Professional athletes nowadays are no longer just limited to being one of the best at their sports. In recent years, most of them have shown that they can run a business empire of their own, racking up millions of dollars more than what they earn their entire professional career — and Michael Jordan is the best epitome for this statement, because, why not? The man became a billionaire after retiring from basketball and focusing on selling shoes.
As the years pass by, sports professionals have become wiser with their hard-earned money. For someone earning millions of dollars per year, some even per month, investing for a comfortable life in the future is a must. With the popularity of cryptocurrencies and other blockchain assets, more and more sports personalities are betting their money on this high-risk investment.
Like any wise investor, they also diversify their investments by holding crypto coins, owning NFTs, collaborating with brands to produce blockchain assets, and investing directly on startup blockchain companies. So who are those athletes who believe in the future of crypto and blockchain assets? Let’s all find out in this list.
1. Tom Brady
The seven-time Superbowl champion and arguably the greatest NFL quarterback of all time has big time investments in crypto and NFTs. Tom Brady and his wife, Gisele Bündchen, own equity in the cryptocurrency exchange FTX where Tom serves as the brand ambassador, while Gisele will serve as the environmental and social-initiatives adviser.
He co-founded the NFT platform Autograph.io together with other super star athletes and was able to raise a total of $170 million in January 2022. On December 9, 2021 in his NFT platform, he successfully released his first NFT collection depicting the beginning of his illustrious hall-of-fame NFL career and was sold out within just an hour.
The collection consists of 16,600 NFT pieces stored in mystery boxes, each priced at $80 during public sales. Buyers involved in the sale had no idea which NFTs they purchased and had to wait for the big reveal event that took place on December 14, 2021.
2. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is regarded as one of the greatest players in football who is ensured of a spot in the hall of fame together with other legendary football players. As one of the faces of the game, this became an opportunity for him to sign a whopping $20 million deal to promote Socios.com, a fan token website for football fans.
He is one of the top investors of Sirin Labs, a company that builds operating systems based on blockchain technology to improve smartphone security and safe mobile payments. In addition to investing in blockchain companies, he has also launched his own NFT collection called “Messiverse.” Lionel Messi is bullish on crypto and it’s awesome that he’s interested in unique ideas like fan tokens, technologies that improve security, and NFTs.
3. Stephen Curry
The four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, and this year’s Finals MVP is well-known in the crypto community for his support of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Arguably the best shooter to have ever played the game of basketball, he took his shot in the crypto world by purchasing a Bored Ape NFT worth $180,000. His Ape is bright blue with a tweed suit and zombie eyes, which he made as a display image for his Twitter profile.
Like Tom Brady, Steph Curry also owns an equity stake in FTX, has appeared in several commercials for the platform as its ambassador, and has dropped his own NFT collection — 3,000 pairs of sneaker NFTs. He admitted that he’s not an expert in crypto, but the way he made his investments in crypto and NFTs prove that he is a believer in the blockchain technology and what it brings to the future.
4. Serena Williams
One of the greatest female tennis players of all time, recently announced her investment and involvement in the Bitcoin rewards app Lolli because she believes that “earning and owning bitcoin is a step towards financial inclusivity for all people.” Serena’s husband, Alexis Ohanian, also participated in the $5 million investment round.
Known for her multiple Grand Slam titles and powerful playing style, Serena has brought her winning ways from the court to the business field by investing in the crypto exchange platform Coinbase.
It is through her venture capital firm Serena Ventures that she was able to find the best companies to invest on as its goal is to provide investment to start-up or growing companies. During the Bitcoin 2022 Conference in Miami, she revealed that she considers bitcoin a “super strong investment.”
5. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
The winningest undefeated boxer and is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters to ever step on the boxing ring, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. is no stranger to earning millions, amassing over a billion dollars in his entire career which allowed him to consistently be at the top of the charts of the highest-earning sportsmen ever.
Given his moniker, he is not shy of flaunting his wealth in public and has been outspoken about his advocacies for crypto. He has been prolific in backing the Stox Platform and Centra Tech Project — both controversial platforms that ended in lawsuits.
Although he is now retired, Mayweather, Jr. is still an influential sportsman which allowed him to land endorsements from different blockchain companies.
Final Thoughts
Apart from the five names from five different spots mentioned above, Manny Pacquiao, Luis Suarez, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Aaron Rodgers are also the other notable proponents of crypto and NFTs. Almost all of them have either owned, invested, or backed companies engaging with the blockchain technology. Like most sports, the fast-paced nature of growth is something relate to their performances on their respective fields.
