The Value of Franchising After a Pro Sport's Career

Athletes retire decades earlier than other professions, with the average age that sports stars leave the NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB being under 30 years old. That leaves these high net-worth individuals facing the big question of “What’s next?”. While these players make millions of dollars per year, that money does not last forever, and most turn to business opportunities to continue bringing in revenue.

Franchising has long been a reliable model that money retired sports professionals turn to. They can easily translate their hardworking and coachable skills into being profitable owners within a brand. Over the years, many ex-players have found great success and value in becoming franchisees with popular chains.

Auntie Anne’s
Ed Muransky, a former NFL offensive tackle who played for the Los Angeles Raiders, owns nearly 70 stores of the pretzel franchise in 15 states. Former NBA all-star Shaquille O’Neal owned multiple locations in New York and Michigan but recently sold them.

VettedBiz shows the median franchise sales for Auntie Anne’s locations was $597,395 in 2021. This comes out to an estimated income of between $59,739 and $119,478 annually per location for franchise owners, depending on their profit margin. 

Dunkin’

The donut franchise is very popular with former athletes. Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Troy Aikman and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently partnered on a 50-store deal in Texas, and Drew Brees is part owner of more than 60 locations.

According to data from VettedBiz, the median franchise sales for Dunkin’ owners in 2021 was $1,256,377, which leads to about $125,637 to $251,274 in franchisees’ pockets every year.

Papa John’s

Former NBA star Jamal Mashburn, who owns a large number of businesses, has 37 Papa John's franchises in his portfolio. Retired Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis owns three locations in Pittsburgh, and famous quarterback Peyton Manning owned 31 stores in the Denver, Colorado area until 2018. 

VettedBiz information shows that median franchise sales for the company were $1,101,127 in 2021. This results in between $110,112 and $220,225 in profits each year for Papa John’s owners.

Wingstop

The wing concept is popular with NFL players: former cornerback and current commentator Richard Sherman owns two stores in the Seattle area, and retired wide receiver Sidney Rice is a franchise owner of six locations.

With reported median sales of $1,485,793 for Wingstop locations in 2021, this equals between $148,579 and $297,158 in annual profits for franchise owners for each location.

Jersey Mike’s

The sub and sandwich shop brand has several athlete owners as a part of its system. Former linebacker Angelo Crowell owns several locations and has plans to expand to 100. MLB star Adrian Gonzalez is a franchisee with six locations in California.

Jersey Mike’s does not disclose representations for future earnings, but Vetted Biz estimates that the average owner makes between $104,904 and $209,808 per year in profits from one location.

Jamba Juice 

A sister brand of Auntie Anne’s, Jamba Juice has also seen ownership interest from athletes. Serena Williams, tennis star, owns four franchise locations of the juice chain, while former NFL player Vernon Davis and free agent Mohamed Sanu have partnered to own a combined 11 stores in California and Virginia. 

Vettedbiz reports that the median franchise sales per unit in 2021 were $708,396, equaling around $70,839 to $141,678 in annual profit for franchise owners with the brand.