When former MLS star Jozy Altidore hung up his cleats in 2023 after nearly 20 years of professional soccer, he could have gone into TV. “Do you want to go right into TV? That’s like the first question every athlete is faced with,” he told Front Office Sports on a recent episode of Portfolio Players.
He didn’t go that route. He spent time with family, then quickly jumped at the opportunity to take minority ownership stakes in the NFL’s Bills and the NWSL’s Bay FC.
Becoming an NFL owner, in particular, is “like school all over again for me,” Altidore said. “Being able to kind of be a sponge, and listen and understand the business side of what makes the league so special, has been the best part of business school you could ever have.”
Altidore has been invested in the Bills since last December; he was part of a group of 10 limited partners who joined the team, including NBA greats Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, as well as private-equity firm Arctos.
Buffalo was an easy choice given that he spent roughly seven MLS seasons playing nearby for Toronto FC.
“There was a lot of connectivity through Toronto and Buffalo,” he said. “I spent so much time in Toronto, [the Bills] seemed like the best fit. So when the opportunity was presented, I took it with both hands for sure.”
The way that came about was yet another lesson for Altidore that he cites as his best advice for other athletes in preparing for their post-career: “Take every meeting.” He was at the MLS All-Star game when a meeting around the Bills crossed his plate.
“The big lesson is always try to expose yourself to different opportunities, different environments,” he told FOS.
The Bills were not Altidore’s first foray into ownership. In the prior year, he became a founding member of NWSL team Bay FC. The process of launching a franchise—from the badge and team colors to operational decisions—taught him invaluable lessons.
“Being part of that process was really eye-opening for me,” he said. “It really set the tone for how I look at sports franchises and opportunities.”
Bay FC co-owner Leslie Osborne, who launched Bay FC with Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, and Danielle Slaton, said on a panel at the FOS Huddle in the Hamptons in August that new celebrity and athlete team owners are starting in soccer because of the opportunity to get in at the ground floor with an expansion team.
“It’s a smart business move, not only for them, but for the clubs that are being formed,” Osborne said. “If you have athletes who have succeeded at the highest level possible, that have seen both sides on and off the field, it’s only going to help both on the business side but also as an investment side.”
Altidore cites other athletes-turned-investors as role models, including Magic Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, and David Beckham, plus his wife, pro tennis player Sloane Stephens—who has her own investment portfolio, including Ballers, which operates social racket sports venues.
“I’m living my dream right now,” he said. “Being able to expose myself to different things, learn as much as I can, and spend time with the people I care about most.”
