India, Oct. 6 -- Most athletes sign an endorsement deal, smile for the camera, and collect the check. Kobe Bryant, for one, became an owner. On November 1, 2021, Coca-Cola announced it was buying the remaining 85% of BodyArmor, the sports drink brand Bryant had backed years before, in a $5.6 billion cash deal. He had died in 2020, but his early bet survived.

BodyArmor was founded in 2011 by Mike Repole and Lance Collins. By 2021, it had become the No. 2 sports drink in measured retail channels, trailing only Gatorade, made by PepsiCo, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Bryant invested in the brand early on. ESPN reported that he invested about $6 million in March 2014 for around 10 percent of BodyArmor. He then became part...