The Rise of the Athletepreneur

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Athletes no longer just play sports.

Looking back

Advertising deals in sports marked the first time pro athletes made money off the pitch. According to Opendorse, baseball legend Honus Wagner was the first professional athlete to receive an endorsement check. In 1905, Wagner signed a contract allowing Louisville Slugger to use his signatures on their bats and sell them in stores.

Why it matters

Since Wagner's first endorsement deal in 1905, the modern-day athlete has evolved. Nearly every professional athlete has an advertising deal, brand partnership, their own company, or another venture that allows them to leverage their following and earn more.

• Earlier this month, Serena Williams' co-founded Will Perform, an active-lifestyle recovery brand. The company features a line of muscle-recovery and pain-relief topical products and is backed by Williams' venture fund.

• Tom Brady's unique approach to performance – the TB12 method – is the basis of his company, TB12 Sports. Today, the brand rakes in $20M per year.

• Basketball legend Michael Jordan is still cashing in on his long-standing partnership with Nike, as the Jordan Brand alone surpassed $5B in annual revenue earlier this year.

• Since Rob Dyrdek retired from pro skateboarding, he's starred in shows on MTV, partnered with top companies like DC Shoes, created Street League Skateboarding (SLS), and recently founded Dyrdek Machine – his own incubator company. Today Dyrdek is worth more than $100M.

Cashing checks

Even college athletes make money off their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Star quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young, has pocketed an estimated $3.5M from endorsement deals.

Looking ahead

Athletes will continue to excel in their sports, pushing the games they play to new heights. But off the field, athletepreneurs are trying their luck at new and never-before-seen business ventures. As a result, we're seeing athletes like Tom Brady build multi-million dollar companies by leveraging their following and network.

But just because an athlete has a large following or access to capital does not mean the business will be a slam dunk. Athletepreneurs will have to abide by the rules of business, where the free market dictates the success of a venture.

Keep crushing.

Cheers,

Noah Cracknell