*By Carlo Versano and Conor White*
Alex Rodriguez had one of baseball's most storied and complicated careers, but his investment strategy is quite simple.
That strategy, made famous on "Shark Tank," is about focusing on business segments the former Yankee both understands and is passionate about. He told Cheddar he prefers the "narrow and deep" over the "wide and shallow."
To pursue the narrow and deep, Rodriguez ー the beneficiary of two of the most lucrative contracts in sports history ー is now the CEO of his own investment firm, A-ROD Corp.
His business acumen was first observed during his famous baseball career, when he grew a real-estate portfolio from a single duplex to now more than 10,000 units across 11 states. Real estate was something he understood implicitly after growing up poor in Florida. "I dreamt as a young man that one day I could trade places with the landlord," he said.
He has used that same gut strategy to invest in new ventures in health and fitness, media and entertainment, and even a beauty brand (with the help of his girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez).
Among those investments: a partnership with esports powerhouse NRG. The esports industry is one that Rodriguez called a "phenomenon."
"The numbers and the business keep growing," he said. "Other than the Super Bowl, esports will take a backseat to nothing."
When A-Rod came on the scene as a rookie slugger for the Seattle Mariners in 1994, the idea of a player signing a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars was almost unheard of. But in 2000, he signed a $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers ー the biggest by far at that point.
Now, nine-figure contracts for baseball's best players are more common, and Rodriguez thinks they have room to grow even larger. The league grew from $1 billion to $10 billion in revenues during his time on the field, though he said contracts have not grown apace.
With two of the league's best talents, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, now in free agency, his record for most career earnings ($480 million) could finally be broken ー and he hopes it is. "I am cheering them hard," he said. "I hope they both break it."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/mlb-legend-alex-rodriguez-esports-is-quite-a-phenomenon).
Former NFL QB Lester Ricard Jr. joins Cheddar Bets to discuss playing--and beating--the same team three times in a season ahead of the NFC Championship Game.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Brian Bennett, College Basketball Senior Editor of The Athletic, joins Cheddar Bets to share his methods for forecasting long-term success for college basketball's top programs.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Super Group, the company behind leading global online sports betting and gaming businesses Betway and Spin, has landed on Wall Street. The company went public via SPAC with Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp., and now lists on the NYSE under the ticker symbol 'SGHC.' This debut comes as the U.S. sports betting market continues to heat up with more and more states legalizing the practice. Eric Grubman, chairman of Super Group, joined Cheddar to discuss.
Olivia Harlan Dekker and Sean Green provide their insight and top picks after studying the early lines for Super Bowl LIV, while Chris Spagnuolo breaks down betting trends from this NFL season using data and analytics. Sponsored by BetMGM.
Eight months after the National Football League announced $1 million in research into cannabinoids, the NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee has awarded the funding to two teams of medical researchers at the University of California San Diego and the University of Regina. The NFL says the studies will investigate the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and neuroprotection from concussion in elite football players, respectively. Cheddar correspondent Chloe Ailello spoke with Jeff Miller, the executive vice president of communications, public affairs, and policy for the NFL, about the studies, as well as the recent lawsuit filed against the NFL by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. "Maybe we can learn things from other alternative pain approaches that are going to benefit our player population and then sports medicine as a whole," Miller said.
Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL over racial discrimination, exposing a long-running problem the NFL has had with diversity in its top coaching and management positions. Eric Mitchell, the president and CEO of public relations and communications company LifeFlip Media, joined Cheddar News to delve into the scandal rocking the pro football world just before the Super Bowl. "There is a problem. If you look at who owns teams in the NFL, it's right, it's a good old boys club, it's a bunch of old white guys," he said. "So, it's exposing something that's been around for ages and now that we're sitting in 2022 has come up."
This April, Madison Square Garden will be hosting the first-ever women's boxing match to headline at the arena in its 140 years of history in boxing. Undisputed lightweight champion, Katie Taylor, and seven-division champion, Amanda Serrano, will go head-to-head for a career-high guaranteed seven-figure purse for both of them. The pair joined Cheddar News to talk about the upcoming "fight of their lives." "I mean, this is the first step I believe," said Serrano. "Unheard of, two women headlining the Garden, we get in the biggest paydays of our career, I hope it continues to break down barriers."
A year after announcing plans for a name change, Washington, DC's NFL team has settled on Commanders. The update comes after receiving years of criticism for the previous nickname deemed highly offensive by Native American groups and communities.
