Is Aaron Rodgers part-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks?
Aaron Rodgers may have fallen short in bringing a championship to Wisconsin, but one of his teams is on the verge of doing so.
Rodgers is part-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, an NBA franchise from Wisconsin playing in the NBA Finals this season. Although his relationship with the Green Bay Packers seems to be deteriorating day by day, he has a great bond with Wisconsin and he's supporting the Bucks in the NBA Finals.
Rodgers is a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks
Rodgers has a one-percent stake in the Bucks. He has no say in the franchise's day-to-day operations but is listed as one of the team's owners.
The reigning NFL MVP said during an interview with the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal (MSJ) in 2019 that he always wanted to be involved in basketball and the most important thing was his tie to the state of Wisconsin. Rodgers was quoted as saying:
"First of all because I love basketball and second because I’ve been here for so long I wanted, besides my Packer connection, just another natural connection to the state that I love and that I’ve grown up in."
Since Rodgers bought his stake with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018, the franchise has reached the postseason every year, losing the Conference Finals to the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and falling to the Miami Heat during the 2020 NBA playoffs.
Wes Edens, co-founder of Fortress Investment Group, and Marc Lasry, co-founder and CEO of Avenue Capital Group, are the majority shareholders of the Milwaukee Bucks. They decided to offer Rodgers a small stake in 2018 after one of the investors decided to sell his shares in the franchise.
The quarterback told MSJ that once the opportunity presented itself, he had no doubts about it. He said:
"When the opportunity was there I wanted it to happen right away. It didn’t happen for a few years and a few different representations and then it turned out it just took a call to (Bucks president) Peter (Feigin) and then a call with Wes and then we made it happen."
Rodgers became the first active NFL player to own a stake in an NBA franchise.
The Bucks are currently leading the NBA Finals 3-2 against the Phoenix Suns. If they win one of the remaining two games in the series, they'll win their first NBA Championship in 50 years.