NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo expands investment portfolio with Chelsea Women and Kalshi stakes

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has expanded his growing investment portfolio with back-to-back moves into women’s football and sports technology, taking a stake in Chelsea Women and becoming a shareholder in prediction market platform Kalshi.

The two transactions, announced within days of each other, highlight the NBA champion’s widening focus on sports ownership, emerging technology and high-growth segments of the global sports economy.

Antetokounmpo joins the ownership group of Women’s Super League champions Chelsea Women alongside tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, who acquired a minority stake in the club in 2025 as part of a strategy to accelerate commercial growth and international reach. The investment adds one of global sport’s most recognisable athletes to a club widely regarded as one of the most commercially valuable teams in women’s football.

The move reflects accelerating investor confidence in women’s sport, where rising broadcast revenues, sponsorship growth and expanding fan bases are driving rapid valuation increases. For Antetokounmpo, the investment also signals alignment with long-term structural growth themes rather than short-term financial returns, positioning him alongside a new generation of athlete-investors targeting scalable sports properties.

His stake in Kalshi further reinforces this strategy. The regulated prediction market allows users to trade on real-world event outcomes, including sports-related markets, and Antetokounmpo becomes the first NBA player to take an ownership position in the company. The partnership will include marketing initiatives and live event collaborations as the platform seeks broader mainstream adoption.

Together, the investments demonstrate a diversified athlete investment model focused on three converging trends: ownership in sports properties, participation in technology-led fan engagement platforms and exposure to high-growth market segments such as women’s sport.

Antetokounmpo already holds minority stakes in Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers and Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC, underscoring a consistent strategy of portfolio expansion across sports ecosystems. His latest moves suggest a shift beyond traditional franchise ownership toward infrastructure shaping how sport is consumed, commercialised and monetised.

The investments also reflect a broader industry trend in which elite athletes are increasingly acting as strategic investors, brand multipliers and global ambassadors for emerging sports ventures. With women’s football experiencing sustained commercial momentum and sports-adjacent technology platforms attracting institutional capital, Antetokounmpo’s dual investments position him at the intersection of two of the fastest-growing sectors in the global sports economy.

For Chelsea Women, the partnership delivers additional visibility and commercial leverage. For Kalshi, it provides cultural relevance and marketing reach. For Antetokounmpo, it represents another step in building a long-term sports business portfolio that extends well beyond his playing career.