LeBron James is expanding his portfolio and is set to make an impact on both NASCAR and MLB. The Los Angeles Lakers star, along with business partner Maverick Carter, joined the Fenway Sports Group. They became the first Black partners in FSG’s history.
The Fenway Sports Group is best known as the parent company of the Boston Red Sox. However, FSG also owns Liverpool Football Club, NESN, Roush Fenway Racing, and Fenway Sports Management. Roush Fenway features two drivers in NASCAR’s Cup Series — Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher. James already owned a 2% share of the Liverpool Football Club, but he now owns an undisclosed amount of FSG shares after the most recent move.
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James has worked with Fenway Sports Management, the consulting and marketing arm of FSG, for more than a decade on various marketing and endorsement ventures. The relationship will continue as James takes on a more prominent role with FSG.
The Boston Globe provided the news on Tuesday, revealing that the FSG had approved a $750 million investment by Redbird Capital Partners. The deal, which is contingent on MLB approval, made Redbird Capital FSG’s third-largest partner. News surfaced at the same time that James and Carter were joining the group as business partners.
With the new additions to the partnership group, FSG is continuing to examine further opportunities. The group has a “shopping list” featuring NFL and NBA franchises, another European soccer club, NHL, MLS, WNBA, and NWSL teams. Additionally, FSG is also eyeing sports betting, esports, and data analytics companies.
The Globe reports that FSG started as New England Sports Ventures and originally purchased the Red Sox for $700 million in 2002. The team’s value has now increased to $3.3 billion. FSG then purchased Liverpool for $493 million in 2010, and the team’s value is now estimated to be $2.6 billion. This increase means that James’ initial 2% investment of a reported $6.5 million is now worth roughly $52 million.
James is a very wealthy individual based solely on his reported contract earnings of $343 million throughout his NBA career. However, he also has several other business pursuits. He has a reported $1 billion lifetime deal with Nike and his media company, Springhill Entertainment, is preparing for the release of Space Jam 2. James also partnered with Arnold Schwarzenegger to invest in the tequila and mezcal brand, Lobos 1707.
