This article contains information regarding American professional basketball player Klay Thompson’s brand endorsement deals and business ventures.
Klay Thompson’s brand endorsement deals — Activision, Anta Sports Products, Bevel, Block Inc, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dapper Labs, Fanatics, Hasbro, Hugo Boss, Kaiser Permanente, Mercedes-Benz, PepsiCo, Shake Shack, Tissot, Waiakea Water, Subway, NERF, Panini, Cash App, BodyArmor, UberEats, Electronic Arts, Fantatics, Gillette
Current Endorsements
Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica, California, has a multi-year endorsement deal in place with Klay Thompson.
In recent years, Thompson has also shown his love for one of Activision’s most popular video game franchise in Call of Duty.
Anta Sports Products
Anta Sports Products, a Chinese sports equipment manufacturing company, roped in the American basketball star after his deal with Nike expired.
As per NiceKicks.com‘s Nick DePaula, Thompson’s current contract with Anta will run through 2026 and could pay him up to US$80 million with various incentives as part of the agreement.
Bevel
Bevel, a men’s grooming brand, roped in the four-time NBA champion as a brand ambassador in June 2020.
As part of the multi-year deal, the veteran shooting guard has featured in many marketing campaigns for the grooming brand.
Block
Block, an American public company which owns various businesses within the financial sector, also has a multi-year endorsement deal in place with Thompson.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings, an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise, along with Mountain Dew Legend, announced the signing of basketball stars Klay Thompson and A’ja Wilson for a campaign in May 2022.
In partnership with non-profit venture Project Backboard, this all-star team worked with local artists to build fun and inspiring places for youth athletes, especially local communities in San Francisco and Columbia, with refurbished basketball courts ahead of the holiday season.
Dapper Labs
Dapper Labs, a Vancouver-based software developer that creates blockchain-based video games and platforms including marketplaces selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs), announced in March 2023 that it had partnered with Thompson and his 941 Project to curate an all-new NBA Top Shot “Game Recognize Game” NFT Pack.
Fanatics
Fanatics, an American manufacturer and online retailer of licensed sportswear for various sports across the globe, also has a sponsorship deal in place with Thompson.
Hugo Boss
In October 2021, following its association with the NBA and German luxury fashion house Hugo Boss roped in Thompson as a brand ambassador to promote its new collection line that was designed in collaboration with the league.
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente, an American integrated managed care consortium based in Oakland, California, roped in Thompson as a sponsored athlete in October 2020 following a series of his career-threatening injuries.
Since signing the deal, Thompson has featured in several promotional campaigns with the American consortium.
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz, a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand, announced the signing of Thompson as a brand ambassador for its S-Class series of cars in June 2021.
Tissot
Tissot, a luxury Swiss watch brand owned by the Swatch Group, also the official watch and official timekeeper of the NBA, announced the signing of a partnership agreement with Thompson in April 2022.
As a Tissot brand ambassador, Thompson has been spotted wearing the Tissot PRX watch.
Waiakea Water
Waiakea Water, the first volcanic water and triple bottom line premium water of its kind and one of the fastest growing beverages in the US, roped in Thompson as a brand ambassador in November 2021.
In the first year of this partnership with Waiakea, Thompson provided over 3,000 children’s books to those in need in Hawai’i, the Bay Area, and his hometown in Washington.
Subway
American multinational fast food restaurant chain Subway, which specialises in submarine burgers, has been associated with Thompson since 2018.
Over the years, Thompson has appeared in several commercial campaigns for Subway.
Past Endorsements
NERF
NERF, a toy brand formed by Parker Brothers and currently owned by Hasbro, announced the signing of a multi-year partnership deal with Thompson in October 2020.
Following the deal, NERF released a commercial titled “Nerf Klay Thompson”, with Guy Fieri, Julian Edelman, Sky Brown, and Diplo also featuring in it.
Panini
Panini, an Italian company that produces books, comics, magazines, stickers, trading cards, and other items through its collectables and publishing, also had a sponsorship deal in place with Thompson.
As part of the deal, the Italian company also released several Thompson-themed trading cards and sports collectables.
Cash App
Cash App, a mobile payment service that primarily operates in the US and the UK, roped in Golden State Warriors teammates Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala as partners in January 2022.
As part of the deal, both Thompson and Iguodala received a portion of their salaries in Bitcoin, while the two also donated US$1 million in Bitcoin among fans.
BodyArmor
BodyArmor, an American sports drink brand owned by The Coca-Cola Company, signed an endorsement deal with Thompson in February 2015.
As part of the deal, Thompson featured in local in-store ad campaigns, featured in social media activations, appeared at local events, and helped generate awareness for BodyArmor.
Shake Shack | Uber Eats
Shake Shack, a New York-based American fast casual restaurant chain, and Uber Eats, an online food ordering and delivery platform launched by Uber in 2014, roped in Thompson as a sponsored athlete in December 2021.
Following the deal, Shake Shack launched the “Klay Trey” limited-edition meals across its various outlets in association with Uber Eats.
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, a California-based American video game company, also had an endorsement deal with Klay Thompson.
Gillette
Gillette, an American brand of safety razors and personal care products owned by Procter & Gamble (P&G), also had an endorsement deal in place with Thompson
Nike
American athletic footwear and apparel corporation Nike was Thompson’s first signature shoe brand.
According to many sources, Nike used to pay Thompson roughly US$3 million annually.
After his deal with Nike ended in 2014, Thompson joined Chinese manufacturer Anta.
Investments
Just Live CBD
Just Live CBD is an athlete-founded wellness and lifestyle activewear brand.
In March 2021, Thompson became an investor and a brand ambassador for the company.
Crosschq
Founded in 2018, Crosschq is the world’s first operating system purpose-built for hiring intelligence. The company provides talent-driven organisations with an integrated data and listening platform to optimise all aspects of hiring.
During one of its seeding rounds in August 2019, Cosschq earned Thompson as an investor with a US$4.1m investment.
Dappers Lab
In March 2021, Dapper Labs, the startup behind NBA Top Shot, CryptoKitties, and the Flow blockchain, raised US$305 million in a new funding round.
The round, led by Coatue, included investments from athletes such as Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, Alex Caruso, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and several other professional MLB and NFL stars.
Overtime
In April 2021, sports media company Overtime secured a US$80m fundraising round with major investors including Jeff Bezos, Drake, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and NBA stars Devin Booker, Trae Young, and Klay Thompson.
The company aims to use a portion of these funds to fuel its basketball league that pays 16-to-18-year-old players at least US$100,000 per year.
Sundae
In July 2021, San Francisco-based residential real estate marketplace Sundae raised US$80 million in Series C funding.
The funding round was co-led by Fifth Wall and General Global Capital, with participation from QED Investors, Wellington Management, Susa Ventures, Founders Fund, First American Financial, Prudence Holdings, Crossover VC, Intersect Capital, Gaingels, and Oberndorf Ventures. Klay Thompson was part of a long list of individual investors that also included his teammate Andrew Wiggins.
Carbon Health
In July 2021, multimodal healthcare provider Carbon Health closed a US$350m investment round led by Blackstone’s Horizon platform. Other companies to follow suit were Atreides, Homebrew, Hudson Bay Capital, Intersect Capital, Fifth Wall, Lux Capital, Silver Lake Waterman, Dragoneer Investment Group, and Brookfield Technology Partners.
Among individual investors were NBA players Klay Thompson and Khris Middleton, MLB players Nolan Arenado and Matt Chapman, US international footballer Weston McKinnie, former NFL player Alex Smith, Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO David Clark, and Salesforce co-founder and CTO Parker Harris.
Turquoise Health
In July 2021, Turquoise Health, an end-to-end healthcare pricing platform, raised US$5 million in seed funding.
The list of major investors included Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Box Group, with several individual investors chipping in, including ex-Athenahealth founder and current Zus Health founder Jonathan Bush alongside Klay Thompson.
Sleeper
Sleeper, a sports fantasy startup, was able to quadruple its valuation to US$400 million after raising US$40 million in a Series C funding round in September 2021 led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Other investors included General Catalyst and Birchmere Ventures, as well as angel investors in Klay Thompson (through the Thompson Family Foundation), Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones, and former NBA star Shane Battier.
Hyperice
Founded in 2010, Hyperice is an American health tech company that designs and manufactures recovery and movement enhancement products.
In November 2021, two months after announcing a strategic shift from being a sports recovery brand to a holistic high-performance wellness one, Hyperice announced new investments from Klay Thompson, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid, star golfer Rory McIlroy, and Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo. Also part of this group of athlete investors were Tony Finau, Nolan Arenado, Matt Chapman, Justin Upton, Sergio García, Dexter Fowler, Nigel Sylvester, Joe Holder, and Nicholas Kolcheff.
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