Do you get pissed off when an NFL player doesn't do well and you have him on your fantasy football team? Then this next story might give you nightmares.
According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, a company called Fantex Brokerage Services is going to start offering stock—like, actual stock—in professional athletes. And the first pro athlete to agree to a deal with Fantex is Texans running back Arian Foster. Foster has agreed to give Fantex a 20 percent stake in his future income, which includes everything from his NFL contracts to his endorsement deals, in exchange for $10 million. And Fantex will be divvying up that 20 percent stake into smaller shares and selling them to interested investors. So if you choose to buy shares in Foster, you will be rooting for him to do well on the football field so that he'll get bigger contracts, bigger endorsements, and, ultimately, bigger paychecks in the future. Your financial well-being will be in Foster's hands.
Is this whole thing a little bit weird? Yeah, we would say so. "Buying" stock in an athlete doesn't sit well with us just yet (Fantex says they're going to try working out more deals like the one they just worked out with Foster in the future, so maybe we'll come around to it). But hey, it'll give you another excuse to watch sports, right? Plus, the next time your girl tells you to get off the couch, turn off the TV, and go mow the lawn, you can just tell her that you're busy "keeping a close eye on your investments." So maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all.
RELATED: The 25 Biggest Fantasy Football Busts of All Time
[via ESPN]
