Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Takes Stake in Ready Nutrition (EXCLUSIVE)
Click here to read the full article.
Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo is embarking on his investing career.
The NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player is taking an ownership stake in Ready Nutrition, marking the first time “The Greek Freak,” as he’s known, has invested in a brand, Sportico has learned.
The 25-year-old Antetokounmpo, who has been using Ready Water product the past two years, will have an undisclosed ownership stake and creative input across the company. He’ll also have an exclusive endorsement and community role with the Ready Water brand and other sports nutrition products, which include protein snacks and powder as well as energy drinks.
“We have been presented with many, many brand opportunities – some from very large, well-known brands – but I have found very few where I believed in the products,” the 6-foot-11 forward said.
Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, but a source said Antetokounmpo is making a low seven-figure investment in the company founded by former University of Pittsburgh basketball team captain Pat Cavanaugh. The company’s other owner is Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald, who also attended Pittsburgh.
Antetokounmpo has a rich endorsement portfolio. Though he’s aligned with a host of companies and products, including Budweiser, Disney and Nike, he hasn’t – until now – made an investment in any of them.
Adding Antetokounmpo, one of the league’s most popular players, should help Ready with its international growth.
Ready Water, which was recently placed in Walmart locations in 20 states, is expanding into Europe and Asia, which will be one of Antetokounmpo’s areas of focus.
Antetokounmpo will also focus on youth- and high-school athlete platforms, giving advice and inspiration to young jocks.
One of Antetokounmpo’s first initiatives will be to supply Milwaukee public school students with 34,000 bottles of Ready Water and protein bars for inclusion in their daily meal program. Additionally, the company will donate 34,000 bottles of its water to area healthcare workers.
Antetokounmpo wears uniform No. 34 with the Bucks, who had the best record in the NBA when the season was paused in March because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
