Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has a coffee company that could help the forward become a billionaire - despite making just $45million annually as an NBA player.
Butler is enjoying an incredible postseason, leading the Heat to the 2023 NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets. The 33-year-old has inspired Miami to series wins over the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, with the Eastern Conference Finals going to seven games.
Butler has a net worth of approximately $80m after starring for the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers and Heat across his 12-year NBA career. However, it his BIGFACE coffee brand that could be his ticket to huge wealth.
During the 2020 NBA bubble inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic, Butler decided to utilise his spare time by creating his own coffee company, BIGFACE. The idea began as Butler sold $20 cups of coffee to fellow NBA players by using an espresso machine and coffee beans from El Salvador that he brought to the bubble.
The plan proved to be a success as the Heat star targeted rich NBA players with the pricing of the coffee, while he was aware coffee options would be limited in the bubble. In 2021, Butler partnered with Shopify to launch the business through their creator program after he made thousands of sales in Orlando.
Butler decided to create a business entity by filing trademarks for BIGFACE. The six-time All-Star hired Britt Berg as BIGFACE COO while purchasing $60,000 worth of coffee beans to get the company started.
He launched BIGFACE on International Coffee Day and promoted it immensely before opening a physical store. Butler launched pop-up shops at the Miami Open while he also collaborated with Lids at Miami Beach - but he’s targeting a $100 cup of coffee as the key to success.
“Specialty coffee is real, and a $100 cup is coming soon,” Butler said. “Someday I’ll have all the coffee knowledge on why it’s worth it.”
According to sports entrepreneur Andrew Petcash, it takes Starbucks roughly 364 million cups of coffee with an average price of $2.75 to reach $1billion whereas Butler’s BIGFACE could reach the figure in just 10 million cups. He has continued to boost the brand by collaborating with specialty coffee companies, including Artpresso Design.
The collaboration between Artpresso Design and BIGFACE coffee includes espresso machines, but the design studio will extend its expertise to create customised barista accessories such as milk pitchers, towels and tamper and distributor toolsets. While basketball has been the foundation of Butler’s career, his appreciation and interest in coffee appears to be the next step of his life.
“After my basketball career, and people are like ‘Man, what is Jimmy doing nowadays,’ you know where to find me,” Butler said. “I will be in my cafe behind the bar making coffee.”
Butler - a five-time All-NBA star - could ride BIGFACE coffee to make millions. In 2021, he signed a four-year contract extension worth $184m with the Heat, where he has declared his intent to retire. He also makes over $10m in annual endorsements from the likes of Toyota, Google, Verizon and TAG Heuer, which means perhaps more high-end coffee collaborations could be down the line.
