49ers TE Vernon Davis received $4M through his Fantex IPO, but he said that the deal was about “more than money,” according to William Alden of the N.Y. TIMES. The $4M total, which “implied” a $42M valuation of Davis’s future income, "sold 421,100 shares" and raised $4.2M from investors. Davis said that the IPO is about “helping him build his brand.” He added that in the world of football, players have “few good options for building a brand, singling out autograph signings for criticism.” Davis said his brand is “transformative.” Alden notes when Davis retires from the NFL, he will still “owe Fantex a share of his income from activities related to his brand.” These would “include writing a book about his life or even acting in a feature film.” But other business pursuits "would be excluded from the contract” (N.Y. TIMES, 6/5). Fantex co-Founder & CEO Buck French said if Davis were to get injured, he “would have to disclose that to us and we would disclose it to investors because technically, people are investors in Fantex, not directly in Vernon Davis." French: "His obligation is contractually to us. If he’s working on a deal or doing something that’s material to his future cash flow stream then he obviously shouldn’t and won’t disclose that to other people” (“Squawk on the Street,” CNBC, 6/4).
