Former Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade speaks to the crowd at the jersey retirement ceremony at the American Airlines Arena on February 22, 2020 in Miami, Florida.
Michael Reeves | Getty Images
Dwyane Wade likes to seize opportunities when it comes to business.
The three retired NBA champions are investing in media companies and consumer products. 40-year-old Wade buys shares in two sports teams and hosts a television show. Wade is also seizing opportunities in the volatile NFT market.
“I always seized the opportunity,” Wade told CNBC in an interview. “I was a man who was always doing something a little different from everyone else.”
Wade is working with Budweiser Zero on the NFT collection, which will be available on May 24th. Wade co-founded an alcohol-free and sugar-free beverage in 2020. Each NFT sells for $ 180 and offers buyers the opportunity to win prizes, including autographs. A chance to watch a Utah Jazz match with Wade Sneakers and him. Wade is a minority shareholder in the NBA franchise.
“This is an opportunity to be part of a young brand that is trying to lay the foundation for fans and provide a great experience,” he said, another option for fans to “do something unique and cool” with the NFT collection. I called it.
Still, the NFT collection is unfolding during the downcycle of digital assets. According to The Wall Street Journal, NFT daily sales have fallen by more than 90% since September 2021. It is also in the midst of sold out cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.
But Wade doesn’t mind seizing the opportunity in that space.
“Looking at my basketball career, my business career is very similar,” he said.
Wade’s important business decisions
Wade, who retired from basketball in 2019, made nearly $ 200 million in his 16-year NBA career, according to Spotrac, a sports contact tracking website. Forbes estimates that he will earn $ 17 million a year in approval.
“That’s not the case,” Wade said when asked about his retirement. Wade said during his pandemic he figured out how to apply “the same thing that made me a special athlete” to his post-career.
During the height of his career, he tuned his retirement year with a crucial business move.
As a rookie in 2003, Wade signed with the sneaker brand Converse. He then made a major transition to Nike’s Michael Jordan brand in 2009, pairing with NBA companions such as Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.
Then, in 2012, China-based sports apparel company Li Ning approached Wade about starting his own shoe line. They provided him with shares. Wade, who called the offer “the most important deal from a business perspective,” seized the opportunity and left the Jordan brand to Li Ning.
“Thank you for making the blueprint,” Wade told Jordan. “I’m going to try my version of it.”
According to Wade, Jordan “understood and respected” the move, he told Wade.
Finally, in 2018, Wade signed a lifetime contract with Li Ning for a private amount. Young NBA stars such as New Orleans Pelicans Guard CJ McCollum and Miami Heat Forward Jimmy Butler have joined the brand. Minnesota Timberwolves Guard’s D’Angelo Russell has also signed a sneaker line.
“It’s a slow build,” Wade said. “Athletes are seizing the opportunity to do something a little different.”
“I’m not trying to reproduce anything,” Wade explained. “I am aiming for a business of sneakers and apparel that players have been wearing for many years. I want to create something that will be a legacy for my family.”
Dwyane Wade
Issac Baldizon | NBAE | Getty Images
Riding the momentum
Wade continued to enter new business areas even after his retirement.
Wade has launched a wine company called “Wade Cellars”. He has a stake in the media company Players TV. He and his wife, actor Gabrielle Union, co-founded Proudly, a company that manufactures baby products. He said startups “came from need.”
“We have a 3-year-old daughter who goes to 80 different stores to get merchandise. This doesn’t work for us. What works for us, I mean. Minorities and communities in our world? “
In April, we proudly released a line of products such as baby wash and lotion. The company will eventually provide diapers.
In terms of sports ownership, Wade made a small investment in the NBA’s Utah Jazz in April 2021 and joined Blackstone executive David Blitzer as co-owner of the MLS Club Real Salt Lake. Wade didn’t reveal the value of his stake, but he said it was a small percentage.
Wade said becoming a majority team owner was his “ultimate goal.” However, in this scenario, his appetite at risk may be limited.
“But maybe I go through this process and tell myself,’No, you don’t want those headaches,'” he said.
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