Njera Perkins

Some of the world’s biggest athletes have climbed their way to the top, not just off their stellar abilities on the court, but their prowess in the business world as well. The secret to athletes keeping their legacy going is making money moves outside of their sports careers. Nowadays, athletes having a business reputation is just as important as having a championship title to their name. Smart investments, sponsorships and partnerships go a long way in securing the bag long after their playing days are over. Between money from their sports salaries, fame as elite athletes and their many business ventures, today’s sports figures are all about stretching their wealth to build major business empires. In case you didn’t know, here are some former and current sports stars who have defied the odds to make a fortune beyond sports:

There’s a stereotype regarding Black billionaires and Black and wealthy individuals where many believe fortunes mostly come from being musicians, actors or athletes. This sends a message that we cannot obtain wealth outside of these industries, but that’s far from the truth. In fact, there are many Black millionaires in the United States that have found success outside of music, sports and entertainment. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the amount of Black billionaires that are too scarce compared to white billionaires who dominate in industries like the tech space. According to Forbes’ 2021 World’s Billionaires List, there are 724 billionaires in America yet only seven of them are Black. That’s just enough to seat at one dining room table since Black billionaires only make up less than one percent of the nation’s billionaire population. This low number comes as no surprise, but it’s an alarming figure that highlights the widening racial wealth gap in this country. Yet...

Some of the biggest household names in entertainment got their higher learning at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) – even our own Vice President Kamala Harris. What’s admirable about these celebrities is that they have not only supported these great American institutions by matriculating from them, but they also seize every opportunity to pour back into the universities that set them up for success. Whether through monetary donations, visits or initiatives, these alumni have always shown love to the Black educational experience. From Spelman to Hampton to Clark Atlanta University and so forth, these beloved celebrities are the product of HBCUs. So, we’ve seen firsthand what these colleges are capable of producing. Globally-recognized filmmakers, actors, entertainers and more are a testament to the richness of HBCU culture. For those who have long since graduated, they still take the opportunity to pay it forward when they can. Here’s a few celebrities who have gone...

Hollywood mogul Issa Rae is always rooting for everybody Black, and today is no different as she pushes for all Black-owned businesses to officially certify their brands through a newly-launched program. According to a press release shared with AfroTech, the producer and actress is supporting American Express and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.’s (USBC) joint effort to expand their ByBlack initiative with the launch of the “first national certification program exclusively for Black-ownership designation.” Photo Credit: American Express The free first-of-its-kind platform — which was designed as a directory for Black-owned businesses — will now offer Black business-owners the opportunity to easily obtain approved accreditation that their customers and other companies can trust when spending with them. “We are thrilled to team up with the USBC to expand the ByBlack platform,” Jessica Ling — senior vice president of Global B2B Marketing at American Express — tells AfroTech. “Seventy-five...

For some creatives, accidentally stumbling across our talents often makes for the best success stories. But for director and cinematographer Jarred McGriff, he always knew he had a knack for visual storytelling, he just didn’t know where his gift would lead him. As someone who had only discovered video production in high school, there was no way to predict McGriff’s talents would allow him to get tapped to work on major brand campaigns for TikTok, Crown Royal, Live Nation, McDonald’s and more. However, his upbringing — which surrounded him with creativity and technology — made for the perfect foundation for what would later become his life-long passion. According to him, it was his high school video class that ultimately helped him determine video production was something he was “going to do for the rest of [his] life.” From there on, McGriff has elevated into roles as BET’s senior video editor where he puts his storytelling abilities to work on viral series like BET’s Rate the Bars...

Like many industries during the pandemic, the music industry was a sector that was rocked to the core when live in-person events were temporarily shut down. With no way for artists to tour or throw live shows, companies like Deep Root Records had to make a smart pivot toward technology to still support artists. The independent Black-owned record label based in New York City, founded in 2014, has been known for its live music experiences — including their annual Yacht Party Series in New York and Paris. But when the pandemic hit last year, the company had to find a way to save its live shows so they could continue to thrive in a new realm. It wasn’t before long until Deep Root Records pivoted the way many other brands and labels did, and turned toward hosting virtual shows online. The live show to livestream concept was the root of Deep Root Records’ success during the pandemic, but their ability to collaborate with other labels and brands in the same predicament is what helped put...

Lil Yachty and Terrell Owens are back to investing, and this time around they’re getting in on the $1.5 trillion wellness industry that’s booming with innovation. A press release reports that PlantFuel® — the scientifically focused plant-based wellness company — announced that both Yachty and Owens have made strategic investments in the emerging sports nutrition brand debuting on the market this month. With support from these two Hip-Hop and sports figures, respectively, the brand aims to breakthrough into the nutritional retail space. “I’m super excited about my new venture with PlantFuel,” Yachty shared in a statement. “It’s brands like PlantFuel that inspire and allow me to stay actively involved creatively beyond just investing.” The new investment in PlantFuel marks Yachty’s second deal ever with his recently-launched venture capital (VC) fund, Scoop Investments. Prior to this news, AfroTech reported that the rapper previously invested in Jewish dating app Lox Club, alongside...

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are the institutions responsible for breeding the next generation of Black business owners and entrepreneurs. As the leaders of many industries, Black founders have the power to change them for the better — starting with their diversity problem. As a product of Florida A&M University (FAMU), founder Darrin Eakins had a vision to create a brand (a whiskey brand to be exact) inspired by a significant part of his college experience called DuBlase. Today, that brand represents a revolutionary act for Black founders breaking into the spirits industry and actually owning their spirits. Now, Eakins hopes to position his own brand as a catalyst for change to champion more Black ownership in an industry that lacks true diversity and equity.

Kevin Durant’s investing power has reached a whole new level as his latest investment is setting him up for more success. According to a report from Sportico, Durant’s investment vehicle, Thirty Five Ventures, participated in a $200 million Series F funding round for health tracking firm WHOOP, which has brought the company’s valuation to $3.6 billion. The new appraisal reportedly will result in a nearly 2,800% return for Durant and his investment firm, topping off yet another successful backing. Sportico also reports that Durant first invested in the health tracking company back in 2017, and just a year later the firm was pegged at a valuation of $125 million. So to see that number now skyrocket to the billion-dollar club means an incredible payoff for the two-time NBA champ’s investment arm. Since early last year, Durant has been busy capitalizing on his success off the court through the development of Thirty Five Ventures — which has made 39 investments to date, according to...

Before the world recognized social media as a lucrative industry, influencers — before the proper term was coined — were stigmatized across platforms for choosing a field that wasn’t considered a “real” career. Lifestyle influencer and mother JaLisa Vaughn-Jefferson experienced this firsthand from her own family after she left her corporate job to pursue her new passion as a full-time content creator. “They lost it,” the influencer tells AfroTech after breaking the news of her decision. “It was so funny because they were trying so hard to be supportive. For their generation [this field] just doesn’t make sense. [At first] I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I was prepared to just try out different careers. I knew I wanted to be in technology and I knew I loved social media, but I wasn’t sure what the exact job title would be.”

Kevin Durant is one of the latest public figures to lend a helping hand to the cannabis space. However, instead of cashing in like other celebrities, he’s more focused on a plan to destigmatize the industry. Earlier this month, the Brooklyn Nets player and his investment firm, Thirty Five Ventures, in addition to its sports media network, Boardroom, inked a multi-year deal with cannabis e-commerce company Weedmaps — dubbed the “Yelp for pot.” The inclusive collaboration will reportedly combat the many misconceptions around cannabis and advocate for its legalization. Moreover, the new partnership includes a sponsorship deal with Boardroom that will help advance the conversation around athletes’ use of cannabis and its wellness properties that can be beneficial for recovery. In addition to that, Boardroom will also work with Weedmaps to produce an original content series, which is tentatively slated to debut in 2022. “Now more than ever, there is so much opportunity for growth in the...

At last, Kanye West’s “Donda” album has finally arrived. And in less than a day, it’s already managed to break streaming records on platforms like Spotify. According to a report from Chart Data, the billionaire artist’s tenth studio album had one of the biggest first day debuts of all-time on Spotify’s global chart, raking in nearly 100 million streams within 24 hours of releasing. The record-breaking streaming numbers could be largely attributed to West’s extravagant Apple Music listening events and unorthodox methods of promoting the album via fans and social media. While West’s latest Instagram post alleges that his record company, Universal Music Group — parent company of Def Jam Recordings (who the artist is currently signed to) — released his album without his approval, it still managed to have a wildly-successful Sunday morning release. https://www.instagram.com/p/CTK6NChoUIp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link News of West’s history-making debut arrives just days after his third...

Earlier this year, Pharrell Williams’ nonprofit YELLOW joined forces with Amazon Music and Georgia Institute of Technology to launch a new educational coding and music remix competition. After months of listening to over 1,500 student applicants across the U.S., five winners have been chosen. According to a blog post from Amazon, the “Your Voice is Power” program was created to encourage students to use their voices through music to amplify issues centered around social justice and equity while also learning how to code. The music competition instructed students to create their own remix to Pharrell and Jay-Z’s “Entrepreneur” song using music coding platform EarSketch. As a result of the contest, five grand prize winners from schools in Georgia, Illinois, Florida, Texas, California, and Ontario were awarded either a $5,000 scholarship or grant to start their own business. Five teachers were also awarded a $1,000 cash reward for going above and beyond in teaching the program to their...

For former NFL player Gerome Sapp, transitioning from the world of professional sports to the world of business came with ease once he found the right concept. After retiring from the league in 2008, he was inspired to start a new career as a tech founder, and his latest conquest in the industry is proving to be quite a force in the investment space. With his driven mindset and finance background, the athlete-turned entrepreneur came up with an innovative concept to educate his community on what it means to make smart investments in assets that especially resonate with them — sneakers. This simple yet revolutionary idea is what paved the way for his new fintech startup Rares — a product of the Techstars Los Angeles Accelerator program — to launch as a platform to help people to invest in shares of particularly notable sneakers. The business, which launched earlier this year, was born amid the pandemic and gave Sapp the opportunity to combine his two passions — the Stock Market and...

Like other celebrities who have had enough of censorship on social media platforms, Summer Walker might be throwing in the towel with Instagram too. Last Thursday (Aug. 26), the R&B singer took to her secondary Instagram account to share with her followers an alternative solution to solve her problems with the visual app, REVOLT reports. “I’m bout to look into creating a app similar cause this IG shit going to hell,” she wrote in a post before also adding, “idk if I even wanna drop my Galactawhore merch on here….. lol it might go against they “‘guidelines.’” Walker has ran into some trouble recently with the content she’s posted on her Instagram page, citing her violations against the app’s guidelines after posting several controversial posts online — including anti-vaccination rhetoric. “I’m done w this app, and really this whole plandemic agenda,” she wrote in a since-deleted post in response to Instagram flagging her content. “It goes against guidelines to say sleep, water,...