Athletes from all the major American sports are getting into the farming business.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Celtics forward Blake Griffin, Islanders forward Anders Lee, Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, and 20 other athletes have purchased a 104-acre Iowa farm for around $5 million, per a report from Front Office Sports. The farm produces corn and soy, and the famous investors will lease the land to farmers while asking for a single-digit annual return
Patricof Co. arranged the group, which also included Kemba Walker, Khris Middleton, Zach Ertz, and Sam Hubbard, that bought the farm. Mark Patricof, the founder of the company, told Front Office Sports that the market was right for the athletes to invest in farming.
"We did three investments last year after doing six the year before," said Patricof. "The market changed. The world changed. Prices didn't necessarily go down, but valuations should have, so we held back. It was the right time in the cycle to put money into this asset class."
The purchase of this Iowa farm will not be the last one for this group of athletes. Four more farm purchases are on the horizon, and a watermelon farm in Oregon might be next on the list, per the report.
Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see athletes look for non-traditional investments. For instance, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Tom Brady have all invested in the Major Pickleball League.
