Did Buster Posey’s successful investment play part in retirement decision?

November 3, 2021

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Sep 6, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) reacts during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The Giants defeated the Dodgers 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

In a development that came as a surprise to many, Buster Posey is expected to announce his retirement from baseball this week. It turns out though that the timing may not have been a coincidence.

Steve Berman of The Athletic was among those who noted that the longtime San Francisco Giants catcher was an early investor in sports drink company BodyArmor. Coca-Cola just purchased BodyArmor this week for $5.6 billion, the single largest amount it has ever paid for a drink brand.

A Forbes article from 2013 about Posey’s involvement with BodyArmor also began circulating on social media. The article stated that Posey, in addition to signing on as a partner, invested a big amount of money into BodyArmor, more than fellow athlete endorsers Mike Trout and Rob Gronkowski.

this is from 2013 about buster posey and body armor which sold for $5.6B to coke the other day pic.twitter.com/MQI8YyUj0s

— • (@go_saj) November 3, 2021

The late Kobe Bryant was an early investor in BodyArmor as well. The sale to Coca-Cola reportedly netted his estate $400 million from Bryant’s original $6 million investment.

Posey, still just 34, was coming off an excellent 2021 season with the Giants. He hit over .300 and was an All-Star en route to the team finishing with an MLB-best 107 regular season wins. That is why his decision to retire was such a surprise.

Of course, there likely were plenty of other reasons that factored into Posey’s decision. Catcher is a physically-demanding position, and Posey already has three World Series rings with a Hall of Fame-worthy resume. But the added financial security from his investment victory definitely had to help as well.