NFL star Saquon Barkley won a Super Bowl and the Offensive MVP award last season, which came after making a move from the New York Giants to Philadelphia Eagles. Along with success on the field, Barkley is winning off the field with his investment strategy.
Barkley Early Bitcoin Backer
Barkley was one of the first professional athletes to put a portion of his salary or endorsement money into Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). The NFL star announced in 2021 that he would put his endorsement money, estimated at around $10 million, into Bitcoin. The investment has paid off with Bitcoin more than tripling in value since that time.
The NFL running back also backed cryptocurrency company Strike at the time.
A drop in the price of Bitcoin after the bankruptcy of FTX had Barkley worried, but he held his investment in the leading cryptocurrency, which ended up being a big win for his investment earnings.
Barkley has supported Bitcoin in the years since his investment, tweeting in 2022 that the average NFL career "is 3 years and inflation is real."
Earlier this year, Barkley spoke at a Coinbase event, recalling his past conversations about Bitcoin with Strike CEO Jack Mallers, Microstrategy Chairman Michael Saylor, investor Anthony Pompliano and his own agent Ken Katz.
Barkley's Portfolio
Alongside investing in Bitcoin, Barkley has also invested in multiple private companies, as reported by Polina Pompliano in a new post on "The Profile."
The report says Barkley has invested in more than 10 private companies, with his investments often ranging from $250,000 to $500,000 each.
Here are some of Barkley's current investments and the company valuations:
- Anthropic: $183 billion
- Anduril: $30.5 billion
- Ramp: $22.5 billion
- Cognition: $9.8 billion
- Neuralink: $9 billion
- Strike: $1 billion
- Polymarket: $1 billion
Along with the individual companies, Barkley is also a limited partner with Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, Silver Point Capital and Multicoin Capital, giving the NFL star more exposure to investments in private companies.
Many of Barkley's investments have gained significantly, including his early investment in Strike, which has increased more than 10 times in value. A $500,000 investment in Ramp is now worth $1.5 million for Barkley, with the company's valuation tripling since his initial stake.
Along with investing in companies, Barkley has also put a significant portion of his money into index funds like those that track the S&P 500 and into real estate.
Barkley's Investment Style And Influence
While some athletes invest in companies at an early stage, Barkley's investment style shows a preference to invest in companies later on in their journey after proving growth.
Barkley has also found himself taking advice from other billionaires and CEOs. At a Founders Fund event in May, Barkley networked, listened to others, and took in what was being said.
Along with wanting to invest for his family, Barkley is also investing for a time when he's not playing football. An NFL career that began in 2018 saw Barkley win Rookie of the Year and take the league by storm. Two years later, he tore his ACL in the second game of the season, missing the rest of the games.
The realization that his $31 million rookie contract could be lost if the injury sidelined his career or he didn't get another chance led to investing.
Barkley's business manager Katz encouraged Barkley to watch "Competition Is for Losers," a lecture from investor Peter Thiel. Barkley also read Thiel's book "Zero to One." The influence of Thiel led to Barkley investing, and now he's connected to the billionaire through the Founders Fund and several investments.
The Eagles’ star running back is in his second year of a three-year $37.75 million deal and enters the 2025 season as a frontrunner to win another Super Bowl and another Offensive Rookie of the Year. Whether Barkley wins on the field, he's likely to win off the field with his Bitcoin and investments.
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