Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is a beloved figure in Arizona. He’s spent his entire career on the Cardinals and, despite plenty of opportunities to leave, has always stuck around. He’s been to the Super Bowl once, and he’s put up numbers that all but guarantee him a spot in the Hall of Fame when he chooses to call it quits.
Fitzgerald is 36 and will return to the Cardinals next season, as he agreed to a one-year deal with the franchise last week. Still, Father Time is undefeated, and life after football is coming for Fitz sometime soon. Having said that, a piece of news on Wednesday gave a glimpse into a potential post-NFL business interest, as Fitzgerald has bought a stake in the Phoenix Suns to become a minority owner of the team.
The Arizona Cardinals’ iconic wideout, who first bought season tickets in 2005, recently purchased an undisclosed minority stake in the NBA franchise, whose estimated value was $1.5 billion in 2019, according to Forbes.
“It’s an investment in something I have supported since I’ve been in Arizona,” he told NFL.com by phone. “It gives me another connection in the community I love and always will live in. It’s a long-term commitment I wanted to make for life after football.”
Fitzgerald has apparently long been connected to the Suns by not only attending games but apparently having a friendship with Suns owner Robert Sarver. And as Adrian Wojnarowski and Adam Schefter of ESPN pointed out, this means Fitzgerald will join Aaron Rodgers as current NFL players with ownership stakes of NBA squads.
Reporting with @AdamSchefter: Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has purchased a minority stake in the Phoenix Suns, becoming second active NFL player with an NBA ownership share, league sources tell ESPN. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers has a stake in Milwaukee Bucks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 22, 2020
It’s nice to see that Fitzgerald is looking more into what he can do with his career after football, especially with an organization that’s located in the only city he’s called home during his NFL career. Hopefully, we’ll get to see him involved with the Suns in a number of fun ways — Larry Fitzgerald bobblehead night, anyone?
