Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and Carson Beck named best investments in new player stock market platform
The sports marketing world continues to evolve. A more recent trend has been athletes allowing the public to invest in net-worth shares for a small cost. Denver Broncos pass-rusher Baron Browning started working with Vestible this offseason. Now, fans and investors can grab the stocks of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter of the Colorado Buffaloes […]
The sports marketing world continues to evolve. A more recent trend has been athletes allowing the public to invest in net-worth shares for a small cost. Denver Broncos pass-rusher Baron Browning started working with Vestible this offseason. Now, fans and investors can grab the stocks of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter of the Colorado Buffaloes and Carson Beck of Georgia, among others.
Imagine buying a share of Sanders, Hunter, or Beck, and then that player goes on to be the next seven-figure NFL deal after their rookie contract is up. Much like a stock, this is a long-term play. The athlete will be successful, and your return will get a huge distribution payout.
From the athlete's perspective, giving a one percent slice of his sports income as a return on a $10 initial investment can help front upwards of $1 million. Vestible claims the top-five collegiate player investments include Sanders, Hunter, Will Johnson (Michigan), Ollie Gordon III (Oklahoma State), and Beck.
“Ours is a marketplace where we have athletes that have shares that are able to trade back and forth on actual dollar figures—actual income coming from that athlete,” per Vestible co-founder Parker Graham.
There's obviously risk with this strategy, even compared to Wall Street standards.
For starters, there's a possibility that Browning might be released, jeopardizing his opportunity to earn his salary for 2024. Comparatively, an NFL player's career span doesn't quite stack up against the enduring potential of investing in a megacap stock.
Additionally, the deal doesn't factor in potential earnings from sponsorships or income related to Browning's name, image, and likeness. As it stands, Browning appears to benefit significantly from the deal, securing 80% of the offering's price, amounting to a maximum of $800,000, with the remainder being split between the underwriters and Vestible.
In some ways, it reminds me of the NFT and crypto grifts that cost many people significant chunks of money. The idea is interesting and not a clear scam, but this has been done before with varying results.
The inception of celebrity brand investments was notably advanced by David Bowie in the late 1990s through the issuance of bonds secured against the future earnings from his music catalog. During the 2010s, a venture spearheaded by investment bankers known as Fantex embarked on a similar initiative to what Vestible is proposing today.
Fantex successfully persuaded approximately 20 athletes, including the then-49er standout Vernon Davis and Major League Baseball infielder Jonathan Schoop, to allocate 10% to 15% of their endorsement deal earnings to the venture. This allowed the sale of shares to the public from 2013 to 2016, before Fantex eventually ceased operations in 2017.
In more recent developments, Big League Advance has effectively arranged salary agreements with notable baseball personalities, such as Fernando Tatis Jr., through investment funds that accrue backing from institutional investors. Nonetheless, embarking on celebrity offerings does not always result in success.
A case in point is Charlotte Hornets guard P.J. Washington, who unsuccessfully attempted to gather $1 million from investors in return for a share in future profits.
Will this venture work? Does it interest you? Let me know in the comments.
