Lakers News: LeBron James Among NBA Stars With Ownership Stake In Mitchell & Ness
LeBron James continues to expand his diverse business portfolio!
In the latest announced move, the Los Angeles Lakers All-Star forward and his business partner, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, have been added, along with a bunch of other big names (basketball and otherwise), to the ownership group of athletic apparel mainstay Mitchell & Ness, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.
Several other NBA players will be joining James in this venture: Brooklyn Nets All-Star forward Kevin Durant, Philadelphia 76ers All-Stars Joel Embiid and James Harden, and Phoenix Suns All-Star guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker.
Vorkunov also reports that free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and comedian Kevin Hart now also own a piece of Mitchell & Ness as part of this fresh investment group. Vorkonuv adds that the new investors "will help the company with its future collaborations, capsule collections and other creative endeavors."
75% of Mitchell & Ness was purchased by Fanatics in February, and the remaining 25% was bought by an investor group that includes hip hop stars Jay-Z and Lil' Baby. What portion of the company will now be owned by this new group of investors is not clear as of this writing.
James has had a busy investing run thus far in 2022. He also purchased a pickleball team and ownership stake in a soccer club, and has spoken openly about wanting to own an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, should that ever come to pass.
The four-time league MVP, who won his latest NBA title with Los Angeles in 2020, also owns a portion of the Boston Red Sox, another soccer team, the Liverpool Football Club, stock car racing company RFK Racing, Blaze Pizza, and liquor company Lobos 707.
It's not like he can't afford all this: this summer, LBJ was the first NBA player to become a billionaire while still actively playing. He's earning $44.5 million in salary as a Laker this year alone.
