Simmons eyes bigger slice of the pie as he shoots for US
He may have just signed a $250m contract, but the NBA star has his finger in many other pies.
He may have just signed a $250 million contract, making him the highest-paid Australian athlete ever, but basketball star Ben Simmons clearly remembers a time only a few years ago when he first saw a big amount of money.
“I (went) from college having no money to suddenly sitting in my sister’s house in Arizona one day having $15,000 cash. I just sat there counting it over and over all day. It was the first time I’d ever had that much in my account in my life,” Simmons tells The Weekend Australian.
“I just thought, what do you do with this sort of money? I thought it was an insane amount, until I got more involved in the business side (of sport) with my brands and my NBA contract.”
The brands and the contract make the $15,000 look like small change.
And the scrutiny that comes with the big deal also saw Simmons attract some controversy during a recent visit to Australia.
Yet the deals keep finding Simmons. First there is his huge new contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association in the US, and a lucrative sponsorship with global sportswear giant Nike.
His latest endorsement contract is one closer to his Australian home, clinching a deal to be the new face of Four’n Twenty pies with its parent company Patties Pies, owned by private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners.
The Four’n Twenty deal was signed during Simmons’ recent trip to Australia, which created some controversy given his decision not to play in the Boomers’ games this week against the US in Melbourne and the upcoming World Cup in China.
Simmons also copped negative publicity over complaining about door security at Melbourne’s Crown Casino and charging some attendees at children’s basketball camps, tickets for which sold out in minutes. His popularity has surged during his two years in the NBA, but it has brought some notoriety given he has been outspoken on social media on topics ranging from equality to being critical of gun rights in the US.
Patties chief executive Paul Hitchcock leaps to Simmons’ defence, and reveals plans for the company to expand production at its factory in the Victorian town of Bairnsdale to export pies to the US, where it plans to sell its products in convenience stores and petrol stations using Simmons’ brand power.
“We’ve got a new $20 million pie line coming in November, and that new capacity enables us to expand into the US,” he says.
“Ben is a great ambassador for Australia in the US and we’ve put a sales team over there … for what is a long-term build.
“Four’n Twenty are proud to be working with Ben. We want the Four’n Twenty of today to reflect the diversity of Australia in all its glory. Ben’s conversations on equality, whether it be related to ethnicity, status, rights, or opportunities are important and should be heard. Four’n Twenty is a brand that is inclusive to every gender, ethnicity, religion and sexual preference.”
Patties is also launching a Philly Cheesesteak Pie in Australia as part of its Simmons deal, and after selling its pies at 76ers home games last year will sponsor a 76ers Australian Heritage Night close to Australia Day in January.
Hitchcock says Patties chose Simmons because “when you talk to him you find family is very important to him. He’s also a great ambassador for Australia and he represents Australia very well in the US. He’s a proud Australian and he’s always talking about Australia, which I think has been lost on a few people lately.”
Simmons says he gets plenty of endorsement offers but wants to keep the number of brands he associates with to a minimum. He claims to have long been a regular pie eater, including indulging pre-match on occasion with fellow Australian, 76ers director of physiotherapy Scott Epsley.
But he says Four’n Twenty appeals to him “because I think it represents Australia in the best way possible” and, regarding endorsements in general, adds that “no matter how much money they come at me with, it’s about whether it fits with me”.
Simmons then adds with a laugh: “Well, unless it’s a billion dollars.”
Jokes aside, Simmons could earn more than half that vast sum on and off the court combined by the time his career has finished.
Having just turned 23 last month, he is about to be the richest Australian athlete ever. His new $US170m ($250m) five-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers that kicks in after the upcoming 2019-20 NBA season is astronomical.
He will be paid $US11.95m in 2019-20 but his salary skyrockets to $US43m the following year and about $US57m in the last year of the contract in 2024-25, by which time he will only be 29 and possibly on the verge of signing another lucrative deal.
Then there is his Nike contract, reportedly worth at least $US12m over five years, plus bonuses, in a deal which expires in 2021. It means Simmons is closing in on the shoe version of free agency, which may spark a bidding war. He says he would like to bring out his own signature shoe in the future. “That is one of the things I’m working towards and building my brand within Nike.”
When it comes to investing and looking after his money, Simmons has got some quick lessons in his career so far. He sacked his first financial adviser and says he got plenty of approaches from family members he didn’t know after signing his first 76ers contract in 2017. And he has seen plenty of warning signs of athletes who fritter away their millions quickly, spending on luxury items or on investments that go wrong.
“As soon as I got drafted I had all these people come out of the woodwork, saying ‘I need this’ or ‘I’m your uncle or your cousin, I know your dad and I have for a long time’ and so on. — That’s one of the toughest things that people aren’t good at in the NBA or being an athlete or having money, is saying no to people. I’m fine with it. I can say no to anybody.
“People always wonder, how do people spend that much money? Well, I see exactly how they do it. There’s things you like yourself, like houses and cars and things you might be into. You obviously want to invest as well, but at the end of the day it only takes one thing to take away the thing you love. So you have to have different avenues of money that come in to support yourself.”
Simmons has his own brand company, PRVN, and a media content firm called +61 (the Australian telephone area code) and some property investments in Philadelphia. “I’ve also looked at buying carparking lots in Philly. Everybody needs parking, especially in Philadelphia.”
Simmons has been encouraged to pursue business ventures by his agent Rich Paul, who says players should look outside the box for commercial opportunities. He also knows billionaires such as 76ers part-owner Michael Rubin, who owns the Fanatics e-commerce business. “I’m around Michael a lot when I’m in Philadelphia. I’ve looked at how he started at a young age with his own ski store and it’s incredible what he’s turned into now.”
Former teammate JJ Reddick has also provided mentoring. “I remember sitting in the (team) bus with JJ Reddick (talking) about investments. He’s been in the game for much longer, and that’s where I want to be eventually — understanding all that.”
Simmons has concentrated on safe investments but has bought some tech stocks, while avoiding offers to open restaurants or bars. “You just have to invest in things not just because people say it’s the hot thing or it is cool. But I’m constantly calling (sister and agent Emily) with different ideas that I’m interested in. It could be 50 ideas, but we pursue one. But it’s good to have the ideas.”
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