Athlete Spotlight: Jamal Mashburn
The Dallas Mavericks drafted him fourth overall in the 1993 NBA Draft. During his 12-year NBA career, he earned $70,000,000. From a young age, he wanted to be more than just a basketball player, as he watched business people carrying their briefcases around.
Meet Jamal Mashburn, who took great care of his money and used it as a tool to help him transition to life after sports. Before signing his first professional contract, he donated $500,000 to establish the Mashburn Scholarship Fund at the University of Kentucky.
In the years after his retirement, Jamal built an investment portfolio that helped him create a fortune. Here are some of his accomplishments since retiring from the NBA:
In 2013, he partnered with former NFL player Winston Justice to launch Mashburn Justice Capital Partners, which invests in high-tech startups.
His investment portfolio includes owning 100 food franchises such as Dunkin' Donuts, Papa John's, Outback Steakhouse, five car dealerships, and a waste management company.
He is a board director for the newspaper chain McCarthy and a company called the National Forest Foundation.
In 2014, he founded a marketing agency called Mashburn Sackett.
He was an NBA analyst on ESPN from 2006 to 2010.
Jamal excelled at basketball, but his mother encouraged him to pursue other interests as a backup. In an interview, he mentioned that he started planning his transition when he entered the NBA. Utilizing his free time between games and during the offseason allowed Mashburn to lay out his transition plan for life after basketball.
