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Football was never the end goal for two-time Super Bowl champion Justin Tuck. In an interview with Adam Glyn, who describes himself as a New York City-based comedian and street journalist, Tuck revealed that sports were always meant to be the path to a great education, then to a great career. In 2001, he earned a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. He became the team captain and graduated in 2005 as the program’s all-time leader in sacks, earning a management degree, according to his LinkedIn profile. “Sports for me was a conduit or a gateway to get a great education for free. My mom and dad couldn’t afford to send me to the University of Notre Dame… It was always the plan to go and do something from a career standpoint, that was very different than athletics,” he said. Tuck went on to the NFL, drafted in the third round as the No. 74 overall pick in 2005 by the New York Giants. He spent the majority of his 11-year career with the team, then...
Jeremiyah Love doesn’t intend to spend his massive rookie contract. The St. Louis native was the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals and signed a four-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $53.9 million, Larry Brown Sports reports. Love’s signing bonus was valued at $35 million, and he will receive $13.3 million annually. He is now the seventh-highest-paid running back in the NFL, according to a press release from the team. Love views his entry into the league as a “blessing” and has no intention of letting the money change who he is. “That amount of money would change anybody’s life,” Love said in the press release. “For me, it doesn’t change my mindset. I’m only getting that much because I was the third pick in the draft. I still haven’t done anything. I’m ready to earn what I have been given.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by J love (@jeremiyahlove) What’s more, Love has already revealed his plans for his rookie...
Dominique Malonga is a WNBA player who is interested in launching an app in the future. Malonga, a Cameroon native raised in France, was drafted by the Seattle Storm as the second pick in the first round. She previously played with ASVEL Féminin in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball and the French national team at age 16, Women’s Health reports. She already made her mark in the WNBA as the youngest to record a double-double and achieve 100 career points, not to mention her ability to dunk, according to a press release. Her career is already promising, but Malonga is also making sure she invests in her future in more ways than just on the court. Women’s Health reports that she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Southern New Hampshire University. She was good at math and science in school, and she sees a pursuit in tech as timely and relevant. She enrolled in an online program that will take five to six years to complete. “We don’t even understand how it’s going to...
Stephen Curry has established a scholarship at his former college. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Curry attended Davidson College in North Carolina from 2006-2009 and became the Wildcats program’s all-time leading scorer. However, he did not complete his degree at the time, opting instead to pursue an NBA career. He was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 2009, per Spotrac. He later returned to earn his bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2022. Davidson College Curry Scholars Program Curry is now partnering with the school to launch the Davidson College Curry Scholars Program, which will provide individualized college and career coaching to high-achieving high school students from under-resourced communities hailing from the Bay Area, according to a press release. California’s Oakland Unified School District and non-profit College Track are partners in the program. “Ayesha and I started our foundation in Oakland 7 years ago with the vision of making sure every kid has access to...
Angel Reese returned to her hometown to empower young girls in STEM. The WNBA player who represents the Atlanta Dream teamed up with 2K Foundations — the philanthropic arm of video game company 2K — which supports STEM education, access to mentorship, and sports programming, according to its website. The partnership entailed a six-week STEM initiative for female student-athletes at Crossroads Middle School in Baltimore with nonprofit STEM organizations Living Classrooms Foundation and Project Scientist. This was a full-circle moment for Reese, whose hometown is Randallstown, MD, in Baltimore County. The partnership aligns with the Angel C. Reese Foundation, which aims to expand access to sports, education, and financial literacy, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. Building on that mission, the partnership created learning opportunities in coding, robotics design, 3D printing, STEM-based sports projects, career exploration, and skill-building, according to a press release shared with...
Kyle Kuzma is now an E1 team owner. According to a press release shared with AFROTECH, the NBA champion, who currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks, has joined the ownership group of Sierra Racing Club, which competes in the UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, “the world’s first all-electric foiling raceboat championship. ” The league was launched to advance electric marine technologies while promoting sustainable urban waters and coastal environments. The team is backed by Sierra Space, a defense company that develops satellites, subsystems, spaceplanes, hypersonics, and infrastructure for the U.S. National Security and is driven by a desire to “sustain human presence in space” and safeguard the nation, according to its website. Technological innovation was one of the key draws for Kuzma in joining the team’s ownership group, which includes Kerem Ozmen (Owner / Team Principal), Dominik Madani (Co-Owner), and Thibaut Courtois (Co-Owner / Brand Ambassador), per the press...
LeBron James’ restaurant, Buckets, had its grand opening. LeBron James has always been known for giving back to his hometown of Akron, OH. However, the billionaire athlete’s latest business venture is fostering an even stronger sense of family and community in the Ohio city. On April 1, the LeBron James Family Foundation officially opened Buckets, a comfort food restaurant featuring large buckets of fried chicken, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™. The restaurant staff is hired from participants in the nonprofit’s I PROMISE Program, an initiative that supports at-risk students in the Akron public school system. Buckets invited influencers to try the menu a week before its grand opening, garnering positive feedback. Videos on social media gave a sneak peek of unique dishes, including macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and wings with ten different sauce options, notes the press release. The 23-year NBA veteran expressed his excitement in Wednesday’s press release....
Allen Iverson could have been a Nike athlete, but signing with Reebok set him up for life. Born in Hampton, VA, Iverson was drafted into the NBA in 1996 as the No. 1 overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Basketball Reference. He remained in the league for 14 seasons and is regarded as one of the league’s best, per the NBA. In fact, he was part of the NBA 75th anniversary, which recognized the top 75 players in the league’s history, the outlet noted. He joined a class that includes former players Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Tim Duncan, and the late Kobe Bryant, as well as active players such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and more. Iverson made $171.7 million in career earnings while in the league, according to Spotrac. However, he blew through even more than his career earnings, as AFROTECH™ previously told you , but he is still standing today as a result of strategic moves that include entering the cannabis world in partnership with Black-owned...
Jalen Brunson is centering financial literacy and education in his philanthropic efforts. Brunson is an NBA player who was selected 33rd overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2018 draft, per Basketball Reference. He credits his parents for shaping his spending habits at a young age, in conversation with AFROTECH™. So when he signed his rookie contract, valued at $6.11 million over four years, according to Spotrac, he had the foundation to manage his money responsibly. “Once I got into the league, you’re given a lot more money. You obviously worked hard for it, but now you are responsible for making responsible decisions. It’s a whole different animal, but the principles are still the same,” Brunson, who now plays for the New York Knicks, told AFROTECH™. Brunson credits his parents, agents, and financial team with challenging him and guiding him through strategic financial decisions. The byproduct of their support has led Brunson to pursue business moves such as his endorsement deal...
30-year-old NFL athlete Jaylon Smith is investing his earnings to ensure long-term wealth. Smith is guided as a client by Michael Ledo’s RISE Family Office, formerly RISE Sports Advisors, a multi-family Dallas-based financial services firm with nearly $300 million in assets under management, according to information shared with AFROTECH™. RISE Family Office taps into its institutional investor network to source private company deals, creating more structured investment opportunities for athletes and high-net-worth entrepreneurs. For Smith, this led him to invest $100,000 in the Series C round of the health tech company Oura during his final run with the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. “The deal was brought to me by RISE,” Smith told AFROTECH™. “And it was a thing where I was very intrigued with the health and wellness space, particularly around different devices or tools to better help gather data. Oura was one of the deals that was brought to me, and I decided to invest.” Smith has since...
Unrivaled’s second season was a slam dunk. The 3-on-3 league was co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart in 2023 and has attracted talent, including Kelsey Mitchell, Erica Wheeler, Angel Reese, Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers, and Chelsea Gray, per the league’s website. In February, Gray won the league’s 2026 1-on-1 Tournament, which carried a coveted $200,000 cash prize, according to a press release. Unrivaled entered its second season on Jan. 5. The league has eight teams, and 56 regular-season games were played before the Unrivaled Playoffs, presented by Samsung Galaxy, began on Saturday, Feb. 28, according to information shared with AFROTECH™. Photo Credit: Unrivaled / Hannah Kevorkian The Unrivaled Championship was held Wednesday, March 4, and ended with a victory for the Mist BC team, which faced team Phantom BC, according to USA Today . Breanna Stewart was named MVP after scoring 32 points. The game drew 314,000 viewers on TNT, making it Unrivaled’s...
Registered investment advisor Darryl Cohen has been charged with defrauding NBA player Jrue Holiday and others. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Cohen and accountant Brian Gilder persuaded Holiday and former NBA players Chandler Parsons and Courtney Lee to purchase viatical life insurance policies at inflated prices. Cohen allegedly concealed that Gilder controlled the law firm he selected to purchase the policies, which he then sold to the athletes at markups of 244% for Holiday, 222% for Parsons and 310% for Lee, per the release. A large portion of the profits was then allegedly used by Cohen and Gilder on personal expenses. This included nearly $178,462 for Cohen’s home and pool, nearly $67,500 to pay a credit card bill, and nearly $200,000 transferred to an individual with whom Cohen was romantically involved, the press release noted. Additional claims included the transfer of $500,000 in funds from Parsons’ and...
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell wants to make wellness more accessible to families. WellWithAll Mitchell told AFROTECH™ he is intentional about making moves that will last beyond his playing days. Generational wellness is part of his long-term strategy, and he aims to invest in “real, accessible tools and resources that help families take control of their health every day.” According to a press release shared with AFROTECH™, Mitchell is aligning himself with WellWithAll, a wellness brand co-founded by Demond Martin and Carmichael Roberts. Per the company’s website, WellWithAll is a black-owned and offers supplements and energy drinks. According to Cuisine Noir, its energy drinks contain 45 calories and 80 milligrams of natural caffeine for energy. The brand can also be found at retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Fruitful Yield Health Foods, according to its website. What’s more, 20% of WellWithAll’s profits are allocated to health equity initiatives, notes Cuisine...
![Former NBA Player Iman Shumpert Says He Was An Early Investor In Uber And The Investment ‘Flipped About 2 [Or] 3 Times’](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.afrotech.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F02%2FIman-Shumpert.jpg&w=3840&q=75 "Former NBA Player Iman Shumpert Says He Was An Early Investor In Uber And The Investment ‘Flipped About 2 [Or] 3 Times’")
Iman Shumpert’s early investment in Uber was a home run. Decision To Invest In Uber The former NBA player appeared on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast and revealed he had a chance to invest in Uber at a time when he was making little money. When he learned about the opportunity, Shumpert shared that the concept sounded familiar, felt familiar to him, reminding him of the luxury cab service featured in the 1997 comedy-action film “B.A.P.S.” called Page-A-Cab Luxury Cab Co. “Somebody said something about that Uber sounded like, you remember rent a cab. In B.A.P.S., they basically was talking about Uber. What if you could have a private driver whenever you want… And when I heard of Uber, I’m like, ‘That’s kind of like’… And I’m like, ‘But wait a second, let me put a little money in there,'” Shumpert recalled on the podcast. Why He Sold His Shares In Uber Shumpert invested in Uber early. It is unclear how much his stake in the company was, but he went on to sell those shares because he...
College athlete Jaden Rashada has settled a lawsuit surrounding a failed NIL deal. The former Georgia quarterback sued former University of Florida Gators coach Billy Napier and a top booster over a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal valued at $13.9 million, ESPN reported. Rashada was ranked No. 31 overall in the 2023 class and had first committed to the Miami Hurricanes. He was told he would receive a $9.5 million deal with the Hurricanes. However, he switched his commitment to the University of Florida Gators, with the intent of securing a four-year, $13.85 million NIL deal, notes the outlet. Signing the letter of intent was supposed to be accompanied by a $1 million payout. Before he could step foot on the field, the NIL agreement was severed, and Rashada was released from the letter of intent, per ESPN. A lawsuit was filed in May 2024 in the U.S. District Court in Pensacola against Napier and Hugh Hathcock, a booster and automotive technology businessman, that accused both...