Bobby Wagner’s latest moves are part of a larger plan to have an impact similar to Magic Johnson’s in the business world.
Already five times All Pro as linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks, Wagner, 30, is trying to match his success on the field as a founding member of Fuse Venture Partners, working alongside former Microsoft executive John Connors and former Amazon executive. Satbir Khanuja. .
The company, announced this week, is in the early stages of Seattle venture capital fund investment, and specializes in helping e-commerce companies thrive in the modern economy with software. Wagner is from Los Angeles, so it stands to reason that he follows the model of Johnson, whose companies are allegedly worth a billion dollars.
“If I can get to where that level is, or when I get to that level, and we start investing in things together, it would be amazing,” Wagner told ESPN in a phone interview this week.
Wagner has exposed his commercial acumen. Last year, he negotiated his own three-year, $ 54 million contract with $ 24.5 million guaranteed at the time of signing. Even a handful of veteran NFL agents have privately praised the work he did.
He made Forbes ’30 Under 30 for several successful investments, including Denali Therapeutics and Andreessen Horowitz’s $ 500,000 Minimum Investment Cultural Leadership Fund, which includes contributions from Diddy and Shonda Rhimes.
What started out as a modest goal when entering the league in 2012, don’t follow the traps of NFL players going bankrupt shortly after their careers end due to reckless financial choices, became a total passion.
A casual meeting at a Seahawks business seminar made him Denali, which Wagner said worked very well. Lately he has focused on technology and how to set an example for young black entrepreneurs.
“There should be more representation of color in this space,” Wagner said. “It is a great opportunity to get involved in a [technological] space where there are not many people who look like me. As I grow and succeed, I can bring some people with me. “
Wagner prides himself on balancing his day job with his side businesses. On a typical working day in Seattle, Wagner will arrive at the Seahawks’ facility around 6:30 am After training and meetings, he will head to Fuse’s offices for the afternoon sessions. You will listen to investment arguments and plan to build different companies with Fuse CEOs.
Wagner is proud to set a standard for NFL players, knowing he performed well when it came time to negotiate his own contract in 2019. He is the game’s highest-paid insider linebacker.
“I really hate the idea that players have to focus solely on their sport,” said Wagner. “I really think so, you have to be excellent in your sport. But a lot of men, when they finish, they don’t know what to do and the narrative is’ oh, I should have figured it out before left [the game]’. But when he tries to figure it out before he leaves, everyone thinks he’s not focused on his daily work. You can’t have it both ways. … You can follow your passion and your game doesn’t have to fall. “
In a recent ESPN project asking nearly 60 NFL staff members to rank the top 10 players in each position, Wagner was voted the # 1 linebacker (all inside linebackers and 4-3 outside linebackers) by a broad margin. He wants his business ventures to one day overcome that intensity in the field.
“If I can be a better businessman than a soccer player, it would be quite successful, because the bar is high enough,” Wagner said. “I just want to be someone that a football player can see and say this guy dominated on the field and was able to transition and do just as well. I feel like we need more of that.”
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