in the National Womens Soccer League, helping transform team-player relations for a league that eventually grew to set valuation and attendance records in 2024.Morgan recently talked to Fast Company about her retirementwhat it looks like for her, how shes navigated the process, and how shes continuing to support current and future generations of female athletes, on and off the pitch.Fast Company: Its been nearly four months since you announced your retirement. What has life been like, and what does retirement look like for you?Alex Morgan: For me, its been about getting into venture capitaldoing a lot more investing and building my personal portfolio. Ive been doing that quietly for the last four or five years. I have about 15 companies that Ive invested in spanning sports, health tech, and consumer goods. Now, I have my own fund alongside my husband, which has been really exciting, and its something that Ive been able to dedicate a lot more time to.FAST COMPANY: You mentioned you were investing in sports. As an investor, where do you see the most opportunity right now?AM: I think were seeing an incredible opportunity in the WNBA and the NWSL. The valuations of these teams and leagues are continuing to increase. And were seeing it not only here, but in womens sports overseas as well. So what excites me most about my next chapter is that even though Im not able to be on the field, Im able to uplift and support womens sports leagues and teams around the world.FAST COMPANY: You say youre able to support womens sports around the world. How so? What are you doing personally to support these teams and leagues in the U.S. and abroad?AM: I think its an all-around approach. Through my media company, TOGETXER, were working to uplift these women and give them opportunities to share their stories, whether thats through podcasts or short or long-form content. Then theres the investing side and the mentorship and advising roles, which Im still refining to figure out how I can have the biggest impact. Im also continuing to support the NWSL and looking for ways to be most impactful, whether thats with my former team, the San Diego Wave, or the league as a whole. Ive been a big advocate of the NWSL, playing in every season since its inception in 2013.FAST COMPANY: Whats it been like for you to witness the NWSLs tremendous growth over the last 12 years?AM: Its incredible to witness, and to have been part of it. Things really started to turn when we forced the league to be more professional with their standards in 2020 and 2021, pushing the league to adopt anti-harassment policies and regulations that really, at their core, protected players. There was sometimes a power imbalance between coaches or higher-ups and the players, so we wanted players to feel safe and protected and to have control over where they wanted to gowhat city and market they wanted to play in. We wanted them to feel like their contracts were safe for that year and that they couldnt be waived tomorrow and have their contract cut and their [team-provided] housing taken away. I think professionalizing things like that took the league to a whole new level.Now, with the return on investment being so much larger, were seeing all these owners and funds coming in that I never would have imaginedlike Sixth Street [investing $125 million] with Bay FC and Bob Iger and Willow Bay with Angel City FC [valued at $250 million]. Its incredible to see these people not only wanting a piece of the upside in womens soccer but also believing in its trajectory. The players have put in so much to make this work, and seeing it actually successful now is really excitingand validating.FAST COMPANY: You say this is more of a transition than a retirement. Having navigated the process, what advice would you give someone who is going through a similar process of retirement or career transition?AM: The biggest thing Ive learned is that nothing is a steady incline. There were peaks and valleys in my soccer career, and I have them post-career. Getting into venture involves a lot of learning, difficult days, and questioning yourself. Then you get a small win and you celebrate that, and that gives you the motivation to do the next thing. So you celebrate the small wins when you can, but you keep pushing forward and stay on track.The most important thing is dedicating yourself to what youre putting your time and effort into and not giving up when things get hard, because they absolutely will.FAST COMPANY: The landscape of womens sports has changed drastically during your career. How do you think the conversation around mental health has changed?AM: I think athletes want to feel supported. Period. I fought for pay equity, maternity leave, and support for moms as professional athletes. Those are specific needs. But taking care of your overall mental well-being is just as important.Just look at what Powerade is doing now with The Athletes Code, announcing that theyre going to have it written into every athletes contract that they can pause their partnerships to prioritize their mental healthwith continued pay and support, no questions asked. I think its extremely important in the landscape of professional sports. Because athletes do need that support. Every sport is as much mental as it is physical, and taking care of the mental sideeven though you cant see itis just as important as the physical.Its something that I have absolutely needed to do in my career. When I came back after having my first child, it was really mentally drainingnot getting a full nights sleep and having a full-time job while playing for the National Team and Orlando and just trying to do it all at once. It was a lot. And I applaud Powerade for providing the kind of support athletes in those kinds of situations, and in general, require.Having the ability to take a pause without retribution, without consequence, is extremely important because every athlete goes through periods where their sport becomes their identityits how theyre validated in the community, how they value themselves or how others value them. That alone can be mentally draining. So I can see what Powerade is doing having a ripple effect in the sports community.FAST COMPANY: Why is it especially important for female athletes to have this kind of support from their sponsors and partners?AM: From my personal experience, soccer opens a lot of doors to these brand partnerships, but these partnerships actually account for more of my annual compensation than my sport alone. And I think thats the case for a lot of female athletes and athletes who compete on the Olympic stage. A lot of their brand partnerships actually support them financially more than their sport can. So they disproportionately rely on their brand partners.FAST COMPANY: So you think athletes have more support now than ever before?AM: I think the evolution of everything outside of the physical aspect of sport has done a complete 180 from when I entered the game. And I think athletes perform at their best when theyre completely supported. Thats all athletes want. That involves pay equity. It involves accepting and embracing female athletes who want to become moms while staying at the top of their game. And it involves talking about mental health within sports.I feel like we went through a dark time with athletes being vulnerable and then being shamed just because people couldnt see their suffering. But I think were in a good place now, and Im really proud of the work that Ive put inthe work that a lot of my teammates and other athletes have put in, and now the work that the brands are putting into change that.To see that now after playing professionally for 15 years, it feels good to be able to leave the sportat least in a playing senseknowing that not only do I walk away as a world champion and an Olympic champion, but I walk away actually leaving the sport better, and having athletes come into the sport where they feel supported enough to just play and be the best at it. Thats the best feeling for me.