LeBron James, Steph Curry and more: 5 NBA players who are great investors
NBA players are some of the highest-paid athletes in the world, and it's only normal for them to invest their hard-earned money. Athletes from all around the world are entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, hotel owners, venture capitalists, and much more.
They are paid millions to play during their prime but find themselves without a job decades before the average person. Statistically, the average age of retirement in the NBA was 28 last year.
Keep in mind that most players aren't superstars but make millions into their late 30s. This statistic counts players who play just a few seasons and call it a career, while many are forced to retire early due to injury. Even if we consider long illustrious careers, most stars don't play past 36-37, whereas the common man retires at the age of 60-65.
So most NBA players have to decide what to do with their life and money after they hang up their sneakers.
Which NBA players are bonafide investors and entrepreneurs?
We have seen plenty of examples of players going broke after retirement, but the smart ones invest their money instead of splurging it. The best example of a retired player making the right investments is Ulysses "Junior" Bridgeman.
A role player in his NBA days, Bridgement invested in the fast food chains Wendy's and Chilli's and now operates in over 200 locations. He's worth over $700 million and all due to his business acumen, not his basketball salary.
Michael Jordan, David Beckham and Arnold Palmer made bank after retiring from sports. So did Junior Bridgeman, who purchased five @Wendys franchises in Milwaukee before expanding. He ended up operating 160 Wendy’s and 103 Chili’s Restaurants under the affiliate Manna Inc.
💰Michael Jordan, David Beckham and Arnold Palmer made bank after retiring from sports. So did Junior Bridgeman, who purchased five @Wendys franchises in Milwaukee before expanding. He ended up operating 160 Wendy’s and 103 Chili’s Restaurants under the affiliate Manna Inc. https://t.co/R7x3o1S06p
Superstars are usually excellent investors, as they earn millions compared to other players.
Hall of Famers such as Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal have all made noteworthy investments. For example, Johnson invested in Starbucks and Sodexo. while Bryant flipped Body Armor for $200 million after Coca-Cola bought the company.
So for this article, we are shifting our focus to current NBA players who are active investors. Most of these players are superstars who want to grow their brand and business before hanging up their sneakers. Let's have a look at five of them in no specific order:
Note: This list is not ranked.
#1 Chris Paul
The legend known as Point God, Chris Paul is an active investor in the companies he believes in.
He has made several seed and angel investments in small companies and start-ups to push them over the edge. CP3 is a vegan, and a lot of his money has gone into companies that are at the forefront of that lifestyle.
He has stakes in companies called Beyond Meat, Gopuff, Misha's Kind Foods, Supplant, Current Foods, Umaro Foods, Bowery Farming, and more. These companies are all related to the food industry, especially in making plant-based substitutes for meat, seafood, dairy, sugar and more.
Additionally, he has also invested in sports ventures such as MaxOne, an online sports coaching platform, Mitchell and Ness, a jersey-selling brand, TMRW Sports, a sports entertainment and media company, and many more.
TMRW Sports has an investor group containing Steph Curry, Lewis Hamilton, Alex Morgan, Shohei Ohtani, Justin Timberlake, Tiger Woods, Roy McIlroy and more.
Proud to be joining the @TMRWSports team and be part of a group of fellow entrepreneurs who share a passion for golf and technology! twitter.com/TMRWSports/sta…
Paul has also invested in Goalsetter, a tech company that specializes in financial literacy. Moreover, he has a minority stake in the cricket franchise Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
#HallaBol @rajasthanroyals
#2 Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant is one of the most active investors in the NBA. He has several ventures of his own and has stakes in many companies in a plethora of fields.
KD actively endorsed and partnered with Weedmaps, a tech company dedicated to helping people connect to cannabis dispensaries. He isn't shy of putting his money in companies he believes in, even if there's risk involved.
Kevin Durant partners with Weedmaps, hopes to destigmatize marijuana use. thesco.re/2W8ekh3 https://t.co/ai8p7iQitg
Durant is a co-founder of Thirty-Five Ventures, and he makes most of his investments through the agency.
He has invested in more than 80 companies, most recently Mitchell and Ness, OpenSea, Future, NBA Top Shot, Coinbase, Immortal Games and more. None of these ventures are related with each other. These include gaming websites, NFT ventures, cryptocurrency-related companies, clothing brands, and more.
🏾 twitter.com/PhilaUnion/sta…
phlunion.co/KD20It’s official!! Looking forward to working with @PhilaUnion for years to come 💪🏾 twitter.com/PhilaUnion/sta…
He has also invested in "Gravity Sketch," a Virtual Reality-based design platform, and his list of investments is seemignly endless. In sports, he purchased a minority stake in Major League Soccer team Philadelphia Union in 2020.
#3 Steph Curry
Steph Curry is arguably the most marketable player in the NBA right now. The baby-faced assassin ignited the 3-point revolution in the sport ,and now millions of kids worldwide want to shoot from distance like him.
He's often regarded as the most influential player in the NBA today, given that he changed the game forever. His demeanor on the court is highly likable, as he is constantly smiling, shimmying and enjoying the game. Hence, the two-time NBA MVP has innumerable endorsment deals and a large investment portfolio.
He makes most of his investments through his companies SC30 Inc. and Unanimous Media. His most recent investment was in TMRW Sports alongside CP3, Lewis Hamilton and other legends mentioned above.
The Golden State Warriors are based out San Francisco, next door to Silicon Valley, and the franchsie superstar has his money invested in a plethora of tech companies.
He a a partner in Palm, an electronics company, Infiniti Motor Company, Tonal, an AI-powered home gym manufacturer, Kikoff, a personal finance app, Squire, an app for barbershop solutions, Step, a finance app for teenagers, Super, an e-commerce platform, and many more ventures.
I love it. Taking the #Learn in @eatlearnplay to another level. Proud to invest in @GuildEducation and @RachelRCarlson as they #ruinthegame in education! Check them out! twitter.com/GuildEducation…
Additionally, he's an investor and advisor for CoachUp, a platform that connects players to private coaches, and Miro, a collaboration software start-up.
One of his noteworthy partnerships is with FTX Trading Limited, a cryptocurrency exchange that also has investors like NFL legend Tom Brady and NBA team Miami Heat, among others.
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He's the highest-paid player in the league today, and the abobe are just a few of Curry's several partnerships and investments. He will likely continue to grow his investment portfolio in the years to come.
#4 Andre Iguodala
Andre Iguodala is one of the players who's looking forward to his role as a venture capitalist and investor after retirement.
It appears as though he will jump right into investor meetings with start-ups once he's done playing. The 2015 NBA Finals MVP had a cameo in the famous tech start-up show called Silicon Valley, and he recently appeared at TechCrunch Disrupt to talk about investing in technology and the future of tech.
Golden State Warrior @andre talks about wearables and their analytics #TCDisrupt http://t.co/61y6x3vmC0
Although his investment portfolio isn't as flashy and huge as the other names on this list, Iguodala has made several investments that have turned out to be major successes.
He has a stake in Zoom, the multi-billion dollar video conferencing platform, Marqeta, an IT services company, Mercury, a bank built for start-ups and more. He also invested in Twice, an e-commerce platform for the sale of second-hand items, that was bought by e-commerce giant eBay.
3) Portfolio
Iggy has invested between $25,000 and $150,000 across a portfolio of more than 50 companies.
Some notable ones include:
• PagerDuty
• AllBirds
• GameOn
• NerdWallet
• Zuora
• Casper
• Robinhood
• Datadog
• Hims
• Cloudfare
Additionally, he's an investor and advisor for e-commerce and investment platforms like Jumia, and Concrete Rose Capital.
He was also an investor in The Player's Tribune, a sports media label, alongside Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. Minute Media bought the company for $100 million in 2019. Iguodala is easily one of the most underrated investors in the NBA, and his empire stands at around $200 million.
#5 LeBron James
LeBron James is worth over a billion dollars and is the only active NBA player to reach that mark.
His empire includes schools, car companies, media labels, tech companies, clothing lines, alcohol distilleries, and much more. Unlike the rest of the NBA stars on this list, James has investments that are quite flashy, and most companies he partners with are well known. Mainly because of the fact that James is an investor is enough publicity for the company, he becomes their de facto brand ambassador.
James partnered with Blaze Pizza, a pizzeria that has over 300 locations worldwide. He appeared in a hilarous commercial with the food joint, where he pretended to be a worker in the restaurant, and nobody could recognize him. He also has a stake in FazeClan, a gaming organization, where his son Bronny plays in.
In 2012, LeBron James acquired 10% of Blaze Pizza for less than $1 million
Blaze Pizza’s revenue:
2019 $400 million*
2018 $341.5 million
2017 $279 million
2016 $185 million
2015 $101 million
2014 $32.8 million
2013 $5.5 million
2012 $800,000
*forecast
https://t.co/oBlG48RtWI
Notably, he was a part-owner of Beats By Dre, the headphone company by Dr. Dre.
When the company was sold to Apple for $3 billion, the four-time NBA champion made upto $30 million. Additionally, James is a part-owner of several major sports teams like Liverpool FC in the English Premier League, Boston Red Sox of the MLB, Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and more, through his partnership with Fenway Sports Group.
LeBron James has made over 10x times the initial investment from these sports franchises.
Instead of cash, LeBron James accepted a 2% stake in Liverpool FC as part of a 2011 business deal with Fenway Sports Group.
Originally valued at $6.5M, the investment is now worth ~$44M - almost 7x more.
Lebron is one of the greatest athlete investors of our generation. https://t.co/32CahosAUc
James is also an investor in Lobos 1707 Tequila along with NBA stars Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, Fred VanVleet and more.
He also has a media company (Uninterrupted), a production label (SpringHill Entertainment) and a marketing firm (LRMR Marketing). Like most stars on this list, James has an investment portfolio that's too large to get into, but the above are some of his biggest ventures.