Carmelo Anthony wants to be a champion with the Knicks in what he calls his “day job.”
But he also has another ambition, a lofty business ambition.
“I want to brand myself as the digital athlete,” Anthony said Thursday at the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit in Manhattan. “Nobody really took that place. There’ve been athletes that came before me that were doing what I’m doing and there are going to be people after me that are doing what I’m doing.
“But I really want to be the pioneer for that digital athlete, and when it comes to tech I want to be the face of that space,” said Anthony, noting the likes of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and David Beckham became known worldwide for their business ventures.
But none is known as the guy for the Digital Age. Anthony nominates himself.
To that end, Anthony and business partner Stuart Goldfarb, former VP of NBC, launched Melo7 Tech Partners this summer. The company invests in startup firms specializing in digital media, Internet consumer ventures and technology-based operations.
“At the end of the day, we all know what’s my day job: basketball,” Anthony said. “That’s what my brand is built on, but I’m trying to take my brand to the next level, make it bigger, make it stronger.”
Other startups include Hullabalu, a children’s storytelling educational app, and SeatGeek, a ticket-buying search engine which has Eli and Peyton Manning as investors.
“Hullabalu, it’s a kids’ educational platform app. Dialogue and conversation with kids, 3 through 6. It was something I wanted to do. My son loves apps,” Anthony said.
He explained SeatGeek as: “You get to manage your tickets the way you want. You don’t have to go there and hope and wish you get a seat. … I believe SeatGeek will change the game over the next couple years.”
And there is no better place to start up a venture capital firm than New York, Anthony claimed. So add that — and Phil Jackson — as driving forces behind what kept him with the Knicks. He signed a five-year, $124 million deal ending his free agency adventure.
It was a process, Anthony stressed, that he never wants to go through again. He did five years, not two like LeBron James.
Yes, Anthony might make more in two years. He gave up about $5 million (“relative to the contract I got, it’s not a lot of money,” Anthony admitted) in staying with the Knicks. And he wants to stay put.
“I plan on ending my career here, so it wasn’t for me to go out there and try to strike a two-year deal and then have to go through this situation in two years. I’m not doing that ever again. I would never do that again. I would advise no one to ever do that,” Anthony said. “I experienced it and it’s behind me.”
Anthony noted a move also would have meant restarting his brand from scratch.
“I just felt if I was to leave, I would have to … build that foundation up once again, and it took me a while to build that foundation and to get it up and going to where it’s at right now,” Anthony said.
One place Anthony watches closely is Puerto Rico. His father is Puerto Rican and the All-Star regularly visits the island.
“I really want to make an impact down there,” said Anthony, who predicted he will have a home in Puerto Rico one day. “I’m not going to be doing this for so much longer. When I first came to the NBA, veterans [told] me 10 years will go by so fast, so start setting your brand up now for what you want to do and accomplish.”
Anthony cited his wife, LaLa, and her book-writing ventures, Jay Z and his foray as a sports agent. Anthony said everything is content-driven and you must be willing to let people see you in different lights — to an extent. Could he deal with a Kardashian reality-show-type lifestyle?
“No, no, no, no, no,” Anthony said.