The Many Business Ventures of Dwayne Wade

Dwayne Wade has slowly become the heart of the Miami Heat. His last game before retiring was an emotional one. In fact, his last season has been marked with tremendous emotion from fans and peers alike. We saw many players exchange jerseys with D-Wade during his last season. The respect for the man was apparent and inspiring. We’ve heard many stories about Wade’s personal life over the years and through a memoir that he published in 2012, A Father First. He’s also set to publish a second memoir, 3 Dimensional, set to come out in bookstores this fall.

Not Slowing Down

The superstar player may already be retired, but it doesn’t seem like he’s ready to slow down at all. We don’t hear a lot of negativity about Wade in the media, even though he’s in the public eye quite a bit. For one, he’s married to famous actress Gabrielle Union, and the two have one child together. Wade seems to know how to handle it all—his family, his fame, and even his finances. Even before he retired, Wade capitalized on his basketball career in order to acquire a number of endorsements. Every single one of those endorsements has added to his net worth quite a bit, which is now roughly $120 million.

Some of Wade’s biggest endorsements include Gatorade, Lincoln, Staples, Sean John, T-Mobile, and Topps. One of his biggest deals is with popular shoe brand Converse. The company had a line of shoes named after him called, The Wade. He also has a line of Sidekick phones via telecommunications company T-Mobile. After his contract with Converse ended, Wade started a partnership with Nike in 2010, and that partnership lasted until 2012. Wade debuted his signature Air Jordans during the 2011 NBA Playoffs. After his contract with Nike and the Jordan brand, Wade began a partnership with Chinese sports brand Li-Ning. Li-Ning is an athletic goods company that was founded by a Chinese Olympic gymnast.

Other Sources of Income

Apart from his endorsements, we’ve seen Dwayne Wade appear in television shows, commercials, and magazines. He’s been featured as one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People and as one of the NBA’s best-dressed players according to GQ. Now that he’s retired, Wade is slowly expanding his business ventures—quietly and surely. Wade is big into fashion, and he first explored this avenue with a bow tie, neck tie, and pocket square collection via bow tie company The Tie Bar. Now it seems as if he’s venturing into the sock industry, which has blown up in recent years with crazy prints and flashy designs. Wade is looking to launch his own sock line, which will feature different kinds from athletic, casual, dress socks, and more. Wade will be partnering up with popular sock company, Stance, to launch his designs. His first design launch was an odd-looking three-part design that became a huge bestseller at $14 a pair.

Since his sock days, Wade has focused more of his business energy into luxury brands. He has already tapped into the wine industry. He’s got a line of Napa Valley red wines that sell for $250 per bottle. Wade partnered with wine experts at Pahlmeyer to create something unique for the former NBA star to put his stamp on. In addition, Wade has also partnered with Swiss luxury watch brand Hublot to create a couple of designs, so far. The last Wade watch that was released in 2014 sold for about $19,400 each.

Wade knew very well that basketball wasn’t going to last forever. At only 37 years old, Wade had already put in years into playing basketball, and the sport has made him into a millionaire already. But we’ve heard of so many athletes in the past that have run out of money because of poor management and lack of cash flow. Money runs out, and if there were no replenishment to expenditures, anyone’s net worth would dwindle down to zero at some point. In 2015 when the Miami Heat missed the playoffs, Wade decided to enroll in a class from the Harvard Business School in order to up his business game. It’s certainly a good move for anyone wanting to find success in the world of business, and Wade attended that class just in time. He currently has so many business ventures going on, and there’s probably more ventures coming in the future.

Other Information

In fact, Wade and his wife Gabrielle has already sent in trademark applications for a couple of names just in case they need them for a business name later on. The names were Kaavia James and Shady Baby. Kaavia James is for a clothing line that the company has been setting out to launch. The line will also include hair care products and jewelry. The Shady Baby brand will be the name for a loan out company that the couple has already started. Both business names might change later on, but for now, that’s two business ventures added to Wade’s long list.

Wade was a levelheaded basketball player, and he seems to be approaching business with the same kind of approach. We see nothing but success in the future of this talented person, and we see his brands exploding in other markets apart from China (his brand is only currently sold in the Chinese market). The best part about it all is the fact that no matter how much money Wade accumulates, he makes it a point to share his blessings. His philanthropic ventures are just as big as his business ventures, and we can see him expanding his charitable efforts along with his business growth. It’s certainly a win-win situation for him and everyone else.