Fantex to offer stock in Arian Foster

Sooner or later, it might not be Arian Foster’s fantasy football stock that people worry about, but his actual stock.

According to ESPN, Fantex Brokerage Services announced today that it intends on allowing people to invest in stock in a athlete’s brand. And the first athlete you can invest in is Houston Texans running back Arian Foster.

Fantex is paying Foster $10 million for a 20 percent stake in his future income, which includes contracts and endorsements, and could be selling shares in as soon as a month.

Essentially, people can buy a stake in Foster’s career. For instance, if he plays well and gets a huge endorsement deal, or a new contract, his stock would rise. People could buy and sell stock in athletes, with Fantex taking a share as commission.

According to Fantex CEO CEO Buck French, via ESPN:

Fantex is bringing sports and business together in a way never previously thought possible. By building a marketplace that allows customers to buy shares in a tracking stock linked to the value and performance of an athlete’s brand, Fantex is enabling a new level of brand advocacy through ownership.

Fantex will make 20-percent of everything Foster makes going forward, including money from his recently signed five-year contract with the Texans and endorsement money from Under Armour and Fuse Science.

While Fantex’s success will largely ride on athlete’s willing to give up future earnings for an investment up front, it might give people an opportunity to be involved in sports like never before.