Goldman Sachs analyust Anthony Noto has been hired as the new CFO for the National Football League (NFL).  Noto played football in college before heading into finance.

Noto, who joined Goldman Sachs in 1999, was the top-ranked analyst for research on the Internet industry by Institutional Investor magazine from 2003 to 2007 and runs the communications, media and entertainment team. Goldman Sachs and the NFL announced the move in statements today.

Noto, 39, an all-American linebacker at the U.S. Military Academy, was an Army ranger and received master of business administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He starts at the NFL on Feb. 24 to oversee finance and strategy.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell continues to make smart moves by hiring smart guys to run the business side and by cracking down on thug activity by players with severe suspensions for running afoul of the law.