Antetokounmpo was drawn to Ready Nutrition’s founder Pat Cavanaugh, who also was an underdog who defied the odds. Cavanaugh was an undersized, walk-on basketball player in the late 1980s at the University of Pittsburgh, who later earned a scholarship and was named team captain. He launched Ready Nutrition in 2012 and posted sales of more than $100 million last year on double-digit growth. “What I love about Giannis, we both started from nothing and built ourselves up,” says Cavanaugh.
He originally connected to the “Greek Freak” through another Greek basketball player, Sotiris Aggelou, who followed Cavanaugh at Pitt. Antetokounmpo and Cavanaugh both talk about having a “shared mentality,” and their partnership evolved over 18 months, leading to today’s announcement by Ready Nutrition of their superstar investor. There is an endorsement component in the agreement, but Giannis downplays that part of their pact. “This is not just an endorsement deal, it’s something I believe in.
Neither Cavanaugh nor Antetokounmpo would comment on terms of the deal, but it is expected to be “significant” for someone who, at 25 years old, has already made more than $150 million in his career from salaries and endorsements. “The best partnerships are ones that don’t necessarily need each other,” says Antetokounmpo’s agent at Octagon, Alex Saratsis.
The products of Ready Nutrition, which is based outside of Pittsburgh, are currently available in more than 8,000 retail outlets across North America, and was recently added to Walmart
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