Drake wants to own the Toronto Raptors
Now that he's completely dominated the worlds of music, fashion and film, Canadian teen-soap-opera-actor-turned-international-rap-superstar Drake has his sights set on sports.
Sports ownership, that is. At 5-foot-11.75, it's unlikely we'll see the Toronto-born recording artist on an NBA team anytime soon. We might see him buy one, though.
Or maybe he's joking with this "future owner" of the Toronto Raptors Instagram post, I don't know.
Either way, it's worth exploring.
Drake has always been into sports — like, wayyy into sports — but he didn't always have the kind of cash flow needed buy an entire basketball team. Not even a Canadian one.
Might he now? It's hard to say.
Forbes estimates Drake's net worth at around $100 million as of 2018, making him the fourth-wealthiest hip hop artist on earth (tied with Eminem) after Jay-Z, Diddy and Dr. Dre.
Not bad for a 31-year-old from Toronto, but every team in the NBA is now reportedly worth more than $1 billion.
"Owner" is a relative term, however. Most teams are owned by multiple stakeholders who hold different percentages of shares.
Jay-Z, for instance, owned less than 2 per cent of the Brooklyn Nets before he sold most of his stake in 2013, but the prevailing theory among fans was that he alone owned the team (which was great for business, notes the New York Times.)
The NBA's Board of Governors passed a rule in 2015 mandating that all teams have 25 or fewer individual owners, and that every owner have at least 1 per cent of the franchise.
The Toronto Raptors are currently owned only by Larry Tanenbaum's Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Maybe Drake, who already serves as global ambassador for the Toronto Raptors, plans on buying some shares from MLSE?
Whether that's soon, in the distant future, or never remains to be seen — but the artist's friends and fans are loving the idea.
"That shit would be so raw please do it," commented Chicago's Chance The Rapper on Drake's Instagram post Thursday night.
"I got a GM," wrote American businessman (and LeBron James' best friend) Maverick Carter. "Let's get it!!!"
Champagne Papi
