Kobe Bryant, Who Invested $100 Million into a Venture Capital Fund, Snagged his First Sponsorship Deal as a Child in Italy

Kobe Bryant once snagged a sponsorship deal with his father, Joe Bryant’s basketball club in Italy with only one stipulation in mind. 

Kobe Bryant, like his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate, Shaquille O’Neal, understood soon enough that true wealth came from beyond just the contract you signed with a team. Shaq built a $00 million empire through savvy endorsements and investments and Bryant indulged in the same around his 17th season in the NBA. 

Him along with Jeff Stibel started a venture capital fund with a total investment of $100 million in 2013. They aimed to invest in the tech and start-up industry and in doing so snagged massive profits, none more notable than when Kobe’s BodyArmor investment forked over $200 million to his wife Vanessa Bryant, and his family. 

While it may seem as though Kobe Bryant took 17 long years to make actual waves in the endorsements landscape, he actually started off quite young. 

Back in 1984, Joe ‘JellyBean’ Bryant, Kobe’s father, moved his family to Italy. So, for nearly a decade, ‘The Black Mamba’ grew up surrounded by Italians and moved back to the States in Philadelphia at the age of 13.

Also read: Kobe Bryant, whose wife went to war with Nike, defended $35 billion business for standing with Colin Kaepernick

Kobe Bryant got his first endorsement deal in Italy. 

Kobe Bryant and his parents lived in Rieti, Italy and while there, Joe switched from one team to another. His second team, Olimpia Pistoia, is where the young Bryant snagged his first ever endorsement deal. It’s unclear how old he was but he was definitely between age 8 and 12. 

According to the New York Post, Bean, an incredibly clever young man, convinced the owner of the team to buy him a red bicycle. In return, he would have to rep the team by wearing their merch, essentially promoting the team while mopping up the hardwood. 

Italy isn’t just where Kobe would learn to pick up a few tactful business moves but more importantly, was the place where he first started to play competitive basketball. By the time he was 12, he was playing pick-up with fully grown, adult Italian men.

Also read: “I’ll wear your a** out”: Kobe Bryant once intimidated LeBron James and the entire ABCD camp