Six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler has joined National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) side San Diego Wave as a minority investor.
Butler, 36, becomes the latest athlete to invest in an NWSL team this month after 2024 NFL Draft first pick Caleb Williams joined the investor group in Boston Legacy.
The Olympic gold medalist owns property in California and described San Diego as a city “close to my heart”. He became a soccer fan during the 2016 Rio Olympics after attending the men’s final and watching Neymar’s Brazil win gold.
“Soccer has been a passion of mine for a long time, and being part of the game in a meaningful way has always been a dream,” Butler said in a press release. “San Diego has become a city close to my heart, and I’m proud to invest in a club that is pushing boundaries, building something lasting, and setting a new standard for what women’s sports can be both on and off the pitch.”
The Levine Leichtman family completed their acquisition of the Wave in a deal worth a total valuation of $120 million in October 2024. Former principal owner Ron Burkle founded the club in 2021.
The Wave won the 2024 Challenge Cup (Elsa/Getty Images)
Butler joins former U.S. women’s national team forward Alex Morgan as a minority investor, with the former Wave captain joining the investment group in May.
Butler was traded to the Golden State Warriors in February, having represented Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls in an NBA career spanning 14 years.
His investment in the Wave marks his latest entrepreneurial venture, having founded coffee lifestyle brand BIGFACE.
“Jimmy is a competitor and visionary who shares our values and our ambition to grow this club,” said controlling owner Lauren Leichtman. “He brings a global perspective, a deep respect for the athlete’s journey, and a creative spirit that perfectly complements what we are building here at Wave FC.”
Wave secured a place in the NWSL playoffs at the weekend with a 6-1 win over Chicago Stars.
Why has Butler invested in San Diego Wave?
I’m less surprised by Jimmy Butler’s investment in an NWSL team than I am by his choice of club. He is a certified soccer head, known friends with players like Messi, Vinicius Junior, Paul Pogba, and Neymar, many of whom have been sat courtside at Miami Heat games in the past.
But considering the dynamic forward was born and raised in Texas, played at Marquette University, and spent his NBA career in cities like Chicago and Miami before landing with the Golden State Warriors, I would have expected him to invest in the Stars or Bay FC, as former Warriors player Andre Iguadala and WNBA star and Bay Area native Sabrina Ionescu have done.
But then I discovered Butler has a home just outside of San Diego, and the decision made some more sense. I can also see Butler, who clearly has special connection to Brazilian football, getting excited by Dudinha, who signed with the club over the summer and has made an instant impact on the team, who clinched their playoff spot this weekend in part thanks to the 20-year-old’s brace and assist contributions to their 6-1 victory over, ironically enough, Chicago.
If anything, this says a lot about the direction San Diego Wave ownership are taking the club for a player with Butler’s star power and aesthetics to want to be a part of it. As the owner of Bigface, a coffee purveyor and lifestyle brand with a location in San Diego, I foresee the introduction of a well-caffeinated, hypebeast-friendly cultural shift coming to the Wave.