Brady is part of Aces, Serena supports women’s soccer: The sports stars who’ve invested in teams

Tom Brady was announced last week as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Aces, who jumped from an iconic career in the NFL to the WNBA.

Like seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady, the Aces also have a championship pedigree, having won their first WNBA title last season.

It has not been disclosed what percentage of the team owns the Patriots and Bucs legend, but he seemed excited to make the switch to ownership.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of women’s sports and I admire the work the Aces’ players, staff and the WNBA continue to do to grow the sport and empower future generations of athletes,” he said.

“To be able to contribute to that mission in any way as a member of the Aces organization is an incredible honor.”

But while Brady was a unique talent on the gridiron, he is far from the first athlete to get involved in the ownership side.

Here, DailyMail.com lists some other big names to go up to…

Serena Williams

After an illustrious tennis career with 23 Grand Slam titles, Serena Williams is still chasing greatness off the court.

Along with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and daughter Olympia, Williams became a lead investor in NWSL side Angel City FC, which debuted last year.

But it wasn’t the tennis star’s first attempt at ownership.

In 2009, her and sister Venus became female minority owners in the Miami Dolphins – becoming the first black female minority owners in the NFL.

Angel City finished eighth out of 12 teams in its inaugural season and last week welcomed Matthew Stafford and family as investors.

USWNT legends Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach are also among the star-studded list of investors.

Lewis Hamilton

As of August 2022, the NFL has Formula 1 royalty in its ranks.

The Denver Broncos were bought for $4.65 billion by the Walton-Penner group and they added Lewis Hamilton as an investor before closing the deal.

The group is led by Walmart billionaire heir Rob Walton.

While Hamilton appears to have yet to make a public trip to Denver, he acknowledged the news on Twitter at the time.

“Excited to join an incredible group of owners and be a part of the @Broncos story!!” he wrote.

“I am honored to work with a world-class team and serve as an example of the value of more diverse leadership across all sports. Roscoe already thinks he’s made the team,’ he said.

After a disastrous 5-12 season last year, the Broncos will certainly not be harmed by having the seven-time F1 champion in their line-up.

Patrick Mahomes

After his second Super Bowl win in February, Patrick Mahomes is still at the top of his game – and the best quarterback in the NFL.

Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped him from putting more on his plate outside of football as he is an investor in baseball and football.

He first dipped his toe into the ownership pool in 2021, buying a minority stake in the Royals, the sibling of his Kansas City Chiefs.

Mahomes reportedly put $10 million into the baseball team.

But the soccer star wasn’t done there, as he later invested in both of KC’s pro soccer teams – Sporting KC of MLS and the Kansas City Current of the NWSL.

Mahomes’ wife Brittany is also a co-owner of the Current.

Michael Jordan

Perhaps the biggest name on this list, and the only one to be the primary owner of their team, Michael Jordan purchased the Charlotte Hornets (then the Bobcats) from Bob Johnson in 2010.

Jordan paid “only” $180 million for the team after a storied NBA career and lucrative (still active) partnership with Nike.

And Jordan is now reportedly in “serious talks” to sell his majority stake in the franchise, which has risen to $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.

For now, Jordan is still part of the NBA ownership community, and his Hornets have been totally unsuccessful during his time there.

Since Jordan’s first season in Charlotte – 2010-11 – the Hornets have the NBA’s fifth worst record (421-596) and have not won a playoff series.

Jordan previously owned a 10 percent stake in the Washington Wizards but had to sell it to comply with NBA rules against player owners as he made an unforgettable comeback in the nation’s capital.

LeBron James

The Lakers star will follow Jordan into the basketball Hall of Fame, became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer this season and could eventually buy a team like Mike.

For now, however, James is a co-owner of both Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox through Fenway Sports Group.

James first got involved with Liverpool in 2011, with his initial stake of $6.5 million turning into $32 million as of 2018. PSG initially bought the historic Merseyside club for $400 million, meaning James has a stake of around bought one percent in the club.

In 2021, James increased his stake in FSG and became a minority owner of the Red Sox, who are valued at $4.5 billion according to Forbes.

That move was seen as a step toward majority ownership later in life, which Agent Rich Paul says James is interested in.

“Hell yeah,” Paul said CNBC in 2021. “He’s extremely serious about sports ownership.”

David Beckham

As part of the deal he signed to play with the LA Galaxy in 2007, David Beckham was entitled to a discounted MLS franchise.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star exercised that option in 2014, with Inter Miami officially launching four years later before debuting in 2020.

Today, the club is valued at $585 million Sporticoand Beckham is a co-owner alongside brothers Jose and Jorge Mas, who is the general owner.

Beckham also serves as the club’s president.

In 2021, Beckham and the Mas brothers increased their stake in the club, buying out former co-owners Marcelo Claure and Masayoshi Son, who joined the project in 2014 and 2017 respectively.

And Beckham’s stake in the club could become even more valuable if Miami manages to convince Lionel Messi to join.

Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson was traded from the Seahawks to the Broncos last year, he is still tied to Seattle through his ownership in MLS’ Sounders.

He and wife Ciara bought an interest in the team in 2019 — the same year he would record a low interception percentage and career-high 31 touchdowns — and it was easy to imagine the quarterback ending his career with the Seahawks.

“Seattle, when I got here in 2012, it was a place that I felt like I could call forever home,” he said in a video for the The Sounders YouTube account.

“And we’re really excited about building a winning culture. This city is a special place.’

In addition to football, Wilson announced in 2018 that he and Ciara were part of an initiative to bring an MLB team to Portland, Oregon.

Such a team has not yet materialized, although the MLB commissioner has openly talked about expanding MLB to 32 teams.

Tap ins

There are plenty of other athletes who have interests in sports franchises.

Kevin Durant and Giants legend Eli Manning both own NWSL side Gotham FC, while Durant has a minority stake in the Philadelphia Union in MLS.

His former Nets and Thunder teammate James Harden is also involved in the league through his ownership of the Houston Dynamo – as well as sister club the Houston Dash – while boxer Oscar De La Hoya also reportedly owns 25 percent of the Dynamo.

Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash also owns a portion of the Vancouver Whitecaps, while Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal has a minority stake in the Sacramento Kings.

And speaking of Lakers legends, Magic Johnson is part of ownership groups for LA’s Dodgers, the WNBA’s Sparks and LAFC.