From left to right: Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Partner and Executive Vice President of Business Development; David Bookman, Chief Financial Officer; Joe Randazza, Partner, Chief Investment & Strategic Officer; Nandy Serrano, Partner, Business Development Officer; Benzion ‘Benny’ Aboud, Founder and Managing Partner. (Photo: Business Wire)
Most professional athletes are remembered for doing just one thing in particular with their lives: playing a sport at the highest level possible. Sure, the actions of professional athletes on and off the playing field can impact their careers in positive or negative ways, but most athletes spend ten to twenty years playing a sport before retiring and simply relishing in their legacy, whatever it may be. But there are athletes who choose to do more with their lives after hanging it up. Some become coaches in their respective leagues, others enter into industries where they can act on interests suppressed during years of athletic activity.
And now, athletes seem to be making a habit of investing in a variety of industries, either through venture capitalism, equity, or any other kind of investment. The most recent retired superstar to establish himself as a business mogul is ex-catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, who joined z9 Capital, which is based out of Miami. z9 actively invests in tech companies that are generating at least $500,000 in annual revenue, but may need assistance in furthering their business; to help with this, z9 provides (along with its funding) “in-house financial guidance, marketing advice and customer service.” But what inspired one of the greatest catchers of all time to begin investing in tech startups? As Pudge said himself, “‘you have to focus on technology now to be successful in business. It’s the future.’”
Pudge most definitely isn’t the first retired baseball legend to invest in tech, though. Not even a year ago, ex-New York Yankees’ shortstop Derek Jeter chipped into a video conferencing service called Blue Jeans Network’s $76.5 million funding round. And while Pudge and Jeter are both retired while doing their business, many athletes that are still taking to the field or court are leaving their mark in the investing world at the same time. Cleveland Cavaliers’ megastar LeBron James, for instance, was investing in Beats Headphones when Dr. Dre sold Beats to Apple, and James more recently raised money for the media company Uninterrupted. Meanwhile, New York Knicks’ small forward Carmelo Anthony established a seed fund that has invested in Lyft, SeatGeek, and DraftKings.
Professional athletes’ specialization in a particular sport doesn’t mean that they don’t have talents and interests elsewhere. And investment by select athletes in all kinds of companies — including, but not limited to, those in the tech industry — is further proof that athletes love to have their hands in the real world as much as anyone else.
