The stats say that about 70% of basketball players go broke at the end of their careers. Very few can make more money than they made during their playing careers. Most will coach. The loudmouths will turn to TV and media to make money. Many will attempt to go into business for themselves and fail. Few can accomplish the feat of tripling their net worth after playing. The exceptions include Vinnie Johnson, Dave Bing, Magic Johnson, and Junior Bridgeman.
Bridgeman spent 12 seasons in the NBA, primarily with the Bucks, where he became a key sixth man known for his scoring ability and leadership. He also had a brief stint with the Los Angeles Clippers before retiring in 1987. Junior Bridgeman is a former professional basketball player and successful entrepreneur. Born on September 17, 1953, in East Chicago, Indiana, Bridgeman played college basketball at the University of Louisville, where he was a standout player.
He was selected 8th overall in the 1975 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers but was quickly traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of the deal that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers.
During the off-seasons of his NBA career, Junior Bridgeman worked at Wendy’s, learning the fast-food franchise business model. After retiring from basketball, he invested in the franchise, eventually owning over 100 Wendy’s and Chili’s restaurants before selling his holdings in 2016.
“In 2017, he became a bottler for The Coca-Cola Company, and in 2018, he signed a letter of intent to acquire bottling operations in Canada.”
As President and CEO of Bridgeman Foods Inc., Bridgeman expanded his business ventures. In 2017, he became a bottler for The Coca-Cola Company, and in 2018, he signed a letter of intent to acquire bottling operations in Canada.
In December 2020, through Bridgeman Sports and Media, he purchased Ebony and Jet magazines for $14 million after both publications had filed for bankruptcy earlier that year.
On May 26, 2022, Manna Capital Partners, an investment firm co-founded by Bridgeman, announced a partnership with Ball Corporation to construct and operate a secondary aluminum mill in Los Lunas, New Mexico. Later that year, on October 18, 2022, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that Manna Capital Partners would invest in a bottling facility in Hope Hull, Alabama, operated by its affiliate, Manna Beverages & Ventures.
That same year, Forbes ranked Bridgeman as the fourth-wealthiest retired athlete in the world, with an estimated income of $32 million, placing him behind Michael Jordan, David Beckham, and Arnold Palmer.
On September 24, 2024, the Milwaukee Bucks announced that Bridgeman had acquired a 10% ownership stake in the team, valuing the franchise at $4 billion. According to co-owner Jimmy Haslam, Bridgeman purchased shares from multiple minority owners at a discounted price from the stated valuation. At the time of his passing, it’s estimated that his net worth was $1.4 billion.
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