Athletes are becoming venture funds
How sports' biggest names are moving from the court to the cap table
Roger Federer just joined the billionaire club alongside LeBron and MJ. And here's what caught my attention: this generation of athlete wealth looks completely different than the players that came before them. The playbook has flipped and these guys have become investors through influence and distribution.
Giannis launched Build Your Legacy Ventures last year. Kevin Durant's Thirty Five Ventures has 100+ early-stage bets across fintech, crypto, and media since 2016. Serena Williams' Serena Ventures has deployed $111M into 85+ companies including MasterClass and Impossible Foods.
Look, people invest in startups all the time. But this is different. This is strategic capital with built-in distribution.
The Unfair Advantage
Traditional VCs bring capital and connections. Athletes bring something that makes Sand Hill Road nervous: immediate market validation.
When Durant backs a fintech startup, his 20M+ followers see it. When Serena invests in a female led tech company, it gets immediate credibility. When LeBron's SpringHill Entertainment partners with a media platform, suddenly you've got a marketing machine that most startups would kill for.
The math is getting brutal for traditional funds. Athletic Ventures now has 500+ athletes across 25+ sports investing collectively. Think about that for a second. That's a distribution network worth billions in earned media, and it's all connected.
Be the Game Changer
Phase 1: Be the face of someone else's brand (endorsements)
Phase 2: Be the face of your own brand (signature products)
Phase 3: Be the money behind someone else's growth (venture capital)
The shift from ambassador to stakeholder changes the game completely. Their incentives actually align with long-term value creation instead of just campaign cycles. And it makes sense, these athletes have spent their entire careers building their own brands. Now they're using that same playbook to build with other people.
Athletes are becoming the new celebrity VCs
And they’re bringing something Marc Andreessen never had: 50 million followers and the cultural credits that comes from performing under pressure.
Here's the thing, when you're a dealmaker or brand strategist, you're not just competing against other funds for deals anymore. You're competing against investors who can literally move culture with a single Instagram post.
The playbook is pretty clear, distribution beats dividends when you've got reach.
When your jersey retires, your portfolio doesn't.
Worth Your Time:
Athletic Ventures - Platform connecting 500+ athlete investors
SeventySix Capital's Athlete Venture Group - Pioneering athlete-VC partnerships
Durant's 35V Portfolio - Inside KD's investment strategy
What moves caught your attention? email me at mail@itsbeyondscript.com and share what you're watching up close.