NBA Star Jaylen Brown Talks Player Equity

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bloomberg Talks – NBA Star Jaylen Brown Talks Player Equity

Date: January 9, 2026
Host: Bloomberg
Guest: Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics All-Star, social advocate, entrepreneur, NBPA vice president)

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Overview

This episode centers on Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown and his pursuit of redefining what it means to be an athlete in the modern era. The conversation covers his record-breaking season, the evolution of athlete influence, his entrepreneurial ventures (notably his sneaker brand), social equity initiatives like the Boston Exchange, the importance of education and financial literacy, and Brown’s vision for athlete equity in sports. The interview provides an in-depth look at how he juggles basketball superstardom with leadership in business, philanthropy, and policy.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Jaylen Brown’s Multifaceted Identity

Timestamps: 01:39–03:41

• Brown describes how juggling roles as an athlete, advocate, entrepreneur, and philanthropist has become “kind of normal” for him.

• Emphasizes preparation from his time at UC Berkeley, including venture capital experience and challenging himself academically.

• Quote:

  “UC Berkeley really prepared me for the journey that I'm going through, like right now.” —Jaylen Brown (01:58)

• Feels a responsibility to use his platform for positive influence, especially for the next generation:

  • “I take that with a great responsibility. So anytime that I can, I try to push what I view as important and what I want the next generation to learn about...” (02:43)

2. Changing the Narrative Around Athletes

Timestamps: 03:33–04:34

• Brown seeks to normalize athletes being respected as multidimensional individuals, capable of contributing outside entertainment.
• Touches on the need for athletes to have courage to use their voices:
  • “Once things become popularized and normalized... it becomes mainstream for athletes to be a certain way, I think you'll see a lot more.” (04:13)

3. Entrepreneurship and the 741 Sneaker Brand

Timestamps: 04:34–08:46

• Brown turned down $50 million in endorsements to launch his own sneaker brand, favoring creative control and integrity over pure financial gain.
• Describes the challenges and learning curves of running a business, and critiques the sneaker industry's reliance on artificial metrics and lack of authentic storytelling.
• Quote:

  “There's things that I value more than money. You know, commitment to my community. I think just integrity means more being able to have input, you know, creatively.” —Jaylen Brown (04:47)

• Advocates for a return to authentic storytelling in marketing, as opposed to clickbait and “fake viral moments.”

4. Investing in Wellness Tech and Love for Science

Timestamps: 08:46–10:18

• Brown is Chief Innovation Officer at Hapbee, a tech wellness company focusing on frequency technology.
• Expresses passion for science and future academic ambitions, mentioning possible interest in physics or astrophysics.
• Quote:

  “Everything that surrounds us is frequency and vibration. That's just how matter is formed, you know.” —Jaylen Brown (09:03)

5. Balancing Basketball with Business and Philanthropy

Timestamps: 10:18–11:58

• Brown credits natural talent allowing him to pursue multiple ventures simultaneously, though this season has demanded more focus on basketball.
• His curiosity and desire for impact keep him engaged on and off the court.

6. Building Black Wall Street: The Boston Exchange

Timestamps: 11:58–16:50

• Upon signing a historic $304M contract, Brown launched the Boston Exchange, an accelerator empowering minority entrepreneurs in Boston to address wealth gaps.

• Programs focus on solution-based companies tackling local issues (food insecurity, sustainability, health).

• Partners include Jrue Holiday (JLH Fund).

• Quote:

  “I found it fitting for me to do that...investing in the talent here, the talent will invest back into the city that they were born and raised in.” —Jaylen Brown (13:24)

• Notable success stories:

  • Startups landing major contracts, including a food-quality startup and a thriving haircare line.

7. Addressing Racial Wealth Disparity in Boston and Beyond

Timestamps: 19:06–21:35

• Discusses disturbing statistics about Boston’s racial wealth gap (e.g., median household wealth of $8 for US-born Blacks).
• Highlights the importance of addressing “the analytics of opportunities and resources” over simplistic narratives about racism.
• Inspired by his community-driven upbringing.

8. Thoughts on Economic Equity and DEI in Finance

Timestamps: 22:45–24:06

• Acknowledges recent pullback in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs after political backlash.
• Notes lack of visible, tangible momentum from major financial institutions on economic equity initiatives.

9. Leadership within the NBPA and Vision for Player Equity

Timestamps: 24:06–34:03

• As NBPA vice president since age 20, Brown has learned the intricacies of NBA’s business and CBA negotiations.

• Argues player compensation should include equity stakes, much like senior corporate employees receive—especially since players drive franchise growth and value.

• Quote:

  “You play for the Celtics for 20 years. Like, you should get. You should be a piece of equity because you helped accumulate the growth.” —Jaylen Brown (26:20)

• Notes growing player awareness of group economics but admits progress is hindered by lack of collective leverage.

• Proposes players should be able to invest alongside ownership (ownership in expansion teams, etc.).

• Credits Andre Iguodala for suggesting a player-owned expansion NBA team.

10. NIL and Athlete Business Education

Timestamps: 34:03–36:31

• Brown applauds the ability of college athletes to earn through NIL (name, image, likeness), calling it life-changing.
• Recognizes challenges, such as predatory representation, but views increased financial security as essential.

11. Sharing His Platform via Twitch and Direct-to-Fan Media

Timestamps: 41:20–45:13

• Live streaming on Twitch gives Brown control over his narrative, bypassing misrepresentation in traditional media.
• Finds the process therapeutic and empowering.
• Quote:

  "Having my own Twitch this year is almost like having my own media platform...I have built a own form of media platform marketing where I can get directly to the people who want to. It just kind of gets rid of the middleman..." (41:36)

12. The Juice Foundation: Education and Financial Literacy

Timestamps: 45:13–49:23

• The Juice Foundation seeks to bridge opportunity gaps among youth, merging educational and wealth disparity efforts under one roof.
• Focuses on advancing curricula in underserved Boston areas and supporting students dedicated to community improvement.
• Partnerships include MIT and UC Berkeley.
• Quote:

  "I come from a single parent household, grew up in a certain area codes and districts that don't get the same educational quality. ... I've always had, I've always wanted to help people. I've always wanted to make the world a better place." —Jaylen Brown (46:44)

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Notable Quotes

• “There's things that I value more than money...If you are taking away all those things and only wanting to give me money, or, you know, limiting my voice... then it doesn't sound like something that might be for Jaylen Brown.” (04:47)
• “The industry has largely got away from [storytelling] because they think technology has somehow become a substitute for human influence. And I think that was the wrong decision..." (07:33)
• “Investing in the talent here, the talent will invest back into the city that they were born and raised in.” (14:52)
• “You play for the Celtics for 20 years...you should be a piece of equity because you helped accumulate the growth.” (26:20)
• "Having my own Twitch this year is almost like having my own media platform... It just kind of gets rid of the middleman..." (41:36)
• “Education and wealth disparity... are more connected than they are apart.” (45:43)

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Structure, Timestamps and Segment Highlights

• 01:12–03:41: Intro, Brown’s self-definition as a multidimensional athlete, early influences
• 04:34–08:46: Sneaker entrepreneurship and critique of modern marketing
• 08:46–10:18: Investing in tech and his scientific interests
• 11:58–18:33: Boston Exchange, Black Wall Street vision, and entrepreneurship impact stories
• 19:06–21:35: Reflections on Boston’s wealth gap and systemic racism
• 24:17–34:19: NBPA leadership, CBA negotiations, calls for player equity, discussion of expansion and NIL
• 36:31–41:20: Boston Exchange facility goals; comparison with Oakland program
• 41:20–45:13: Twitch and media authenticity
• 45:13–49:23: The Juice Foundation’s mission and merger with Boston Exchange

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Tone and Takeaways

Brown’s conversation is thoughtful, earnest, and visionary—merging the competitive drive of an elite athlete with the empathy and long-term thinking of a community leader and innovator. He is candid about systemic challenges facing athletes and minority communities but offers tangible solutions and actively leverages his position to create change.

This episode serves as a blueprint for how players can become powerbrokers and social architects, not simply sports icons.

Transcript

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[Jaylen Brown]

Bloomberg Audio.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Studios Podcasts Radio News hi everyone. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. We're really excited about the conversation and thank you, Jalen, for being here.

[Jaylen Brown]

Thank you.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

You've had a particularly impressive season this year, breaking several Boston Celtics records, including recently tying with Larry Bird for the most consecutive games scored with at least 30 points. So congratulations.

[Jaylen Brown]

Thank you.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

But you've been a passionate advocate throughout your career about both you and your colleagues on the court being seen as more than just athletes. You're a thinker, you're a social justice advocate. You're an entrepreneur and a philanthropist. Can you talk about that dynamic and what is it like for you to juggle all of those different roles?

[Jaylen Brown]

I think at this point it's just, it's kind of normal. You know, from 18, when I first came in to the NBA, I kind of had my experience cultivated at Berkeley where I, you know, I interned at a VC when I was at, when I was at Berkeley, Bass Ventures with Eric Moore on top of doing what I did athletically and then also challenging myself academically through graduate courses and stuff like that. So I think UC Berkeley really prepared me for the journey that I'm going through, like right now.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

And you're also, you use your platform a lot to speak out on issues off the court. Can you talk about why that's important to you and why that's something that you choose to do?

[Jaylen Brown]

Sure, Yeah. I think having a platform, I look at it as a responsibility like being able to affect households that you may not ever get to see or reach or families in the next generation, in a sense. So I take that with a great responsibility. So anytime that I can, I try to push what I view as important and what I want the next generation to learn about, what I want them to emphasize and what I think being an athlete is about. You know, it's not just about entertainment, is about influence, to be able to have a positive influence on your community, to be able to have a positive influence on, you know, society in itself. So I kind of try to live my life in that regard.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Do you feel like since you've been doing that, the narrative around athletes has changed? Do you feel like it's starting to break through this multidimensional aspect?

[Jaylen Brown]

I would hope so. I would hope so. I would like to think that, you know, maybe, you know, sometimes it feels like that's not the case, but, you know, I would like to think that the next generation, there's going to be a lot more athletes who are, you know, understanding their value, thinking about how to use their platform, also developing themselves outside of just being, you know, entertainer, athlete, and developing how they can have a positive role influence on society and the community in itself. I would think there's. In the future, there'll be a bunch more athletes that will be coming behind, and I've talked to a lot of them. You know, I just think the courage is what they just need. Like, once things become popularized and normalized, like it becomes mainstream for athletes to be in a certain way, I think you'll see a lot more.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

And you turned down endorsement offers worth $50 million over multiple years and chose instead to launch your own sneaker brand, 741. Can you talk about what motivated that decision and why you chose to do it?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, I mean, probably some delusion. Most people would probably, you know, scratch their head about decisions like that. Probably some people that I know that are close to me, probably still scratching their head about some decisions that I've made. But for me, you know, things, obviously money is important. I think that is a great resource to be able to do things that, you know, you want to do. Financial freedom. But there's things that I value more than money. You know, commitment to my community. I think just integrity means more being able to have input, you know, creatively. All these things are things that I will weigh when I make my decision. And if you are taking away all those things and only wanting to give me money, you know, or, you know, Limiting my voice or something like that, then it doesn't sound like something that might be for Jaylen Brown.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

What's it been like running your own sneaker brand? I mean, you're essentially a small businessman at that point. And what lessons have you learned from that that you might want to pass on to that next generation of athletes?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, I've learned so much. There's been so many ups and downs. We've had delays. You know, we've had, you know, we've had things to go in different directions. We had, you know, we had great victories and things that we were super proud of and things that we want to continue to get better at, just like any company, you know, but to be able to go through that process. I started at 26, 27 years old. I'm 29 now. To be able to understand, like, kind of the ins and outs of, you know, the sneaker industry, I've learned a lot about and what I would like to see differently and kind of what I want to provide for the next generation just so they can have an option that's alternative to, like, what's being presented out there right now. Right now, largely, you know, artificial metrics dominate our industry. Bots, you know, fake viral moments. Clickbait is kind of what they use as a. As almost a substitute for influence. Right. Like, we see it all the time through these accounts. Most, mostly, you know, large organizations, they have a job description where your job is to go find the most popularized accounts, work with them in order to use their influence, in order to push your product or push your whatever. But we've gotten away from storytelling in the industry, and that's like, a true way to galvanize influence, like storytelling testimonies. Like, someone went from here to here that inspires people. The industry has largely got away from that because they think technology has somehow become a substitute for human influence. And I think that was the wrong decision, and I would like to see.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

It go back and actually engaging with that consumer of your products.

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, you know, I think people are inspired and motivated when they hear other people's stories and they hear. When they get to see them visually come together, and you get to see someone's testimonies that are now. It's a budget behind it. And now you get to, like, I used to grow up seeing LeBron running down south beach and. And him in Cleveland and everybody, like, around. You know, that as a kid, I was inspiring. Now you just see clickbait on. Now you just see, you know, clickbait and fake Viral moments and seed accounts that are trying to create and make me feel like this is important and it just don't feel the same. It's like, you know, like, it's like artificial light versus the sun. He knows the difference.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

And you're also an investor in Hapbee, which is a tech wellness company, and I wondered if you could talk a little bit about what that company does and why you chose to get involved with it.

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, science is one of my, one of my loves. I love science, also love history. So, you know, I look forward to going back to school and potentially getting my degree in the scientific field, maybe physics, maybe astrophysics, etc. But frequency technology is something that I've always been fascinated with. Like, you know, everything that surrounds us is frequency and vibration. That's just how matter is formed, you know. So to be able to, you know, have a device or be able to learn about how these frequencies and vibrations can have an impact on your daily life is kind of what Happy is about. So I, since 2024, I've been the Chief Innovation Officer of Happy, which is this technology company that utilizes these frequencies. And it's been my role to come up with what the future of frequency technology could look like for this company. So I've been enjoying that role. I've learned a lot in that role. And we have some cool announcements to make in the future regarding, you know, rebrand this up and coming year and also some more products that we would like to push out. But science is always something that I've been fascinated with. That. That kind of makes me feel like a kid again. So it's been cool being the CIO.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Of Happy, and we've talked about some of your endeavors and we're going to talk about more of them. But I did want to ask, I mean, even just the ones we've already talked about, how difficult is it to. To do things like that? With a season that stretches as long as the NBA, how do you devote enough time to these different ventures?

[Jaylen Brown]

It's a balance. It's a balance. And I'm very talented at the game of basketball and I always have been. And maybe I could have diverted more focus in my younger career to being all in on basketball and kind of just these other things that I've also been interested in. I've kind of like cultivated and groomed alongside of my basketball career because I just always looked at things from a, like a big picture kind of approach. But most athletes, they just is just, you know, this is the main thing. Let me Just focus on this. I kind of focused on everything and I think I've just had the privilege that I've been. I've been blessed with talents and I work hard, but I've always been naturally just very good at this game. So where, you know, someone else would be, might be difficult for them to juggle one or two things. I could juggle three or four with ease, you know. So this season I focus more on basketball than I ever have, I think, in my career, just because my team needed me to do and be this every single night. But, you know, throughout my career, I've always kind of had this approach where, you know, I love basketball, but I love science, I love education, I love philanthropy, I love giving back. I love all these things as well. So I would divert my time as such.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

When you signed your 5 year, 304 million contract extension with the Boston Celtics, you announced another kind of long term investment and that was your vision to build a modern day version of Black Wall street here in Boston. Can you talk about why that particular issue is one that you've chosen to focus on and ultimately what you do hope to achieve here in Boston?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah. So for those who are unfamiliar, when I signed my last contract, it was one of the largest contracts in NBA history. And that was in 2023. 2023, right. So I thought at that moment it'd be fitting to talk about. Since wealth and financials was a topic of discussion, I thought it would be great to bring up like that. I live here in Boston and one of the things that doesn't get discussed enough is the wealth gap here. It was an article that came out, I think, in the Boston Globe that went viral. That's very popular. Talks about the average means for households and demographics, and a lot of people were disturbed by that, including me. So I thought using your platform, you know, at this stage where we're talking about, you know, what are you going to do or what would you like to do with the financial freedom and the financial gains that you just signed for in this city? I thought it would be fitting to make a commitment to the city that I play in to attack some of the things that I feel like, also make it a better boss. Like, I've been here for 10 years now, and so I view myself as a part of the community. So when I'm listening to the people that I work with, the students, the families, et cetera, about some of the things that they would like to see different, you know, some of the things that they wish they had opportunities to or access to that, you know, nobody's really talking about or bringing up. I think, you know, from my platform, being an athlete here, being one of the faces of the franchise, I found it fitting for me to do that. So that was a few years ago. Now we're, we've launched Boston Exchange. We've had a cohort, you know, that I've invested in. I've had a great partner in Jrue Holiday through his JLH fund, one of the greatest teammates that I've ever had partner with me. We both contributed about a million dollars into investing into startups here in Boston, into an accelerator program that, you know, gives the talented group of people that exist here that are minorities an opportunity to win here in the city that they're born and raised in. The companies that we select often are solution based. Like they deal with sustainability, they deal with food insecurities, they deal with, you know, mental health or just staying healthy in the environment. So I feel like you're like solving two problems in one. Not only are you investing in the talent that's already there in your city, you're also investing in something that's a solution within the community as well. So I'm a firm believer that investing in the talent here, the talent will invest back into the city that they were born and raised in. So I think in the future we would like to see, you know, more companies, more talented groups emerge and hopefully they emerge from our accelerator program.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Is there a particular success story from that first round of applicants to your incubator accelerator program that you're particularly proud of?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, we have a few. Even so far, it's only been a year or so. We've had one of our groups or one of our companies that we've invested in land a large government contract at the Children's Museum. They deal with like, you know, food quality for. She deals with food quality for like, you know, you know, infants and adolescents and things like that. And they were in Atlanta. They applied for, according to them, they applied to get this, you know, contract through the museum a few times and then they got denied. And then once, you know, people saw that we were connected through our accelerator program, they got the contract, got approved. So now that puts them in more doors, gives them more visibility, and I think they're on the way to being successful. It's also a hair care line that's doing really well. I think they're probably doing the best out of all of our groups. I forget the name right now of the company, but it's A hair care group that's from Boston that we've also invested in in the last year. They were already, you know, they were already very talented, but they're starting to emerge and other. They've able to get other people to invest as well. And that's a part of it. Like we wanted to just create the. The motion for other people to be able to. To see the talent that's here because they now they're getting some notoriety and now they're able to go and get into doors that maybe they weren't able to get into before. That's a part of it. Just creating that social capital is a step of it. Like we don't want to just give companies money and just disappear. And just think like we have programming that they come and sign up, how to better their business. They did programming at Harvard that they had to go through. They have programming at MIT that they had to go through. How to develop and correlate their businesses, how to make it more profitable, et cetera. They use AI and technology to make things a little bit easier for them to in house bookkeep or whatever the case may be. And then, you know, we try to give them that social capital on top of that so that they can, you know, kind of write their own destiny rather than rely on anyone. So it's been fun. We're looking forward to maybe the next cohort we're looking to. We're making some processes with our foundation and things like that to be able to accelerate the next court. You know, we'll get there and we'll have some announcements coming soon. But no, it's been fun and I'm very grateful. Shout out to JRU Holliday, the JLH fund for them. He's only here for two years. I've been here for 10, so it makes more sense. He was only here for two and invested that type of capital into the city of Boston. And that just says a lot about him and Lauren and their character, which I speak very, very highly of.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

So do you plan to do another round of applicants for the incubator and is there a timeline for that?

[Jaylen Brown]

I think we do, yeah. We don't have a timeline as of yet, you know, but soon we'll be able to release some details about like what's coming next. But you know, it would be great to be able to do another cord and continue to build out the vision throughout, you know, over a span of time. But you know, we're working out the strategy and always trying to figure out how to make and improve things and make it better and more, more efficient. So that's what we're working on now.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

And you touched on this a bit and this may be the research that you were referencing. But in 2015, the Federal Reserve bank of Boston published a very influential study that found the typical white household in Boston. Boston has a median wealth of nearly $250,000 compared to just $8 for US born blacks and $0 for Dominicans. Non white households were significantly less likely to own homes or stocks than white households. How have you seen that kind of wealth disparity reflected yourself? When you're out and talking to people in Boston and meeting with people, it.

[Jaylen Brown]

Reflects outside of the city even more like that because that becomes the perception Boston because like when you talk about, you know, when people start using words like racism, like most people think that it's like, you know, a color dynamic, but it's a power dynamic more than anything. Like, you know, the analytics of opportunities and resources, the analytics educationally, the fighting, the wealth gap, the incarceration rate, you know, the acquisition to housing, who's available. These are the things that kind of make up that dynamic. So when you look at the analytics of something like racism, these are the type of things that you got to look at, not just like what's being said online or whatever the case may be. And these are the things that I want to push Boston to continue to be better in. But because of those things, because of articles like that, Boston gets the perception that it does before you even get to the city, these are the things that you hear. So to be able to work with the mayor, the governor, be able to use my platform in order to build a solution to some of the issues that are going on in the city. In any way that I can contribute to my society or any way I can contribute to the community, I'm always looking for ways to do that. You know, that's just kind of how I was raised. My grandmother kind of raised us to be like that. I watched her, you know, be community driven and things like that. Go knock on people's doors and fight for people to help the people that she was fighting for. You know, like if that makes. Did I say that right? I think so. So anytime I can make a contribution to my community, I'm looking to do that.

[Public.com Announcer]

Support for the show comes from public on public. You can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index, and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com market and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com market paid for by Public.

[Public.com Legal/Disclosure Voice]

Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures in.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Recent years we have seen to your point, a number of organizations announcements commitments to economic equity. But we have also seen organizations pull back from or recast diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, particularly recently with President Donald Trump's crackdown on such programs. Can you talk about what you're seeing in the broader investment community and do you feel like you're seeing tangible forward momentum from, you know, financial institutions in particular, in making the economy more equitable and helping to close that racial wealth gap?

[Jaylen Brown]

Ask me that question one more time.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Just as you've seen different organizations pull back from dei, how are you seeing that manifest? Or are you still seeing positive forward momentum from financial institutions in particular?

[Jaylen Brown]

So I've heard a lot of things. I haven't seen anything personally because in my line of work, DEI doesn't, is not. I don't. I wouldn't say that it's something that is. I, I guess it is to some degree from staffing, etc, but I would, I don't know. I, I don't know what financial institutions are are, are looking to do. You know, from everything I've heard, they just kind of want to wait it out until it goes to things change. But I'm not sure if I'm best equipped to answer that one.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

You're also the vice president of the National Basketball Players association, and you've been in that role since 2019. Why is it important to you to stay in a leadership role in that organization?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, it's one of my favorite roles that I've been in from. I became the vice president at 20 years old and I'm 29 now. So I've been on the board for nine years and I've learned so much. The ins and outs, what goes behind closed doors and major corporations, the NBA, etc. I can tell you it all. You know, I've sat on calls, I've been across, I've been in a room with Adam Silva, the team of lawyers, they got 100 plus lawyers working on the next CBA, we got two. So the amount of resources, etc. But the players are more involved than they've ever been in terms of pass. I think they understand the importance of player value. I think this generation is finally starting to understand the power of like group economics and understanding like your value and how much value you obtain. Because in the past that just, that knowledge has been kind of obsolete or the care just hasn't been there. But I think that's changing. So I've learned a lot from my tenure at the union and things like that. It's been an interesting journey. It's. Yeah, it's been frustrating at points of time, you know, and things that I still think that players should get access to. But I'm appreciative of my journey. I've learned a lot from a business standpoint.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

NBA franchise valuations have skyrocketed in recent years since that, that last CVA was signed, including the $6.1 billion purchase struck last year for the Boston Celtics, the $10 billion deal for the Los Angeles Lakers. Do you think those rising valuations are appropriately reflected in how athletes are getting paid?

[Jaylen Brown]

No. Oh, say it again. Wait.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Do you think the rising valuations are appropriately reflected in how players are getting paid? Or do you think something needs to change in that formula to reflect, you know, just how, you know, lucrative these teams are?

[Jaylen Brown]

Right. My answer is no. What I think needs to change, I think players should. And this is one of the things I was mentioning that causes some of the frustration. I think players should be able to invest alongside in ownership groups and business opportunities. Like, I don't understand why that's ever been a thing, but it's like you're athlete and they make it seem like, you know, they can control how much wealth or growth that you could actually accumulate. I think that's wrong. I also think that just like any other major corporation, like when you are, if you work for Apple or if you work for Nike, or if you work for any of, like, if you're a CEO, if you're someone that's been on the board for a large amount of time, you get equity in the company at some point, like you are part of it. And I think athletes should be looked at in the same way like you play for the Celtics for 20 years. Like, you should get. You should be a piece of equity because you helped accumulate the growth. You know, and that's the part that gets lost in translation is the growth from an organization, you know, a growth from a company or a corporation, you know, the sweat equity that you put in, you get compensated, just like for doing your job, but you don't get compensated for the growth. And in major corporations and companies, you do, or at least some of the big ones, you know, so that's something that, you know, I would propose, I have proposed, but, you know, we'll see. We got another CBA coming up.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

I mean, this is an idea that's gained a lot of traction recently in private equity, too. You know, Pete Stavros at KKR has been a big proponent of this, that if you give rank and file employees, players, whatever it might be, equity, they'll care more about the success of the company. They'll be more invested in it. You said, you know, it's something you proposed. Do you feel like it is gaining more traction among other players? Do you hear it talked about more among your colleagues?

[Jaylen Brown]

No, I think the NBA shuts it down any chance they get. I mean, it's. When it comes down to it, it's all about leverage. And as players, we're still building our leverage, getting on the same page. So even if it's the right idea, if it's the right thing to do, it won't matter to the NBA unless we all come onto the same page. They're not going to do it unless we tell them this is what we want. So from a player standpoint, we just got to get more collectively on the same page. And I think the future is, you know, the possibilities are endless. But, you know, nobody wants to pay anybody these days. Everybody wants to, you know, take as much of the piece of the pot as they possibly can. And that's just how business in America and capitalism has worked. So until we can kind of like get on the same page and formulate what we want, when we want it, and how we want it to look, you know, nothing will change.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

So when the next round of negotiations does get underway and you have those other 100 lawyers on the other side, is this something that you're going to advocate for and push for as part of those negotiations?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, absolutely. We will have some other steps that, you know, we would need to. We have some other things that we would need to. To do before that, because there's a. You know, it's a lot of things that we have on the list that we talk about. We had a call today and we talked about some things. So, you know, whatever comes next in that kind of pecking order of like, arrangements. But that's something that's definitely big, you know, that we would love to, you know, be able to accomplish in the future next generation of our NBA players and our athletes, be able to invest alongside ownership groups, especially in the development, because it's already like the results already baked in, you know, you already know it's going to be people that's going to be in these seats. You already know the game schedule. You already know what your return is going to be. Players who are a part of that should be able to be included to some degree. OKC just built a huge arena recently, and those players that won the championship, they're a huge reason why, you know, they were able to make that into like a top market, et cetera. It's a championship organization, so the players should be included to some degree. And I don't think it should be. I don't think it should be rocket science either.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

More broadly, do you see sports teams as something that you would want to invest in even outside of the NBA?

[Jaylen Brown]

Sports teams? Me, I don't know. I'm a union guy, so I don't know if I could be on the other side where I'm taking the liberties.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Or further afield, NFL or hockey or soccer, what have you.

[Jaylen Brown]

Maybe, you know, I love sports, so opportunities to come aboard, you know, and in different leagues and different associations, they run differently, like, and things like that. You have, you know, Premier League is different from Champions League. Like, Barcelona runs their organization different from Arsenal. You know, Barcelona, they run their organization like a democracy where it's no. Like the fans vote for who gets to run. So, like, depends. But, you know, every situations are different than how things are done here in the US and NBA. But I don't know if I could be an NBA owner or anything like that because I spent too much time on the union fighting for, you know, it'd be weird to kind of switch up.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Fair enough. The NBA expects to make a decision regarding expansion sometime this year, with Las Vegas and Seattle favored as potential new franchises. Do you think this is a good idea from a player's perspective?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah. I mean, I pitched in like 2022 that we should have an expansion team owned by the players. I think it fell on deaf ears, but that would be something I would like to see as they're continuing to expand an expansion team that will be owned, the BRI will be split amongst maybe retired players, current players, and maybe even wnba, et cetera. And this expansion team that will be able to, you know, correct a lot of the, you know, the frustration and divisional stuff that we talk about from a BRI standpoint, etc. Not being able to invest, not being able to be included when companies are. When organizations get sold and things like that, and the athletes who put in the work, the sweat equity. Having an expansion team owned by the players could be something interesting. You know, I think that that could be cool. Obviously, we. The union or we have to put some parameters around some things. But, you know, I've brought that idea up a few times over the. Over the past few years, so just. I don't think we've had the leverage enough to execute it. But, you know, things change over time. Maybe we circle back to it. But, you know, that idea actually came from Andre, Andre Wodala. You know, we were in the meeting and we were kind of bouncing that off each other, but Andre pitched that. I think maybe that's something that we should push forward. And maybe now that he's in the executive director position at the union, maybe that's something in the next few years that we do push for.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

In the college arena, athletes can now earn money from endorsements and appearances, and they can also get paid directly by universities. What impact have you seen from that shift on the next generation of athletes coming into the NBA and how they view themselves as businessmen?

[Jaylen Brown]

I think it's changing lives, honestly. I mean, there's obviously a lot of. There's a lot of yellow tape around, you know, kind of the aspects of amateur players, amateur athletes and their name, image and likeness and how it's being negotiated and deals and contracts that are taking place with families, et cetera. But like, players that may never get to the NBA are, you know, becoming millionaires and starting their life with six plus figures. It's just, you know, before when players were going to college and they were graduating with a degree they had nothing to show for, they're probably in more debt than they were, you know, before they went to college. So to be able to have. And navigate your experience and give yourself a potential avenue to make money while you're in college and take care of your family and. And more, give yourself, like, just a boost on life, you know, I think it's changed. It's changed the game for a lot of people. So obviously that comes with. It comes with some things that Aren't great because you see some things that are happening. We were talking about today, you get, players get taken advantage of because you know, maybe management or agency groups are offering them things when they're in college to take this deal in order for them to be their representation. Like they're signing like 360 deals when they're like 16, 17 years old, which is problematic. But overall I think being able to have financial security throughout your, your college experience is super important. Like you know, you know, being in debt after you graduate. I know it's a lot of people that probably had that feeling. It's not great and I haven't experienced it, but I know my family members and stuff like that who've had to experience that, the start on life and that hanging over your head. So as an athlete in different sports that you play to be able to have an input and be able to make revenue, I think it changes the game for a lot of our athletes.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Part of the Boston Exchange, when you announced it was to have physical space, space available to help support the entrepreneurs that came into that incubator accelerator program and their business aspirations and to really cultivate an innovation ecosystem. Can you talk about that goal and why it was part of the Boston Exchange?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, I think having a space is important, but it's not the easiest thing to culminate because you know, a lot of times a lot of businesses are online, a lot of people are using technology and AI so you don't want to pay for space and it's not getting used. So you make decisions and you evaluate whether if that is a, you know, if that is a great decision or if it isn't, you know. So I think we'll eventually have a space. It just wasn't the right time. Like right now, as we're continuing to get started, we find people have donated space and allocated space for some of our people of our core to use and things like that that have been fantastic and I appreciate our partners for that. But eventually it'd be nice to have our own space, but we just want to make sure it's on the right terms.

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[Bloomberg Interviewer]

You also expanded the exchange to California's Bay Area where you attended the University of California at Berkeley in partnership with Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. How is that going and what insights have you gained when comparing the programs across the two coasts?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, Oakland is different. It's a long flight from Boston, but some of the things that Boston has is dealing with or needs help or improvement on. So does Oakland. You know, major cities, not major cities all across the US Are kind of all together kind of suffering the same thing. Like where the crime rate is higher in those areas. It's a lot of abandonment and things like that. For whatever reason, I'm not completely sure why, but the minority community, just the lack of opportunity and resources and things like that when it comes to these major cities and things like that. So to be able to provide some resources, to provide some partners that could provide some opportunities and also provide that social capital so they can start getting into different doors as well, well, is important. Some of it is happenstance, I believe, and some of it I think might be a little intentional. Oakland is a little different from Boston. You know, I think that.

[Public.com Legal/Disclosure Voice]

I don't.

[Jaylen Brown]

Know how I would explain my words without, you know, but I think it could be, you know, I think some of it is a little bit intentional. Those areas get diminished, the crime rate goes up, the property value goes down and, and those buildings get turned into luxury homes. And you know, that's kind of like the business model approach where there is distressed asset, there is opportunity, and those distressed assets just happen to be people that come from communities such as mine and communities that, you know, I'm familiar with. So, you know, that's capitalism, but it lacks the empathy that is needed for these communities and these spaces that people have spent their livelihoods. People have born, they built connections, they grew up. And that's the part that, that's the story that doesn't get told.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

You started live streaming on Twitch last summer and you've continued to do so through the season. And we actually streamed part of this conversation on your Twitch channel. Can you talk about what motivated that decision and why you've chosen to do that on that platform?

[Jaylen Brown]

Yeah, I've said it before, I think. No, I've thought about it the past few days. Like having your own. Having my own Twitch this year is almost like having my own media platform. It's like I have my own media platform where I could put out the information, the takes that I see fit. And I think that's value. I mean, I think that's a tremendous value. PEOPLE CHIME IN I have people from all over the world that come to just hear me talk about whatever or, you know, to come watch me play basketball or video games or whatever. So I have built a own form of media platform marketing where I can. Can get directly to the people who want to. It just kind of gets rid of the middleman, right, because the other media marketing companies, they have angles, they have agendas, they have quotas that they're trying to meet. They might not serve me, they might not be in the best interest of me, they might not care for emo for how I feel. So I kind of started getting tired of it, you know, So I just, you know what? I'm gonna start streaming and then now I can talk to these people and now you can hear directly from me rather than you hearing a reporter ask me a question that I didn't want to answer in the first place. Now it comes off to you as if I have attitude or if I'm arrogant or if I'm just not a nice guy. But in reality is if I answer a question truthfully, they're just going to take a segment of it and they're going to put it on their platform as a headline. And that's the only thing you're going to see. And it's going to be negative. And now I got to deal with the negativity from that. And that's just the state of media of today, especially in sports, where it's just ridiculous. Everything is clickbait, everything is headlines, everything is negativity, everything is controversy. Like, maybe it's because nothing positive sales, nothing positive is interesting enough anymore. So everything has turned to just straight negativity and that's all people are looking for. And it is tiring. You know, I'm tired, so I just, I started streaming. So now people can get a real feel of like, when I'm thinking about a topic or they can hear from, you know, me what I have to say about mental health or what I have to say about, you know, current events. And it's new for me because I've always been a private person, but it's like, I've actually enjoyed it. It's almost been, like, therapeutic because, like, I didn't realize how much, like, having your authentic self be able to be mirrored outwardly, how important that is and was for you. When you constantly are suppressing yourself because you have to protect yourself from people who want to portray you in a negative lens or. Or, you know, create controversy, that's not there. It kind of diminishes your light. It makes you smaller. So when I've started streaming, I feel so much more at peace than I ever have, especially here in Boston. So I'm very grateful. And I only do it, like, once a week, maybe twice a week. And I'm sure people probably want me to stop doing that, but right now it's helping me, so it's helping me on the course, helping us win games to me. So y' all want me to stop or not? What y' all want me to do?

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Well, we've covered so many different topics today, but I. I would be remiss if I didn't ask you about your Juice foundation, which aims to bridge the opportunity gap for youth and underserved communities. And we have a very business focused audience here. And one of the areas you focus on with that is financial literacy. So I wondered if you could just address why that's one of your focuses and why that in particular is an area where you think will help bridge the opportunity gap.

[Jaylen Brown]

So for sure, in the past, I've had two foundations. I've had the Boston Exchange, which attacks the wealth gap and the wealth disparity and gives. We have accelerated program that gives opportunities to startups and businesses, et cetera. And then I've had the Juice found. I've had the Juice foundation, which has features, the Bridge program that deals with educational opportunities. You know, I deal with Boston public schools just reintegrating learning into, you know, creating a curriculum that's just a little bit more advanced in the curriculum that gets provided by. In certain areas. So education and wealth disparity, two separate things. But now we're bringing them under one roof because they're more connected. They're more. Things are more connected than, you know, education and the wealth disparity. I think some of those things are more connected than they are apart. So I'm working on building into one foundation, the Juice Foundation. But the bridge, Bridge is something that I guess like a family tradition. Education is very important to my family. So being able to take kids that come from certain area codes or certain districts that, you know, get the, maybe the short end of the stick to some degree, they get the least amount of resources or they're understaffed from a teacher standpoint or just the opportunities are a lot slimmer in these areas. And we take students who want to help their community, who really, that's really the number one thing. They have the aptitude to want to just make the world a better place. We find those students in those areas and we bring them into the bridge program and give them the tools and resources to go be whatever it is that they imagine to be in this world. But the reasoning for I was one of those kids, you know, I come from a single parent household, grew up in a certain area codes and districts that don't get the same educational quality that schools that are in more affluent areas get. The resources are more limited and things like that. You got 30 students, 35 students in the classroom, one teacher. Just not great analytics for success educationally. But I've always had, I've always wanted to help people. I've always wanted to make the world a better place. And I've always loved to learn. So those students exist regardless of the area code or the school district they come from. And, you know, I want to find those kids and I want to give them the tools that they need to be successful because I feel like those are the type of students that will, you know, they have the work ethic, they have the drive, and they have the empathy to go out and change the world. So that's what the bridge program, that's what we are. We're looking for or we're looking to also find the students who, you know, we can push into that, into that mind frame as well, who we can influence to want to change the world as well. Like, so that's something that I'm very excited about. MIT has been our partner for the last couple years. We've also partnered, we also done with UC Berkeley as well. But I'm looking forward to what the future could be educationally. And I've enjoyed being able to work with both of my foundations and now being able to bring them together in some capacity should be something that. So we have some great announcements to make in the future.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Well, we'll all be staying tuned, so thank you so much, Jaelyn.

[Jaylen Brown]

Thank you.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

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[Bloomberg Interviewer]

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