17 Celebrities Who Have Invested in Esports

• Invested in: Mavs Gaming, Unikrn

Mark Cuban's name rings bells in the world of sports, period. Within the realm of basketball, he's the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. Speaking of the Mavericks, Cuban also owns the team's esports initiative. And that's the team known as Mavs Gaming, which is a big competitor within the NBA 2K League and is most known for its groundbreaking decision to recruit the first female NBA2K League player (Ziah "ZiggyZiah" Minor). Cuban's other esports investment is tied to Unikrn, which is a blockchain-based esports betting platform.

• Invested in: 100 Thieves, Player's Lounge

"October's Very Own" is known worldwide as the most revered rapper, singer, and actor hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Call him whatever else you'd like - "Champagne Papi," "Drizzy," 6 God," etc. Just be sure to also salute him as "investor." Drake's esports contributions come in the form of him becoming one of the co-owners of esports organization 100 Thieves alongside Scooter Braun and his investment in an esports betting platform called Players Lounge.

• Invested in: Fade 2 Karma

The baddest man on the planet used to devastate anyone unlucky enough to stand across from him in the boxing ring. Besides his pugilist ways, Mike Tyson has invested in a number of rewarding business ventures that have kept him prevalent in the public eye. Among gamers, his esports cache comes from his investment in the team most known for its pro gaming exploits in Hearthstone - that team is known as Fade 2 Karma.

• Invested in: NRG Esports

The NBA legend known as Shaquille O’Neal has his hands in all sorts of business ventures, plus he has a bevy of on-air roles that point to just how relatable and respected he is. As far back as 2016, Shaq threw his financial might behind the popular esports team founded by Sacramento Kings co-owners Mark Mastrov and Andy Miller - NRG Esports. Shaq isn't the only one who purchased equity in that esports collective - Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez also invested right alongside "Big Shaq."

• Invested in: PlayVS

Sean Combs is the prolific rapper frontman for Bad Boy Records that has far too many nicknames to keep track of. The one we'll call back to here is the one we first became familiar with - "Puff Daddy." On the sports investment front, Mr. Combs threw all his financial weight behind something very cool that pushes pro gaming forward on a high school and collegiate level. That venture is called PlayVS, which is an amateur esports league that hosts competitions for high school students and affords them additional opportunities along the way.

• Invested in: TSM

Steph Curry is the three-pointer maestro that puts in work as a point guard for the Golden State Warriors. The young king we always bring up as "Steph Curry" joined forces with fellow Warriors teammate Andre Iguodala and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young as part of an investment group that threw a whole lot of funds at esports organization TSM.

• Invested in: Vision Esports (Echo Fox), Andbox

Kevin Durant, who is the Brooklyn Nets' current small and power forward, is also another popular NBA player that's one of the most prolific celebrities who have invested in esports. Durant made sure to support the esports investment fund and management company Vision Esports right alongside Odell Beckham, Jr. and Rick Fox (it's worth noting that that group's Echo Fox team is no more, sadly). And thanks to his Thirty Five Ventures investment firm, Durant also placed money into the New York esports organization Andbox.

• Invested in: Echo Fox

Rick Fox, who famously played in the NBA for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, created the esports team Echo Fox after purchasing the NA LCS (League Championship Series) spot of Gravity Gaming. Before folding in 2019, Echo Fox became most known for competing in games such as League of Legends, Call of Duty, CS:GO, etc. In the end, however, Echo Fox's LCS spot was taken by esports organization Evil Genuises.

• Invested in: Vision Esports (Echo Fox)

As we mentioned in the Kevin Durant entry on this list, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. invested in Vision Esports right alongside his fellow celebrity sports players.

• Invested in: GameSquare Esports

The world's most recognizable skateboarder is a cultural icon amongst gamers due to him being the cover athlete for the beloved Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game series. Hawk dug even deeper into the world of gaming via esports by becoming a special advisor to CEO Justin Kenna for GameSquare, which is a company looking "to make it easier for global brands and esports communities to play together." GameSquare is also recognized as the parent company of UK-based esports agency Code Red Esports.

• Invested in: Axiomatic Gaming (Team Liquid)

Basketball aficionados hold Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. in high regard as arguably the greatest point guard to have ever hit the court. His post-NBA career has resulted in Johnson investing in hugely successful business ventures - one of them is most definitely attached to the world of esports. His place on this list of celebrities who have invested in esports comes from his investment in the ownership group Axiomatic Gaming ("an esports and gaming enabler"), which partnered up with Team Liquid. Johnson is co-owner of the group alongside fellow investors Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber and Washington Wizards co-owner Ted Leonsis.

• Invested in: Axiomatic Gaming (Team Liquid)

Old heads that watched Michael Jordan's rise to basketball's higher echelon will always reflect on how much of a cultural icon he has remained to this very day. The greatest NBA player of all time dipped his toes into the esports realm by participating in the Series C funding round for Axiomatic Gaming, which is the parent company of Team Liquid.

• Invested in: Gen.G Esports

The world's most lovable guy label has to be attached to the world-renowned "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Will Smith always gives off great vibes whenever he's onscreen - thankfully, he brought those same warm vibes to his esports endeavors. Smith's large investment came during a big funding round for Gen.G Esports, an esports organization that sponsors teams in China, South Korea, and the US.

• Invested in: Guild Esports

David Beckham is damn near royalty in the world of soccer - his legendary stature still looms large over the sport as he's the current president & co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Beckham's investment in Guild Esports also coincided with his becoming co-owner of the company. Guild Esports is most famous for building the next generation of pro gaming athletes via its online esports training subscription service called Guild Academy.

• Invested in: ReKTGlobal

Seeing as how the band Imagine Dragons penned and performed the song “Warriors” in 2014 for the League of Legends World Championships, it makes all the sense in the world for them to be so highly invested in gaming as a whole. Back in 2018, the band's drummer Daniel Platzman and guitarist Wayne Sermon made a huge investment and acquired a major stake in ReKTGlobal. And in the process, they both became co-owners of the esports organization and its squad, Team Rogue.

• Invested in: Unikrn, Backbone

Actor Ashton Kutcher is a pretty big advocate for esports - he even spoke to its massive future potential during his time spent scarfing down chicken wings during an episode of Hot Ones. Kutcher's popped up on this list of celebrities who have invested in esports since he's invested in the esports betting and entertainment media company Unikrn via his and fellow investor's Sound Ventures investment firm. Kutcher also threw some money into Backbone, a gaming tech company that specializes in producing consumer electronics and software products for mobile devices.

• Invested in: Rogue

Steve Aoki's musical exploits are many - he's a DJ, record producer, and music programmer whose name rings bells throughout the recording industry. His name also holds plenty of weight in the world of esports as he's invested in the organization called Rouge, which he happens to be co-owner of right alongside popular YouTuber Vikram "Vikkstar123" Barn. Rouge was eventually acquired by the digital entertainment organization known as ReKTGlobal.