Former NBA player Junior Bridgeman played for the Bucks for 10 seasons before moving to the Los Angeles Clippers to ply his trade for two seasons. Upon retiring in 1987, he built a business empire, making him a multi-millionaire.
He is behind Bridgeman Sports and Media, which owns Ebony Magazine after a successful bid to purchase the bankrupt media firm for $14 million in 2020.
Founded in 1945 by John H. Johnson, the magazine enjoyed a wide readership before a drop in ad revenues and the internet led to its fall. The magazine was forced into Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in July 2020 by its creditors for defaulting on $10 million in loans, according to the Chicago Tribune. However, the bankruptcy was converted into a voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization in September, the Tribune added.
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Despite the woes of Ebony, his optimism of returning the once-revered Black-owned publication in America to profit and to a place of prominence in American culture led him to purchase it. In 2020 when he was considering buying Ebony, he said, with “the right ideas and execution”, the plan could materialize in no time. “Nothing is ever easy, but this would be, I think, a labor of love,” Bridgeman said.
Besides being a Coca-Cola distributor, Bridgeman’s other businesses include fast-food restaurants. The former NBA player is also now seeking to expand his business ownership to include sports. And he is seeking to invest in the Bucks. CNBC reported on Thursday that he is close to purchasing a 15% stake in the franchise he played for during much of his NBA career.
The platform noted that the 70-year-old will be receiving a preferred limited-partner discount, which entitles him to a 15% stake in the organization. The deal values the team at $4 billion.
The Bucks finished third in the Eastern Conference last season, however, the team operated at a loss because it had to dip into the luxury tax and pay $52 million.
