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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...
Inventor Tahira Reid Smith came up with a new way to enjoy a beloved hobby in the Black community. Reid Smith knows Double Dutch all too well. Raised in The Bronx, NY, she was fond of the pastime. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that she even sketched a Double Dutch machine when she was 8 years old. That drawing — which consisted of two poles and three buttons with a third grader jumping at its center — earned her first place in her school’s drawing competition. That very concept would later evolve into an invention. Reid Smith’s educational pursuits led her to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering by 2004, according to her LinkedIn profile. She then obtained a Ph.D. in design science from the University of Michigan in 2010. Her time, particularly at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, brought her childhood sketch full circle under her late professor, Burt Swersey. The outlet reports Swersey gave Reid...
A jury has ruled on the industry practices of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. CNN reports the U.S. Department of Justice and 39 state attorneys general, including those from New York and Washington, D.C., sued Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, in 2024. Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 and now controls 86% of the market for concerts and 73% overall when sports are included , according to Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney for the states, per The Boston Globe. Live Nation’s dominance is at the center of a court case. It owns or controls more than 265 concert venues and generated $22 billion in annual revenue at the time of the lawsuit, according to court records. The lawsuit states that its presence in the live-events sector was harmful to attendees, performers, and small promoters and venue operators. The lawsuit also alleges that Live Nation established a “ self-reinforcing ‘ flywheel,” charging customers, and then using the revenue to book artists for long-term...
Will Smith is reportedly expanding his portfolio, joining the ownership group of a planned WNBA expansion team in his hometown of Philadelphia. The Oscar Award-winning actor has secured a 0.1% stake in the franchise, which plans to host games at Xfinity Mobile Arena beginning in 2030, Rolling Out reports . The team will operate under Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, with Josh Harris — managing partner and co-founder at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment — serving as governor. Additional investors include David Blitzer, Comcast , and other institutional partners, notes the outlet. “Philadelphia is one of the most storied basketball cities in the world, and our region is home to some of the greatest women’s players and coaches to ever grace the hardwood,” Harris said in a news release. “It’s only right that this city finally gets the WNBA franchise it deserves, and we’re humbled to help usher in a new era of Philadelphia basketball.” View this post on Instagram A post...
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....
David Robinson is suing his business partner for millions. Robinson and Daniel Bassichis are co-founders of private equity firm Admiral Capital Group, which launched in 2008. The pair also has real estate under Admiral Columbus LLC. According to the San Antonio Express-News, now Robinson, Admiral Capital, and two associated firms have filed a lawsuit seeking more than $34 million in damages, alleging that Bassichis committed fraud, conversion, civil conspiracy, and more. Robinson’s stake in Admiral Capital is 51% while Bassichis owns the remaining stake. Separately, Bassichis owns an investment firm focused on real estate, Vero Capital. According to Bassichis’s LinkedIn profile and the firm’s website, it was founded in 2007. However, the lawsuit claims Bassichis launched the firm in 2022, a year after receiving “the blessing of Robinson,” with the goal “to expand his individual investment opportunities” and “to create a separation” from Admiral Capital. Reportedly, Admiral Capital...
Coco Gauff, the American tennis player and two-time Grand Slam champion, remains a leading figure in sports and business in 2025. For the third consecutive year, she has been recognized as the highest-paid female athlete, according to Sportico. Gauff, who won her second Grand Slam in women’s singles during this year’s French Open, tops the 2025 ranking with an estimated $31 million in total earnings, ahead of rival tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, who earned $30 million. She is also one of only four women to surpass $30 million in a single year, named alongside Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka, and Serena Williams, per the outlet. The annual list reflects continued growth in women’s sports. All 15 athletes on the list, which included Caitlin Clark, Osaka, Simone Biles, and Venus Williams, earned at least $10 million, compared to 11 in 2024 and six in 2023, notes Sportico. Tennis continues to dominate, with 10 of the top 15 earners coming from the sport. As the outlet notes, Gauff’s total...
Michael Jordan and other team owners have officially reached a settlement with NASCAR in a federal antitrust case. Jordan made history in 2020 when he joined Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin to launch a NASCAR team with Bubba Wallace as the driver. He became the first Black owner of a full-time team in the league’s premier series since Hall of Famer Wendell Scott, according to a press release. Jordan is no stranger to team ownership, having previously served as the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets from 2010 to 2023, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. His interest in NASCAR was planted during his childhood in North Carolina. “Growing up in North Carolina, my parents would take my brothers, sisters, and me to races, and I’ve been a NASCAR fan my whole life,” Jordan said in the news release. “The opportunity to own my own racing team in partnership with my friend, Denny Hamlin, and to have Bubba Wallace driving for us, is very exciting for me. Historically, NASCAR has struggled...
Free agent Odell Beckham Jr. is speaking out after comments he made about managing a five-year, $100 million NFL contract ignited conversation online. The wide-ranging discussion began in October during an episode of “The Pivot Podcast,” where Beckham outlined why a contract of that size may not last as long as it appears once expenses are taken into account. The wide receiver, who was drafted No. 12 overall by the New York Giants in 2014, went on to play for the Cleveland Browns and Las Angeles Rams. Beckham last played for the Miami Dolphins before he became a free agent in 2024. According to Spotrac, his total career earnings sit at $102 million. His podcast remarks resurfaced this week and drew reactions from fans, commentators, and former players. On Tuesday, Dec. 2, Beckham posted a response to the attention on X. “Boy u can’t say nothin in this world nowadays, that’s why I been in my own lane my own world n put the way,” he wrote. “People love to take Shxt completely outta...
Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson signing on to Reebok has benefited the business. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, O’Neal returned to Reebok in 2023 after walking away from a $40 million deal more than two decades earlier in 1998. He was appointed as Reebok’s president of basketball and has been “very” hands-on, he told Boardroom. “I do everything but nothing,” he said to the outlet. “True leaders don’t micromanage. If I’m gonna start a media company, I’ll call you. You do all the work, I proofread it, say yes or no, and we move on from there.” One of O’Neal’s strategic decisions was onboarding Angel Reese, who signed the company’s first major name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal. Now in the WNBA, representing the Chicago Sky, Reese dropped her signature shoe line with Reebok on Sept. 18, under a multiyear contract extension, and it sold out within hours of launching, CBS Sports reports. This affirms O’Neal’s priorities when he joined Reebok. “It’s all about product, players, and...
Former All-Pro Reshad Jones, a two-time Pro Bowler who spent his whole career with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, has secured a significant legal win by reaching a $9.5 million settlement with Merrill Lynch, according to the Bleacher Report. Reshad Jones Merrill Lynch Settlement The settlement follows allegations that Jones’ former Merrill Lynch advisor, Isaiah T. Williams, took roughly $2.6 million from the football player. According to the outlet, the agreement was finalized on Aug. 14 and recently appeared on the advisor’s regulatory record. In his initial arbitration filing, Jones sought about $16 million in damages, citing unsuitable asset allocation, misrepresentations, unauthorized use of funds, and improper outside business activity by his advisor. Williams, who worked for the firm from 2017 through the end of 2024, reportedly orchestrated a scheme that siphoned funds from Jones. The allegations include more than 130 unauthorized transactions totaling about $1.6 million from...
Former NBA player Spencer Haywood sold what would have been a lucrative stock. In 1970, Haywood, who made history at the Olympics as the youngest American basketball player at 19, took his talents to the Seattle SuperSonics, after playing in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Denver Rockets, according to Legends of Basketball. Haywood represented the team for five years, during which time he was offered the opportunity to wear a Nike shoe by Phil Knight, co-founder and then-CEO of the company, which began in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports alongside Bill Bowerman. Haywood agreed, he revealed on the “All the Smoke” podcast. Knight also offered Haywood stock in the company, although Haywood admitted the concept was foreign to him. Basketball Network reports Haywood was Nike’s first-ever basketball shoe endorser. “First of all, I was young, too. And I’m thinking, ‘Livestock?’ What are you talking about,” Haywood said on the podcast. Nonetheless, Haywood accepted the stock but...
Kristopher Wright entered the footwear space by “happenstance.” Today, he is vice president at one of the world’s most well-known brands. Wright took center stage at the “Dope Thinkers Only Conference,” which was held at Louisiana’s Grambling State University from Sept. 11-12. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the conference is intended to empower and connect students and professionals in marketing, communications, entrepreneurship, and leadership. “Conferences like this are needed at HBCUs just to show students from actual practitioners: ‘I’m doing this, this is how I did it. And you can, too,'” student Jae Newton told AFROTECH™. The Houston native is projected to graduate in 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, a concentration in public relations, and a minor in business marketing. At the conference, Wright shared that, as a 12-year-old raised in Harlem, NY, he was already exposed to sneaker culture. However, Wright did not understand then that his current...
Former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston and former professional mixed martial artist Nick Edwards are teaming up to bring sports investing to the masses. Together, the longtime business partners have launched the Champion Fund, an evergreen sports asset fund under their firm, Champion Venture Partners (CVP), Front Office Sports reports. While ownership stakes in teams and sports businesses have historically been limited to the wealthy, the Champion Fund allows anyone to participate for as little as $500, according to the outlet. The entry point is intentionally low, according to Edwards, who describes it as “compliance driven” but also practical. “Instead of sitting there swiping on DraftKings, or sitting at a baseball game and putting $500 on a parlay, you can have some meaningful ownership,” Edwards told Front Office Sports. “We think of it like a mutual fund. After you invest, you can see all the logos and know that you own part of this team, you own part of this...
WNBA player Napheesa Collier is back, making an impact both on and off the court. Who Is Napheesa Collier? Collier has become a key player for the Minnesota Lynx. A three-time All-WNBA selection and Olympic gold medalist, she quickly established herself after being drafted in 2019, according to College Net Worth. Her on-court impact includes helping lead the team to wins and earning Most Valuable Player of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, per CBS Sports. On Sunday, Aug. 24, Collier returned from an ankle injury to score 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting, with nine rebounds in 31 minutes, helping the Minnesota Lynx to a 97-84 win against the Indiana Fever, ESPN reports. “I had to knock some of the rust off,” Collier said, per ESPN. She added that teammate Courtney Williams would have finished with 11 assists if she had not missed her first few shots. “It feels like you are on the outside when you are not playing. I am having so much FOMO, so it feels good to be on the court with them...