Atlanta Falcons Safety Jessie Bates III Invested $150K In SpaceX’s 2022 Series J Round, Now His Investment Could Be Worth 10 Times More
· Yahoo Sports
NFL star Jessie Bates III is creating a legacy that will make his hometown proud.
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The Pro Bowl safety is from Fort Wayne, IN, an area he describes as not the most privileged, but one that played a role in shaping his work ethic today. He was raised by a single mother who worked two jobs until late at night, and while his mother may not have realized it at the time, Bates took note.
“My mom did a heck of a job of raising me. But I would say sports definitely gave me more exposure to see more than just going to work from 9 to 5,” he told AFROTECH in an interview.
Bates played football at Wake Forest University for three seasons. In 2018, the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals drafted him and signed him to a four-year rookie deal worth $4.9 million, according to Spotrac. He is currently signed with the Atlanta Falcons. His contract is significantly higher than previous contracts, with him set to earn $64.02 million over four years. This brings his total career earnings to $70.03 million so far.
Bates didn’t enter the league with a great understanding of business or ownership, he acknowledged. With the help of his advisor, Michael V. Ledo of RISE Family Office, he learned that making money is only the beginning. The key is having a plan to ensure he puts his earnings to work so they can continue to grow long after he’s done playing.
“We set up a lot of great things. Even when I didn’t have that type of money, we were just setting up the structure of what I wanted my life to look like. I have a little brother who just graduated high school last year, and I remember setting up 529s (college savings plans) for him my rookie year, and now he has six figures of college funds to go to college wherever he wants and go study whatever he wants … You talk about legacy, that’s the type of stuff that I feel like in Fort Wayne, IN, there wasn’t a lot of kids on the south side of town having capital to go and explore their dreams … I gotta make sure that I’m taking advantage of this platform that God has given me,” Bates expressed.
PortfolioBates is making strategic investments with his fortune, including investing in a high-growth self-storage facility in Marble Springs, TX.View this post on Instagram
He also has stake in various tech companies, including SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks, Cart.com, and Turo, according to information shared with AFROTECH.
In particular, regarding his investment in SpaceX — which became publicly traded in June 2026, making history as one of the largest IPOs at $1.77 trillion — he invested $150,000 in its Series J round in 2022, when the company was valued at $127 billion, AFROTECH learned. The opportunity was presented to him through the RISE Family Office.
Bates describes himself as a conservative investor, making his decision to participate in the round a notable departure from his typical approach. Still, he wished he had invested even more in hindsight. Bates is now preparing to sell his stake in the company.
“You invest six figures into a company and four or five years later, you 10X. That’s opportunities I don’t think that a lot of guys are speaking about. In the locker room, it’s just about what car we got, what kind of house we got. It’s bigger than that and hopefully we can continue to build that community in the NFL to help guys see things from a different perspective,” Bates acknowledged.
Foundation
Beyond Bates’ portfolio, he is also investing in his community. He has intentionally hosted four single mothers and their children annually to attend one of his games as well as grab dinner and go bowling. When Bates moved to Atlanta, he wanted to expand his impact through his foundation, the Jessie Bates III Foundation (JB3 Foundation), which is guided by the following pillars: healthy families, football, and finance.
Photo Credit: Malachi WheelerThe foundation, of which his mother serves as a director, hosted a sports camp in his hometown, teaching kids how to watch game film and Bates’ approach to budgeting. It has also partnered with Habitat for Humanity to help build affordable homes in Atlanta.
“We were blessed to be a part of something like that and look forward to a partnership to where I can bring affordable housing to single moms in Fort Wayne. So I think the foundation has given us an opportunity to make a bigger impact,” Bates mentioned to AFROTECH.
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Bates also revealed plans to host mothers around Christmas and connect them with financial professionals.
“I’ve been in the NFL for nine years now. You see what people are doing that’s bigger than just being a great football player. I think that’s what I’m kinda focused on and being a leader, not just in the locker room, but a leader in my family, a leader in the community, and really embracing that role,” he said.
The post Atlanta Falcons Safety Jessie Bates III Invested $150K In SpaceX’s 2022 Series J Round, Now His Investment Could Be Worth 10 Times More appeared first on AfroTech.
The post Atlanta Falcons Safety Jessie Bates III Invested $150K In SpaceX’s 2022 Series J Round, Now His Investment Could Be Worth 10 Times More appeared first on AfroTech.