Dominique Wilkins has recently invested in a second-division soccer club in the United States. Birmingham Legion FC competes in the USL Championship, the second-biggest soccer league in the country after Major League Soccer. Recently, the $16,000,000-worth former NBA star appeared on ‘Vlad TV‘ and talked about the rise of soccer in the United States with the arrival of Lionel Messi in South Beach.
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Wilkins is not the only NBA legend who has gotten actively involved with the sport. Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is a part-owner of Liverpool FC, one of the biggest clubs in England and the planet. A lot of NBA superstars have invested in Major League Soccer as well. Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Brewers, James Harden with the Houston Dynamo, and Kevin Durant’s 35V with Gotham FC are all actively involved.
NBA legend Dominique Wilkins talks about buying a soccer team
Recently, Dominique Wilkins was invited as a guest on ‘Vlad TV’ to talk about his career choices and the decisions that have shaped his life. One such topic of discussion was the purchase of a soccer team by the NBA superstar. Wilkins believes that soccer is getting a major boost in the United States, especially after Lionel Messi signed a deal to play for Inter Miami. Here is what Wilkins said to DJ Vlad:
“It’s changing. Mark my words, soccer is changing. It’s exploding in the US right now. Now with Messi coming over to Miami, the attention that is put on soccer, soccer is exploding. It was a great opportunity, and I wanted to do it.”
Dominique Wilkins has invested in Birmingham Legion FC, a second-division soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team plays in the USL Championship and is in its fifth season. The NBA superstar got in contact with the locally-owned team through his partnership with ‘KultureCity‘. The amount invested is not known at the moment. Wilkins also expressed excitement about the training facilities and infrastructure of the football club.
Wilkins filed a lawsuit to get money from an overseas club
In 1995, Wilkins decided to take his career overseas and joined a Greek Club called Panathinaikos. The club had entered into a two-year 7 million contract with the former Atlanta Hawks star, but the contract was terminated after one year due to differences between the parties.
However, the Greek Club refused to pay the $4 million that was initially promised to Nique. According to the contract, the money was already deposited in a US Bank as a line of credit to be availed by the basketball star. He filed a lawsuit against Panathinaikos and won in the courts. Subsequently, Wilkins did not return to the country and rejoined the NBA to spend his final playing years.
