Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is getting into venture capital, and one of his first investments is in women’s basketball.
Antetokounmpo’s Build Your Legacy Ventures is backing Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league that plays during the WNBA’s off-season. Games will start in January with six teams and players including star Breanna Stewart, who’s also one of the league’s founders.
The league, which will pay each of its 36 players a guaranteed $250,000 salary for the eight-week season, will tip off for its inaugural campaign in January.
Antetokounmpo joins a growing list of professional athletes entering the venture capital game, including NBA superstar Kevin Durant and tennis icon Serena Williams. Due to the immense amount of wealth being generated by sports stars via earnings, with Antetokounmpo’s last two contracts totaling more than $400 million, the path toward venture capital investment has never been clearer.
The formation of the Build Your Legacy Ventures fund will follow on from Antetokounmpo’s personal portfolio. He already has stakes in MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers and MLS’s Nashville SC.
“This fund is not just about capital,” Antetokounmpo said in a statement. “It’s about forging partnerships and opening my network.”
The 29-year-old clearly feels the best way to do this is through Unrivaled. On Wednesday, Unrivaled unveiled the majority of the rosters for its six teams with 34 of 36 total players announced. The league still has two “wildcard” spots available, and one place was likely reserved for Clark in case she changed her mind.