Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates is known for his playmaking ability on the field, but off the gridiron, he’s making headlines for a different kind of game-changer—his bold investment in Elon Musk’s aerospace giant, SpaceX. Bates, who first backed the company in 2019, is now seeing the kind of growth most investors only dream of. But as Musk’s political ties stir heated debate, Bates—and other NFL investors—are navigating not just rocket launches, but reputational turbulence.
A touchdown investment: how Jessie Bates bet early on SpaceX
Bates made his initial six-figure investment through Rise Sports Advisors, a firm that helps pro athletes tap into high-growth startups. He doubled down three years later through Summit Peak Ventures, joining former Bengals lineman D’Ante Smith in SpaceX’s Series J round, when the company was valued at $127 billion.
Now valued at over $350 billion, SpaceX has become one of the world’s most lucrative private firms. “I didn’t know what to expect from it,” Smith said. “I didn’t think it would fail but I didn’t know what to expect.”
For Bates, the decision was about long-term vision. “It would be crazy if we didn’t think that [one day] people will be going to space normally,” he said. “You would be crazy not to educate yourself in that space and maybe participate in some investments.”
The Musk factor: business genius or political liability?
While Bates respects Musk’s acumen, he stops short of backing him politically. “You can’t ignore how business-savvy these guys are and the leadership that they have in this space,” he explained, acknowledging SpaceX’s “polarizing reputation.”
That reputation has only intensified. Musk’s past close relationship with Donald Trump drawn criticism amid sweeping federal job cuts and regulatory rollbacks. Still, Rise Sports’ VP of Finance Jay Bass said Musk’s government connections “help more than it hurts” from an economic lens.
Until SpaceX goes public or sells, Bates and his fellow athlete-investors are holding tight. “This is one of the pretty big investments that I’ve made,” he said. “To see that it can be a 10x type of deal, that’s exciting.”
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Donald Trump and Elon Musk feud turns ugly as NFL stars like Robert Griffin III and Ryan Clark become unlikely pawnsBut with growing media scrutiny and protest movements targeting Musk’s companies, the question remains: will SpaceX’s value soar high enough to eclipse the controversy—or will politics bring it back down to Earth?
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