I earned $44 million in the NBA then followed ex-teammate Shaquille O’Neal’s lead as pretzel mogul
Mark Blount had a successful NBA career.
Most NBA players and professional athletes in general can't say they played for nine seasons.
Blount can.
He was a second round pick in the 1997 draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, but went on to play for a variety of other teams, including the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat.
While in Miami, Blount was teammates with Shaquille O'Neal, where the two formed a working relationship that eventually spilled off the court.
O'Neal seemed to have inspired Blount when it came to investing in other businesses.
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After Blount's retirement, he put someone of his $44million that he earned in his career into purchasing a few Auntie Anne’s franchises.
"I really felt that the Auntie Anne’s brand provided what I was looking for."
Blount initially bought his stores for around $700k and was able to sell them off four years later for nearly $2m.
"I ended up running it myself and was able to be pretty successful.";
O'Neal also owned a few Auntie Anne's at one point, but decided to sell them off for another reason.
Back in 2021, he appeared on the Earn Your Leisure podcast and didn't mince his words on why he got out of the pretzel business.
"I sold my Auntie Anne's because Black people don't like pretzels that much," O'Neal said.
"So I had to switch it up."
After Blount sold his Auntie Anne's, he moved into real estate and purchased 14 properties in Florida, which he renovated and then sold for a profit.
"The restaurant business was a learning curve for me, but real estate is a passion," Blount said.
While he was never a major star in the league, or a household name, he has done quite well for himself off the court.
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