Junior Bridgeman Was the Prototype for Business Success After Sports

Most people today know the name Junior Bridgeman for his business accomplishments more than for his NBA career—despite the fact he was a legendary sixth man whose jersey is retired by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Bridgeman died unexpectedly this week at 71, less than one month after his face was on the “daily digital cover” of Forbes with a headline about how he joined the “rare air” of basketball billionaires along with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and LeBron James. Forbes estimated his wealth at $1.4 billion.

Basketball stars, current and former, mourned Bridgeman on social media and television. 

Magic Johnson tweeted, in part, “Junior didn’t make a fortune as a player, but he turned what he earned into something extraordinary, becoming a billionaire African American businessman in this country… He is the blueprint to so many current and former athletes across sports that success doesn’t end when you’re done playing.” 

Shaq said, “A lot of people don’t know this, but I patterned my whole business acumen after Junior Bridgeman… He had Wendy’s, I started Big Chicken. Pepsi and Coke. Everything that he did I tried to pattern after him. I actually just talked to him the other day because we were getting ready to do business.” 

An All-American at Louisville who led the Cardinals to the Final Four in 1975, Bridgeman was drafted eighth by the Lakers that year. He was then part of a blockbuster trade that sent him to Milwaukee and brought Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Los Angeles, one of the biggest deals in league history.

As the now-famous story goes, after retiring from the NBA in 1987, Bridgeman’s first move was to buy five Wendy’s franchises. “In the beginning, I probably followed the same path that a lot of players that call me today follow,” Bridgeman told Sports Illustrated in 2014. “I want to get involved in the restaurant business, and I’ve got somebody that wants to run it. I don’t really want to run it, but hopefully it’s successful and you’ll start sending me a check every month.” 

He quickly learned the operational challenges of managing restaurants. He self-educated, put himself through training at every level of the business (including cleaning the bathrooms), and got more involved in the hiring.

His Bridgeman Foods empire eventually encompassed more than 400 Wendy’s and Chili’s franchises, establishing him as one of the most prominent franchise owners in the country. He expanded into the beverage industry by acquiring Coca-Cola bottling plants in 2017, which he managed through his Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

In 2021, Bridgeman made more headlines when he purchased the iconic Ebony and Jet magazines at auction. His daughter, Eden Bridgeman Sklenar, is CEO of the magazines.

Last year, Bridgeman bought a 10% stake in the Bucks, further cementing his ties to the city where he played from 1975 to 1984 and built his business empire. The deal, valued at $4 billion at the time, saw Bridgeman acquire the stake through a preferred limited partner discount.

The Bucks tweeted Tuesday night about Bridgeman, “His hard work and perseverance led him to become one of the nation’s top business leaders and, last September, Junior’s professional life came full circle when he returned to the Bucks family as an owner. His memory will always be an inspiration to the Bucks organization.”