Junior Bridgeman, a longtime NBA forward who would eventually go on to become one of the wealthiest ex-athletes in the world, died at 71 on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks announced. According to WLKY, Bridgeman suffered a medical emergency during a speaking engagement in Louisville on Tuesday.
Bridgeman starred at the University of Louisville before getting selected No. 8 overall in the 1975 NBA Draft by the Bucks. He would remain in Milwaukee for nearly a decade, serving a key role on perpetually competitive Bucks teams that were led by Sidney Moncrief and Marques Johnson. He went on to play for the Clippers briefly before returning to the Bucks and retiring.
Bridgeman was a valuable NBA player, averaging 13.6 points per game for his 12-year career and helping several Milwaukee teams reach the Eastern Conference finals. He is better known, though, for what came after his playing career. Despite never making an All-Star team, Bridgeman died as one of the wealthiest former athletes in the world.
His post-career success began with investments in Milwaukee-area Wendy’s restaurants. Over time, he continued to purchase more and more franchises. He added a number of Chili’s locations to his portfolio, and eventually diversified into other areas, including Coca-Cola bottling and even media, as he purchased Jet and Ebony magazines in 2020. In 2024, Bridgeman bought a 10% stake in his former team, the Bucks.
In February, Forbes reported that Bridgeman’s net worth had surpassed $1.4 billion. While there is no firm way to accurately assess player wealth, this figure would put him in the running for highest net worth among players not named Michael Jordan, LeBron James or Magic Johnson, all of whom used their success on the court to build sprawling financial portfolios. Bridgeman did not achieve the same success as they did on the court, but still managed to compete with them off of it.
The NBA and NBPA (of which he was a former president) took notice, frequently tapping Bridgeman to speak to younger players about financial literacy and entrepreneurship. He dies having spent the final several decades of his life providing the best possible example to scores of NBA players of how to turn their athletic gifts into generational wealth.
“I am devastated to learn of the sudden passing of Junior Bridgeman,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “Junior was the ultimate entrepreneur who built on his impactful 12-year NBA playing career by becoming a highly respected and successful business leader. He served as a mentor to generations of NBA players and athletes across sports who were eager to learn from him about what it takes to thrive in the business world.
“Junior was a dedicated member of the NBA family for 50 years — most recently as a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, an investor in NBA Africa and as a player who set the standard for representing the league and our game with class and dignity. We express our heartfelt condolences to Junior’s wife, Doris, their children, Eden, Justin and Ryan, the Bucks organization, and his many friends and admirers in the basketball community.”
