Ulysses Lee “Junior” Bridgeman had a relatively modest career by NBA standards. He spent 12 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 13.6 points across 849 games before retiring in 1987. He never made an All-Star or All-NBA team, but still—a decade in the NBA is nothing to sneeze at.
Bridgeman’s highest salary during his time in the league was $350,000. Throughout his 12 seasons, he made about $2.95 million. Comparatively, Bridgeman’s post-NBA career has been far more successful.
Before he even retired, Bridgeman had purchased three Wendy’s fast food locations. Without having to focus on preparing for and playing in basketball games, he established his Bridgeman Foods company, adding more restaurants and a Coca-Cola bottling distribution plant. He also owns the magazines Jet and Ebony. Through it all, his businesses have continued to grow, and those initial three Wendy’s have turned into a massive empire full of food and media.
By our estimates, his net worth is $600 million.
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And now he’s expanding his empire… back into the NBA.
It was just revealed that Junior Bridgeman is buying a 10% stake in the Bucks—the team he played on for 10 seasons. He’s buying in at a $4 billion valuation. Bridgeman is getting a preferred limited partner discount that will knock 15% off his price. At the 10% stake, that means Bridgeman is only spending $340 million for his stake.
The Bucks are currently owned by three ownership groups. Jimmy and Dee Haslam, Wes Edens, and Jamie Dinan each have about a 25% stake in the team after former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry sold his stake about a year and a half ago. The team was valued at $3.2 billion then.
Milwaukee finished third in the Eastern Conference last season and lost its first-round series to the Indiana Pacers. The team still has one of the best players in the league in former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, though they’ve struggled in the playoffs since winning it all in 2021.
Maybe Bridgeman could give the team a few pointers in his ownership role. Though he never won an NBA championship as a player, he’s certainly no stranger to success.