Former NBA player Jamal Mashburn didn’t just score big on the court — he’s been crushing it off the court too.
The onetime University of Kentucky standout has become a bona fide business mogul in his post-basketball life by scoring in the franchising business.
A resurfaced Instagram post from influencer and finance guru Nehemiah Davis reignited public interest in his story — causing many to marvel at how the former Dallas Mavericks star owned almost 100 different businesses, including several steakhouses, Papa John’s pizza restaurants and luxury car dealerships.
“He was playing Masters level chess while everyone else was playing elementary school checkers!” one person wrote.
Another remarked, “As he should, that’s how you invest to create wealth.”
A third comment read, “He was smart he thought longevity.”
Building Businesses
According to the website for his media company, Mashburnsackett.com, the 6-foot-8 businessman owns “numerous restaurant franchises (38 Outback Steakhouse restaurants, 40 Papa John’s pizza restaurants, and three Dunkin Donuts stores), car dealerships (owner of Kentucky’s Toyota on Nicholasville and Lexus Store of Lexington), real estate, and the thoroughbred horse racing industry.”
He’s turned his knack for reading defenses into a sharp eye for investment opportunities, building an empire that stretches across industries like real estate, hospitality, and tech.
The University of Kentucky graduate also was hired to serve as an ESPN on-air NBA analyst for four years between 2006 and 2010.
In addition to his franchising work, he also serve others as an adviser and leader as a Board Member for the ROI Acquisition Corporation, the FairBridge Hotels International and the National Forest Foundation.
In 2024, Mashburn, whose estimated net worth is $100 million, sat with Sportico’s “Business Beyond the Game” podcast and shared that his entrepreneurship journey began before he signed his first NBA contract in the early 90s.
“Well for me I started out with Outback Steakhouse and I was a limited partner in that particular space,” Mashburn explained on the show’s host Eric Jackson.
The 51-year-old credited his connection with Chris Sullivan, one of Outback’s founders, as a pivotal moment. Introduced through coach Rick Pitino at the University of Kentucky, Sullivan recognized Mashburn’s interest in business and offered him a chance to invest.
The Bronx native recalled, “He got wind that I wanted to carry a briefcase and really understood my story, and he said do you want to participate? I said ‘Yeah.’”
This initial involvement opened doors to more deals, allowing him to develop a reputation as a savvy entrepreneur early in his NBA career.
Mashburn’s approach to business wasn’t driven by a passion for the restaurant industry but by his strategic mindset and focus on opportunity.
“Everybody thought I really loved restaurants and different things like that. It’s not that I love it—I enjoy business, but I was also opportunistic in my approach,” he said.
Ironically, he said he really likes working in the car business, claiming that is where he got his “MBA.” Mashburn shared with Sportico that he has seven of those Lexus and Toyota dealerships across the country.
He also shared that in addition to franchising, the dealerships and even his real estate endeavors, he also is involved in waste management.
He began this venture while still an NBA rookie with his first Outback investment in 1993-94 season. His Fila endorsement deal, not his NBA contract, provided him with both the capital and patience to pursue business opportunities.
For Mashburn, the key to success was strategy and collaboration.
“For me, I was always smart and very strategic in how I looked at it, and I always come from a position of being a good teammate and being around people who want to,” he explained.
The entrepreneur said his ability to navigate both basketball and business came from surrounding himself with capable partners and taking calculated risks and seeing himself as a good “team member.”