During a postgame team flight back to Chicago in 2021, Thaddeus Young and some Bulls teammates were playing the gambling card game Bouley. During a break, Bulls star guard Zach LaVine noticed Young flipping through some documents on his laptop: business documents for the digital sports brand Overtime.
Lavigne was intrigued and wanted to know more about the Gen Z media company, so Young told him about the brand’s value proposition, which has more than 100 million followers on social media. Lavigne wanted to join. Young later introduced Lavigne to Overtime president Zach Weiner.
The rest is history: The two former teammates, along with former Bulls forward Garrett Temple, are listed on Overtime’s capitalization table, which is expected to make $100 million this year.
“NBA basketball players [invest] “I want to work for a basketball company,” Young said of Overtime, which counts more than 6 percent of current NBA players as investors. “I want to bring as many stars into the company as possible.”
Young, who just finished his 17th season in the NBA, is one of the catalysts for a culture change in the NBA where more players are discussing deal flows and shared investment opportunities rather than bragging about buying new sports cars or luxury vacation homes. The latter will continue forever, of course, but it is now commonplace for many teams, especially those led by veteran players with multiple contracts, to discuss ventures and equity issues.
NBA players no longer just deal with businessmen. They are businessmen.
It’s a perception modern basketball players have as they watch past stars achieve massive off-court success, from Kobe Bryant’s lucrative investment in body armor (which sold for $400 million) to LeBron James’ ownership interest in SpringHill Companies (valued at $725 million as of 2021). These walking corporations not only want to grow their own wealth, but often also want their close-knit NBA peers to succeed.
“It’s changed a lot in what guys are comfortable and openly talking about in the locker room,” New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. said in an interview. “Before, you could go to a vet and ask them what they were doing, but it wasn’t something that was discussed openly. Now we talk about it on planes, on buses, in locker rooms. There’s no inappropriate moment.”
One factor is that players have common relationships with trusted agents and financial advisors who introduce or advise them on deal opportunities. For example, Nance Jr. and Indiana Pacers guard TJ McConnell have the same agent, Mark Bartelstein. Nance Jr. and McConnell have not only become friends, but also business partners. Last year, McConnell, an avid soccer fan, tipped off Nance Jr. about an investment opportunity in Leeds United, an upstart club in the English Premier League owned by 49ers Enterprises. After a game three months ago, the two partners posed together and did the “Leeds Salute,” and the club posted the moment on its Instagram feed. For Nance Jr., it was a notable investment that probably would not have happened without McConnell.
Due to non-disclosure agreements, Nance Jr. has some transactions he must keep secret, including those related to European soccer. But the conversations about financial literacy are endless in the Pelicans’ locker room. The former first-round draft pick said it’s not uncommon to hear him talk with Herb Jones, Jordan Hawkins and Trey Murphy about the franchise and the importance of patience in the developmental years. In another corner of the locker room, Nance Jr. and teammate CJ McCollum, a seasoned investor, pass off pitches and investment opportunities like basketballs on the court.
“We each bring different things to the table,” said Nance Jr. “That’s definitely a part of our relationship and I’ve learned a lot from him in that respect.”
When locker-room business chatter veers into material purchases, it doesn’t necessarily mean the talk is about assets that will depreciate. The conversation can quickly turn to vintage watches, rare artwork or other items that could bring financial gain. “The conversation is more about preserving wealth,” he said of the shift in conversation among NBA players.
NBA teams with young players are less likely to discuss investment strategies and ways to diversify their portfolios. After all, many of them are enjoying the fruits of their labor for the first time without much thought about how to grow their wealth off the court. Locker room conversations are more about building their brand and connecting with fans through video games and esports platforms. But that hasn’t stopped some players from rookie teams with business interests from getting involved in deals. One example is Orlando Magic forward Wendell Carter Jr., who was drafted by a veteran-led Bulls team in 2018.
A few months ago, after a team workout, Magic guard Admiral Schofield approached Carter about a real estate deal that could give him a cut of the proceeds from a new medical facility being built in Portland, a chance for Carter to join other NBA players considering the offer.
He plans to work with Schofield as both a teammate and a business partner. That’s also true of Magic guard Gary Harris, who has been in ongoing talks with Carter about investing in an Arizona-based marijuana dispensary chain.
“That’s the name of the game now,” Carter said. “It’s a lot more hands-on now. You hear the horror stories from the old days. [players] By giving all financial decisions and access to someone else [led] “You hear stories of people stealing money and stuff like that. That’s part of it. Men are not only more hands-on, they’re also looking for more ways to make money.”
Conversations between NBA players extend beyond shared physical spaces. It’s not uncommon for multiple players to connect in deal flow text message group chats to discuss various opportunities. However, it’s up to the players to be selective and diligent about their investments. While there’s a growing trend for more players to get involved and communicate their strategies, there remain many deals, from startups to mature brands, that don’t materialize and leave players in the dark. That’s why strong recommendations remain important across the league.
“Whether it’s in the locker room or not, we appreciate that as a league, players want to learn more,” Carter said. “That number is only going to grow. I think at some point players are going to own their teams. When that happens, the whole game will change.”
The rise of the NIL will give players entering the NBA a better handle on the variety of deals they have, as they have their contracts reviewed early with the financial teams they formed in high school and college. Already in business mode, it is becoming commonplace for rookies to enter the league as millionaires, which will have a ripple effect of developing the next generation of savvy, financially savvy rookies. This is just the beginning of this culture change, with many veteran players still not retiring with contracts that will take 5-7 years to realize.
“We’re just past the third inning,” Rashawn Williams, a longtime financial adviser to athletes and limited partner with the Atlanta Falcons, said in an interview.
The NBA is doing well, with new media rights deals expected to be worth about $76 billion over 11 years. With more cash at players’ disposal, it makes sense that this additional capital will be put into various avenues, including early-stage venture capital. At the same time, players are continuing to train to become more self-sufficient entrepreneurs and CEOs of multi-million dollar brands.
Young, who was drafted in 2007, has experienced the culture change firsthand: NBA players no longer wait until the twilight years of their careers to take a seat in the boardroom. It’s all now.
“At the end of the day, you only have a limited amount of time to make as much money as possible.”
