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Udonis Haslem, three-time NBA champion and Vice President of Basketball Development for the Miami Heat, told Jabari Young on Forbes' The Enterprise Zone that he has sold off his Starbucks, Subway, Auntie Anne's and Einstein Bros. franchises.
Franchises are the standard first investment for a pro athlete. Udonis concluded they leave a passive investor as little more than a face at the ribbon-cutting, and moved his money into things he can own outright: stakes in two European soccer clubs and affordable housing in Miami.
"In the city of Miami, we do affordable housing... right now it's about owning. I want to own things. I want to be in ownership."
Udonis went undrafted, played 20 years and won three titles, and he now works as an NBA analyst for Amazon Prime. He learned to invest over breakfast with Andre Iguodala in the 2020 NBA bubble.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 59 minutes of audio, 7 minutes of reading.
Here are the 8 moments that matter.
Forbes: The Enterprise Zone · Oct 27, 2026 · 59m · 52m saved
With Udonis Haslem, Three-Time NBA Champion and Vice President of Basketball Development at the Miami Heat; NBA Analyst at Amazon Prime
Key Takeaways
Udonis sold his retail franchises because passive investors depend entirely on the operating partner and are "just a face"
Udonis now owns stakes in two European soccer clubs, Ipswich Town in England and Frosinone in Italy, plus other teams he can't yet name
Affordable housing in overlooked Miami neighborhoods is his core project, with one building finished in Wynwood and another in North Miami
Udonis's first stock, learned from Andre Iguodala in the 2020 NBA bubble, was Nvidia, bought early
The Miami Heat's culture works because the locker room polices itself, with the best player in the gym at 6:30 a.m.
"Spend the bank's money" is the money rule Udonis took from Alonzo Mourning
1. Why He Sold the Franchises
Udonis said franchise investing turned out to be "tedious," down to how the pickles are ordered. It depends entirely on strong operating partners.
Passive franchise investors are "just a face" while the operator runs the business, Udonis said
"As investors, we're just investors. We're just a face. We'll show up, we'll shake hands and kiss babies. But on the day-to-day, we're running it." — Udonis Haslem
The lesson he took from it was about people rather than the product being sold.
"It's really important to make sure you have good people around you... I think putting the right people in the right positions is something that I've definitely learned." — Udonis Haslem
