Anthony Edwards, Kyler Murray, and Bryce Young purchased minority stakes in Karma Automotive on Monday, the California-based ultra-luxury EV manufacturer that builds vehicles starting at $300,000. The three athletes declined payment for traditional endorsement services. No stake percentages were disclosed.
Karma builds fewer than 1,000 units annually across three models. The company exited bankruptcy in 2014 under Chinese parts supplier Wanxiang Group, which still controls the entity. Revenue figures are not public. The brand positions against Bentley and Maserati in the ultra-luxury segment, a category that saw 14% year-over-year contraction in US sales through Q3 2024. Edwards drives for the Timberwolves on a $244 million max extension. Murray signed $230 million with Arizona in 2022. Young, the Panthers' 2023 first overall pick, is on a $37 million fully guaranteed rookie deal.
The move continues a pattern visible since 2021: athletes with liquidity are trading endorsement income for early-stage exposure. Edwards previously invested in Overtime Elite and the Major League Pickleball expansion. Murray holds stakes in Gopuff and esports org Sentinels. Young participated in a seed round for NIL platform Yoke last spring. Each athlete will produce social content and appear at Karma events, but the arrangement is structured as investment plus promotional labor, not fee-for-service endorsement.
The signal is structural. Endorsement deals for non-apparel categories now compete directly with equity opportunities. A mid-tier QB endorsing a regional auto group might clear $500K annually for ten appearances and digital posts. That same athlete, allocating personal capital or leveraging credit lines against guaranteed contract value, can enter a friends-and-family round at a $50-80 million pre-money valuation and retain upside through an exit. Family offices working with athletes report 30-40% of liquidity now seeks private placements over paid endorsements in categories outside footwear and beverages.
Karma's calculus is different. The brand gains marquee athlete association without paying appearance fees that typically run $250K-$750K for a two-year deal with a franchise-level player. In exchange, Karma assumes dilution and grants athletes board observation rights or information access that endorsers never receive. The trade works when the company values long-term celebrity legitimacy over short-term cash outflows. It fails when the athlete's social following does not convert to vehicle consideration among buyers already shopping $300K+ cars.
The timing is worth noting. Karma announced the investment eight weeks after Lucid Motors reported 23% decline in Q3 deliveries and 18 months after Fisker entered bankruptcy protection. The luxury EV segment is consolidating. Karma, which produces vehicles in Moreno Valley, California, has avoided the cash-burn spirals that collapsed competitors, partly by keeping production modest and partly by remaining private under Wanxiang's balance sheet. Athletes entering now are betting the brand survives the next 36 months and either reaches profitability or becomes an acquisition target for a larger OEM seeking ultra-luxury EV technology.
Watch for coordinator hires inside Karma's marketing structure in the next 60-90 days. If the company adds a VP-level athlete relations executive or opens a Nashville or Phoenix liaison office near Murray and Young's team facilities, it signals this was the opening salvo of a multi-athlete roll-up strategy. Also track whether Edwards, Murray, or Young appear in the paddock at Formula E or at Pebble Beach in August. Karma's customer acquisition happens at concours events, not on Instagram. If the athletes show up in Monterey wearing Karma-branded polos, the deal is performing. If they don't, it was a capital deployment with minimal promotional upside.
Karma's next funding event is expected in H1 2025, per two people familiar with the company's cap table.
The takeaway
Three franchise athletes chose equity over endorsement fees in a **sub-1,000-unit** luxury EV maker, formalizing the shift from paid posts to cap-table presence.
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