MAMBA MONEY: Estate of Kobe Bryant Gets Massive $400M Return on BodyArmor Investment

By Paige Boyd, Managing Editor

Thanks to the recent sale of a popular sports drink, the estate of late NBA baller Kobe Bryant is set to get a major payday.

CBS News reports that Coca-Cola announced on Monday (November 1) that they paid $5.6 billion for an 85% stake in BodyArmor, the most that the company has ever spent on a single beverage brand. BodyArmor is currently the #2 best selling sports drink, behind PepsiCo's Gatorade and ahead of Powerade, which is also owned by Coke.

Bryant, who died in January 2020, was an early investor in the company. According to ESPN, the Laker icon purchased a 10% stake in the company in March 2014, eventually investing about $6 million into the company. With the sale of BodyArmor, his estate is set to earn about $400 million.

Mike Repole, BodyArmor's co-founder, said in a statement, "Ten years ago, we set out with a vision to create a better-for-you sports drink with a goal of becoming the #1 global sports drink. Our talented leadership team under Brent Hastie, our 400 dedicated employees and incredible Coca-Cola bottling partners have helped us build this remarkable brand. If it wasn’t for Kobe Bryant’s vision and belief, BODYARMOR would not have been able to achieve the success we had. I couldn’t be more excited to become part of the Coca-Cola family and set our sights on the future.”