Kobe Bryant’s time in the NBA might be over, but he’s still winning. On Wednesday it was announced Coca-Cola had purchased a minority stake in the sports drink “BodyArmor”, which Bryant and other athletes invested in back in 2014. Kobe put $6 million into the company, now his stake is worth over $200 million.
Kobe Bryant invested $6M in 2014, now it’s worth $200M
That’s one heck of a return.
Photo by Thos Robinson/Getty Images for BODYARMOR
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, Bryant purchased 10 percent of the company, which markets itself as a healthier option than Gatorade in the sports drink space. BodyArmor’s co-founder, Mike Repole was responsible for selling the Glaceau brand to Coca-Cola in 2007, which made Smartwater and Vitaminwater.
Other athletes said to score big on the BodyArmor sale are James Harden, Andrew Luck, and golfer Dustin Johnson — with several other high-profile athletes linked to the brand, but not named in the story.
Bryant is the big winner from the sale among athletes, however. His $194 million profit from his stake isn’t far off his total NBA earnings across his career. Bryant made a total of $328 million for 20 years playing basketball, and $194 million for waiting four years. Seems like a pretty good return.
