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Marshawn Lynch Saved His Entire NFL Fortune and Went Beast Mode Post-Retirement
Welcome to Gridiron Wallet — where NFL players don’t just chase rings, they chase bags. From million-dollar grills to side hustles that slap, we’re decoding how football’s finest make it, spend it, and sometimes… fumble it. 🏈🔥
The latest edition of our newsletter covers Marshawn Lynch:
Lynch’s Investment in Culture: Ventures & Brand Expansion
Sports Ownership and High-Value Equity
Wealth Blueprint: Earnings, Philanthropy, and Financial Ethos
💸Here Comes the Money
Lynch’s Investment in Culture: Ventures & Brand Expansion
Marshawn Lynch is best known for his hilarious off-field persona and on-field bowling ball touchdown runs. He loves his Skittles, he loves Oakland, and he’s just here so he won’t get fined. But Lynch is a lot more than an entertaining and successful athlete. He is a real businessman and a keen investor.
Lynch earned five Pro Bowls, two All-Pros, and a Super Bowl ring, racking up over 10,000 rushing yards and scoring 94 total TDs. He was elite in his prime. And yet, across his 13 years in the NFL playing for the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, and Oakland Raiders, he made just $56.8 million. That’s less than half of what T.J. Watt signed for on a four-year deal. Times are a-changing.
But the man they call Beast Mode was smart with those $57 million. He saved it all. He didn’t make silly and flashy purchases. Instead, he began to invest. What is the first thing he invested in? Himself.
Well, technically, his brand, centered on the Beast Mode nickname. Over the last 10 years, he has grown the Beast Mode empire. He’s got apparel and storefronts (the first of which opened its doors in Oakland in 2016 during Super Bowl 50), he’s got a production company, and in 2017, he even came out with ‘Beast Mobile,’ an ad-supported cell phone service. He can do it all.
Lynch has expanded beyond the borders of Beast Mode as well. A proponent of marijuana and its benefits for rest and recovery, he founded his own cannabis company in 2021, called Dodi Blunts. They provide blunts to dispensaries around the Bay Area, and part of the proceeds go to the Last Prisoner Project, a group focused on drug policy reform.
Lynch has also invested in several start-ups and tech companies. He was part of a star-studded group of investors (including former NBA player Luke Walton and rapper Quavo) in Portl Inc., a holoportation tech company. He has also invested in Kinly, a “full-service AV and UC integrator,” and Chronicled, a “platform for data alignment and transaction settlement.”
Needless to say, Lynch’s investment portfolio is among the most eclectic you’re going to see. And it seems to be working for him.
✍️Paper Play
NHL Equity: Seattle Kraken
In April 2022, Marshawn Lynch joined the NHL’s Seattle Kraken as a minority owner. He and the Grammy-winning musician Macklemore, who joined the ownership group together, aimed to drive up community engagement with the team. At the time, the team’s CEO said they didn’t need two more investors, but the unique opportunity was too good to pass up.
Lynch, too, enjoys being a part of the Kraken. But they weren’t his first venture into sports ownership. A year before, the former running back got involved with another sports team.
Community Sports: Oakland Roots & Football Ventures
In April 2021, Lynch announced that he was joining the ownership group of the Oakland Roots SC, a soccer club in the USL, one division below the MLS.
After joining, Lynch said it was something he “had to do,” having grown up in the area and witnessed many professional teams lose their funding.
That same year, Lynch also became a co-owner of the FCF Beasts. It’s a fan-controlled indoor football league team that gives fans the power to vote on real-time play calls. He saw the investment in the team as a new and innovative way to connect with his city and its fans. He co-owns the team with WNBA star Renee Montgomery.
Esports and Athlete-Driven Sports Media
Long before Lynch ventured into sports ownership, he tested the waters as an investor. In September 2017, he splurged some money on NRG Esports, alongside Michael Strahan and Jennifer Lopez. The trio pooled together $15 million to get involved in the esports scene because they saw it rapidly emerging as a popular revenue stream. Needless to say, they haven’t looked back since.
Way back in 2013, Lynch smartly trademarked the slogan, ‘Beast Mode.’ He began offering t-shirts, hats, and other apparel under the brand. Then, in 2020, he secured a partnership with Fanatics. It proved to be a success, as the company and Lynch profited $5 million in the first half of sales in 2021.
Lynch donated most of his profits to his charity, Fam 1st Family Foundation, showing that he’s a true philanthropist who cares about keeping the Oakland community prosperous. Since then, he’s made over $10 million in profits and could be on track to secure a net worth of over $100 million when it’s all said and done.
💡 Gridiron Wallet Trivia
Did you know?
🌿 Marshawn Lynch was fined over $1.2 million throughout his NFL career. The penalties ranged from media noncompliance and on-field conduct to his infamous cleat and celebration violations. Despite the hefty total, Lynch turned his rebellious image into a brand—and still became one of the league’s most beloved and financially savvy stars.
🏈✨Caring By Sharing
Wealth Blueprint: Earnings, Philanthropy, and Financial Ethos
Marshawn Lynch earned the moniker of ‘Beast Mode’ in the NFL for a reason. But his financial game off the field has been more brains than brawn.
Over 12 years in the NFL, the Seahawks legend amassed a total of $56.7 million in salary. Adding his endorsements and investments in that period, Lynch’s career earnings reportedly reached around $66 to 76 million. His current net worth is $35 million.
The most remarkable aspect of this is that he never touched his NFL paycheck and lived entirely off endorsements, and used them to fuel his investments.
Lynch’s hefty endorsement income, pegged at a whopping $5 million per annum, came from his partnerships with Nike, Microsoft, Subway, Frito-Lay, and EA Sports. His iconic Skittles deal was his most lucrative as well as impactful.
In 2014, the legendary NFL running back teamed up with Skittles. Their partnership ensured that each touchdown of his would trigger a $10,000 donation to his Fam 1st Family Foundation. The deal reinforced Lynch’s motto: Power and purpose in tandem.
Fam1st, Lynch’s foundation, strengthens the community in Oakland through youth mentorship, homeless outreach, affordable housing, and funding for youth sports.
Moreover, Lynch’s Beast Mode apparel line, which he launched in 2014, channels its profits toward these causes. The sales through Fanatics help fund local charity initiatives.
Beyond his clothing line, Lynch is a minority owner of an NHL team, has backed a holoprojector startup, Proto/Portl, and recently launched Dodi Blunts, a Bay Area cannabis brand with proceeds supporting criminal justice reform.
One look at all of Lynch’s investments, and it is easy to observe that philanthropy and social welfare are a big part of the companies associated with him. Which is why it is important to acknowledge that none of what the former Seattle star has done with his money is accidental. It’s calculated, it’s purpose-driven, and most importantly, made up of investments that are legacy-defining.
📆 NFL Money Stat of the 1967
Players on the winning team in Super Bowl I each earned just $15,000, while the losers got $7,500. At the time, that was nearly half a year’s salary for many players—making it one of the biggest single-game payouts in pro football. Today’s Super Bowl winners make over 10 times more for one game.