Blake Griffin is one of the NBA's most underrated businessmen.

$258M in contracts (and 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 coming post-retirement).

THREAD: Griffin’s 4 smartest investments Blake Griffin averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists over his career.

𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀:
• 6x NBA all-star
• Naismith College PoY
• 2011 Slam Dunk Champ

His publicity helped lead to...

José Bautista made $105M in MLB contracts.

But what he's doing off the field is even more impressive.

Here's the fascinating breakdown: First, some background...

José Bautista:
• born in the Dominican Republic
• had a $300k offer from the Reds rescinded
• created a highlight tape that landed him w/ JUCO Chipola College (drafted by the Pirates)

And...

Jaylen Brown's off-the-court hobbies are some of the most interesting of any athlete.

Scouts even said he's too smart for the NBA.

Here's the fascinating breakdown: Jaylen Brown's quick background:

❶ From Marietta, Georgia (5-star recruit).
❷ Chose Cal Berkeley (played 1-year)
❸ 3rd overall NBA pick by Boston Celtics
❹ Signed largest NBA contract ($304M)

Even wilder...

Shohei Ohtani just signed the richest deal in sports history (10 years $700 million).

Here's how much he will actually earn: 😲

$70M: Salary
-
$25.9M: Federal Tax
$4.65M: California Tax
$2.1M: Agent Fee
$2.0M: Jock Tax
$1.64M: FICA/Medicare
=
$33.6M: Net Income Interesting points worth noting:

• MLB doesn't have an escrow (saving him ~$7m/yr upfront)

• Shohei will pay approx 53.75% in taxes.

• The contract has deferrals (meaning he will make slightly less than $70m/yr)

• His agent, Nez Balelo, also pays taxes on money earned

Deion, Shedeur, and Shilo.

The Sanders have captured the national spotlight and are making millions 💰

Here’s a look at the business behind them: "Take off your sunglasses," said Colorado State's Head Coach...

The result...

Deion Sanders custom sunglasses racked up $1.2million in sales 48 hours after.

An all-pro shooting guard made $70M during his 13 years in the NBA.

After retiring, he built a portfolio of 100 businesses (and is now trying to 𝘣𝘶𝘺 an NBA team).

Here's the fascinating story: Who Am I Talking About?

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 - a former NBA guard

He played college ball at Kentucky before being drafted 4th by the Mavericks.

But it was NBA team #3 he broke out with...

Lionel Messi is set to be the highest-paid athlete on US soil.

And his taxes will be steep: 👀

$55M: Salary
-
$20.35M: Federal Tax
$0: Florida Tax
$0: Agent Fee
$1.64M: Jock Tax
$1.29M: FICA/Medicare
=
$31.7M: Net Income Messi has several things in his favor:

1️⃣ $0 State Income Tax in Florida

2️⃣ Jorge, his father, is his agent

3️⃣ Owns equity in Inter Miami

4️⃣ Has revenue-sharing agreements with Adidas, Apple, & Fanatics

And that's not all...

Shaq and Jeff Bezos follow the same exact investment strategy.

It helped them turn $250k into over $400 million.

Here's the fascinating story: It’s 1999 and Shaq is dominating the world of basketball.

Over the next 3 years, he will go on to win consecutive championships with the LA Lakers.

But what he did off the court is even more impressive…

Jimmy Butler makes $45M in the NBA.

But a side hustle could make him billions.

Here's the fascinating story: 1) First, a little background...

Jimmy Butler is one of the NBA's most underrated players:
• 6× NBA All-Star
• NBA steals leader
• 5× All-NBA Teams
• NBA Most Improved Player
• 5× NBA All-Defensive Second Team

The Heat rewarded him for this...

Genius athletes that got into team ownership after retiring...

9️⃣ Serena & Venus Williams

Own a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins:
2009: $1B valuation
2023: $4.6B valuation

1st African-American minority owners in NFL history. 8️⃣ Alex Rodriguez

A-Rod purchased 20% of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx for $1.5B in 2021.

He now owns 40% after...

Paying $290 million earlier this year.

Ja Morant has had some questionable off the court decisions lately.

But he's made plenty of SMART business moves over the last few years.

A billionaire by 30 years old?

Here's the fascinating breakdown: First some background...

Ja Morant was born on Aug 10, 1999:
• both his parents we're college athletes
• dad gave up his pro career to raise him
• played at Crestwood HS in Sumter, SC

Ja left college for the NBA after 2 years at Murray State...

SNEAKY RICH NBA PLAYERS...

6️⃣ Luol Deng: $200 million

$136M in career NBA earnings.

Huge portfolio of hotels, resorts, and apartments that are worth ~$125M. 5️⃣ Grant Hill: $250 million

$140M in NBA salary and ~$120M from endorsements.

Hill Ventures $200M real estate portfolio and minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks.

Shaq is considered a smart businessman.
(but it wasn't always that way)

In fact, Shaq blew threw $20M in 3 days.

Here's the wild story: Shaquille O’Neal is a legend:

• NBA hall-of-famer
• TNT sports analyst
• Entrepreneur & Investor

But in the late 1990's it was different...

Jaylon Smith has made $32M in the NFL.

But what he's doing off the field is even more impressive.

Here's the fascinating breakdown: First, some background...

Jaylon Smith was the best linebacker in the country while at Notre Dame:
• 292 tackles
• 4 sacks, 1 INT
• Butkus Award winner

He was projected to be a top-5 pick, but...

Dennis Rodman made $27M in the NBA.

Yet his net worth is only $500k because of a woman known as "mama".

Here's the wild story: At his peak, Dennis Rodman was the 10th highest-paid player in the NBA.

Rodman's career highlights include:
- 2x NBA All-Star
- 5x NBA Champion
- 7x NBA Rebounding Champion
- 2x NBA Defensive Player of the Year

So, what happened?

Livvy Dunne just received a ton of scrutiny for endorsing an AI product.

But she most likely got paid the bag (and earned the brand millions in publicity).

Here's the interesting story: Livvy Dunne is a gymnast at LSU.

With over 11 million social media followers, it’s estimated she could earn $3M/year.

This is all thanks to the legalization of NIL for college athletes.

The price of a Super Bowl ticket has increased by 72,400% since 1967.

But even that, is 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 in comparison to the $18 billion business of the NFL.

A Super Bowl economics breakdown: 1) Super Bowl I

SBI was played in 1967 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers.

Player Salary: $25,000
Coach Salary: $36,000
SB Bonus: $15,000
Avg. Ticket Price: $12
Attendance: 61,000
Cost of SB ad: $42,000
Inflation: 3.09%
Gas: $0.32

The Packers won 35-10.

Carmelo Anthony just co-launched a $750M sports fund.

(But it's not even his most impressive business move).

Here’s the fascinating breakdown: Melo earns around $6M/year from endorsements alone.

They include:
• Panini
• Jordan
• Isotonix
• Footlocker
• Powercoco
• Haute Time

In 2003, Melo became the first athlete to sign with Jordan.

Concussions forced Calvin Johnson Jr. into retirement at only 29 years old.

But he found something that helps...

Weed, CBD, and building businesses.

Here's the fascinating story: 1) The Detroit Lions paid Megatron well.

In 9 seasons, he made $112,216,086 from contracts (and millions from endorsements)

But they're still not on good terms...

Tom Brady retired yesterday...

And he's on track to becoming a billionaire.

Here's a look at his off-the-field ventures (they're quite impressive): The NFL has been good to Brady.

Despite sacrificing salary for wins, he's averaged over $15M/year from contracts.

He's the 16th highest-paid athlete of 2022.

Kobe Bryant was an incredible investor:

• $6M BodyArmor investment to $400M
• $100M fund to $2 billion (with 10 exits)

Here are Kobe's 4 investment criteria: 1. Do you understand the business?

Similar to Warren Buffett, Kobe only invested within his "circle of competence".

How'd he garner this?
• studying the greats
• reaching out to successful investors