Junior Bridgeman, who played 10 of his 12 NBA seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, is acquiring a 10 percent ownership stake in the team, per multiple media reports on Thursday.
Bridgeman, who turns 71 on Tuesday, is reportedly buying the stake at a $3.4 billion valuation.
Dee and Jimmy Haslam bought a quarter of the Bucks in 2023 at a $3.2 billion valuation. Per Sportico, the average NBA franchise is worth $4 billion.
A first-round pick (No. 8 overall) in the 1975 draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, Bridgeman was traded to the Bucks less than three weeks later in the mega deal for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Bridgeman began buying Wendy’s franchises during his playing career, eventually owning 360 Wendy’s and Chili’s restaurants after retiring. In 2016, he sold them and took over a Coca-Cola bottling franchise. Per S&P Global Market Intelligence, Bridgeman is the sole owner of the bottle, which rakes in at least $350 million in revenue every year.
Bridgeman bought the publications Ebony and Jet in 2020 and owns Coca-Cola Bottling of Canada, which he acquired with Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in 2018.
CNBC was the first to report Bridgeman’s deal with the Bucks.
Bridgeman was a stellar sixth man during his NBA career and averaged 13.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 849 games (52 starts) with the Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers.
Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith and Brian Winters also went with Bridgeman in the deal for Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley.
