Anthony Edwards, Kyler Murray, and Bryce Young have acquired undisclosed equity stakes in Karma Automotive, the California-based luxury electric vehicle manufacturer, as part of a broader ownership restructuring announced this week. The three join former NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady and a group of professional athletes moving capital into automotive manufacturing rather than traditional endorsement contracts.
Karma, which emerged from Fisker Automotive's bankruptcy in 2014 and produces the $135,000 Revero GT sedan from its Moreno Valley, California assembly plant, has operated under private equity ownership since Wanxiang Group acquired the assets. The new investor cohort marks the company's first documented athlete-led capital raise. Edwards plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves on a $244 million max extension signed in 2023. Murray carries a $230.5 million fully-guaranteed contract with the Arizona Cardinals. Young, the 2023 first overall pick, operates under a $37.9 million rookie deal with the Carolina Panthers. None of the athletes disclosed investment amounts or ownership percentages.
The move reflects a documented shift in athlete portfolio construction. In 2018, 74% of surveyed professional athletes held equity positions in consumer goods or apparel brands, according to NFLPA data. By 2023, that figure reached 89%, with automotive and mobility investments growing from 3% to 19% of total non-real estate holdings. Karma's production volume remains modest—1,200 units delivered in 2023—but its repositioning as a technology platform rather than a volume manufacturer appears designed to attract strategic rather than speculative capital. The company licenses its skateboard EV architecture to third-party manufacturers and recently announced partnerships with a Taiwanese scooter producer and a Dubai-based luxury conversion shop.
For the athletes, the calculus differs from standard endorsement economics. Edwards currently holds endorsement deals with Adidas and Gatorade worth an estimated $8 million annually, according to marketing disclosures. Those contracts pay appearance fees and bonuses tied to performance milestones. Equity positions in private companies carry no guaranteed payout but offer exposure to exit events—acquisition, public offering, or secondary sales. McGrady, who invested in Karma earlier this year, previously disclosed a 2.3x return on his 2017 stake in a Houston-based automotive retail chain sold to Lithia Motors in 2021. His presence in this cohort likely provided diligence infrastructure for younger athletes evaluating the Karma opportunity.
The timing coincides with Karma's search for a manufacturing partner to scale production beyond its current 15,000-unit annual capacity. CEO Marques McCammon told trade publication *Automotive News* in November that the company was "in active discussions" with contract manufacturers in Mexico and South Carolina. Athlete investors with personal brands and social reach offer marketing leverage, but they also create reputational exposure if production delays or quality issues surface. Rivian's 18-month delivery backlog and Lucid's 47% stock decline since its 2021 SPAC debut provide recent examples of EV execution risk.
The athlete group's investment also carries symbolic weight. Karma positions itself as a California luxury brand with design studios in Irvine and a former Fisker executive team. Its investor base now includes prominent Black athletes at a moment when automotive marketing spend directed toward Black-owned media fell 22% year-over-year in 2023, per Nielsen tracking. Whether Edwards, Murray, and Young take board seats or advisory roles remains undisclosed, but their equity positions create alignment that standard endorsement contracts do not.
Karma plans to unveil a sub-$80,000 sedan platform in Q2 2025, targeting the Tesla Model S and BMW i7 segment. The athletes' investment closes before that launch window, suggesting confidence in pre-production milestones or access to order-book data not yet public. Murray's agent, Erik Burkhardt, also represents Kyler's Cardinals teammate Budda Baker, who holds a $14.5 million salary in 2025 and has previously co-invested with Murray in real estate. Whether Baker or other Burkhardt clients join the Karma round remains an open question ahead of the company's expected Q1 capital close.
The takeaway
Three max-contract athletes move from endorsement fees to manufacturing equity as Karma Automotive scales its EV platform ahead of a sub-**$80,000** sedan launch.
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