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Junior Bridgeman stands next to his retired no. 2 jersey at a press conference announcing his purchase of a "significant minority" stake in the Milwaukee Bucks.[/caption]
Junior Bridgeman’s 12-season NBA career – including 10 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks – has been followed by an even more illustrious run in business.
What started as the purchase of a single Wendy’s franchise location in 1987 in Brooklyn, New York, eventually grew into a fast-food empire, operating more than 450 Wendy’s and Chili’s restaurants in 20 states. His company, Bridgeman Foods – originally started in Milwaukee – is now an independent bottler for Coca-Cola, covering territories in the Midwest and Canada. Bridgeman is also the current owner of Ebony and Jet magazines, both of which he purchased out of bankruptcy in 2020.
Bridgeman made his latest business move this month, purchasing a “significant minority” share of the Bucks franchise.
“I think in today’s world and our society, things are often embellished and overhyped but I don’t think you can overhype today,” said Bucks majority co-owner Jimmy Haslam at a press conference Thursday. “This is a spectacular basketball player, businessman and person who is now going to become a key owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.”
Part of the community
As Haslam – who with his wife, Dee Haslam, also owns the Cleveland Browns – later pointed out, Bridgeman brings a unique background and localized perspective to this Bucks ownership group -- one led by East Coast billionaire investors Wes Edens, Jamie Dinan and Mike Fascitelli.
“He understands this community really better than Wes, Jamie and Mike and I do, since he’s been here, played here, lived here, started his business career here,” said Haslam.
Bridgeman grew up in East Chicago, Indiana, and has lived in Louisville with his wife, Doris, since the late 1980s, but thanks to his tenure with the Bucks, Milwaukee has long been something of a second hometown to Bridgeman. Not only did he initially establish a business here, some of his children were also born here, he said.
“When you played here and you became a part of the Bucks organization, even when you left, you never felt like you were not a part of the organization. … you always felt like you were part of the organization and a part of the community,” said Bridgeman.
He was also drawn to the local attitude toward work, rooted in Milwaukee's blue-collar history.
“This is just a put your nose to the plow, get things done type of community, and it's just a place where you want to do well because everybody appreciates you when you do that,” he said.
So, when Haslam and Edens approached Bridgeman with the opportunity to buy into the team, it was a natural step for him “to be part – not just in heart, but physically – of the organization going forward.”
Paying it forward
As a continuation of his efforts over the years advising rookies and veteran NBA players on planning for life after basketball, Bridgeman plans to make himself available to Bucks players for guidance in life and in business – just as former Bucks owner the late Jim Fitzgerald did for him years ago.
“I had that same help when I was a player and it came from Jim Fitzgerald, who owned the team, and I’ve given him credit a number of times with helping me understand business and get to where I am with a lot of comments and breakfast conversations and things over the years,” said Bridgeman.
He said giving the players advice and answering any questions on achieving business success and, perhaps more importantly, avoiding pitfalls along the way “would be as helpful as anything you can say about playing basketball.”
This was not the first time Bridgeman had considered returning to the Bucks in an ownership capacity. When the late Sen. Herb Kohl was looking to sell the team in 2013 and 2014, Bridgeman had spoken to Kohl about the possibility, but said it “just didn’t feel right at that time."
With rumors swirling about the team's possible relocation if a buyer was not found, Bridgeman did not shy away from vocalizing the need for the Bucks to stay in Milwaukee.
"I said that cannot happen," he recalled. "I said the people here deserve to have the team, they supported the team even in those years when we weren't very good, they still supported the team, now why would you remove the team from here? You can talk about, 'well you can get more TV money or TV contracts.' It’s not about that. It's about the Bucks belong in Milwaukee."
