NBA players are among the richest athletes on the planet.
Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James are all billionaires because of their bumper contracts on the court and savvy business deals off it.
Contained in the NBA favorites Charles Barkley ($60 million net price) and Shaquille O’Neal ($400 million) aren’t doing too badly either, while Kevin Durant ($300 million) and Steph Curry ($180 million) prepared the ground amongst lively stars.
Nevertheless, one name that rarely gets a mention within the list of the NBA’s richest players is Junior Bridgeman, who just so happens to be wealthier than Shaq, Barkley, Curry and KD.
The previous Milwaukee Bucks star is price a reported $600 million, despite ‘only’ making around $350,000 a 12 months during his playing days.
The 71-year-old was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the eighth overall pick within the 1975 NBA draft.
Weeks later he was traded to the Bucks.
The 6ft 5in forward spent 12 seasons within the NBA, ten of which got here for Milwaukee during two separate stints.
By all accounts he was a solid NBA player and averaged 13.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and a couple of.4 assists in 849 profession games.
He retired in 1987 with profession earnings of around $4.2 million and had his No. 2 jersey retired by the Bucks organization.
5
5
Like a lot of his contemporaries, Bridgeman made his fortunes after retiring from the game.
He used a few of his NBA money to get into the fast-food industry, purchasing a Wendy’s restaurant.
After that, one franchise grew to 160 franchises and before long, he founded Bridgeman Foods, Inc., an organization focused on the franchisee model.
By 2016, Bridgeman Foods Inc. also operated greater than 120 Chili’s restaurant franchises in addition to franchises of Fazoli’s and Blaze Pizza.
That very same 12 months, Forbes ranked Bridgeman because the fourth-wealthiest retired athlete on the planet behind only Michael Jordan, David Beckham and Arnold Palmer.
By 2017, his company became a bottler for The Coca-Cola Company.
Bridgeman also became CEO and president of Coca-Cola Heartland before selling his company.
Nowadays, Bridgeman famously owns Ebony and Jet magazines within the US.
In 2020, the magazines, which deal with news, culture, and entertainment predominantly within the African-American community, declared bankrupcty.
5
5
The previous NBA pro stepped in and purchased the magazines for $14 million through his company, Bridgeman Sports and Media.
“Ebony type of stood for Black excellence, showing people doing positive things that may benefit everyone,” Bridgeman said. “It just made you’re feeling good knowing that’s where they’re publishing all of the stories within the magazine.”
Bridgeman also co-founded Manna Capital Partners, an investment firm.
In 2022, it announced it had partnered with one other company to construct and operate an integrated secondary aluminium mill in Los Lunas, Recent Mexico.
Useless to say, Bridgeman has done pretty much for himself.
The previous Bucks star is an ideal example of a player doing higher off the court than on it.
His business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit has seen him generate lots of of thousands and thousands of dollars and grow to be considered one of the richest former athletes on the planet.
Larger than life Shaq, meanwhile, undoubtedly made lots of his thousands and thousands on the court.
He signed a seven-year, $120 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers during his prime within the late ’90s.
‘Dr. O’Neal’ has also remodeled $200 million in endorsements over time, partnering with brands like Reebok, Nestlé, Buick, Papa John’s, Hulu and Epson.
Today, ‘The Big Aristotle’ is on beloved TNT show Contained in the NBA alongside NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith and Ernie Johnson.
Shaq reportedly earns a salary of $10 million every season on the show.
