Former NFL Player Malcolm Jenkins Bet On Himself And Plans To Help Others Do The Same

The New Jersey native boasts an impressive portfolio which includes companies in media, tech, apparel, real estate, and food industries.

Former Philadelphia Eagles safety and two-time Super Bowl champion Malcolm Jenkins walked away from a potential $6 million deal from the NFL in 2022 and decided to bet on his diverse list of business interests. Today, the New Jersey native boasts an impressive portfolio which includes companies in media, tech, apparel, real estate, and food industries, WHYY reported.

Through his multi-unit franchise developer and operator, Disrupt Foods, that houses 20 quick-service restaurants including Wingstop and Papa John’s, Jenkins hopes to empower minority business owners.

“If there’s a mission for me and how I’m moving now, what I want to have an impact on is really educating people on the power of group economics,” he said. “People when they have success, most of the time they do it as a collective family, as a community. Owning businesses in their own communities. When you look at [Black communities] we don’t own the majority of the businesses in it. We don’t own homes most of the time. It just continues to push us into pockets of poverty that are harder and harder to climb out of as an individual.”

For Jenkins, it’s about helping others to expand their vision of what’s possible, AfroTech reported. The 35-year-old, who also found a football home with the New Orleans Saints, believes that people don’t “take a lot of time to evaluate what we have at our disposal and how to make the best out of that,” he said. “I had to do that with myself, my own career, and it really re-energized and turned my entire trajectory as an athlete around.” Though Jenkins’ journey in the NFL was successful, the self-described “winner” wants others to understand that victory does not come without pitfalls. “I think what winners won’t tell you is that there’s a lot of failures on the way to success,” he said.

Now, he wants to help other athletes circumvent losses when trying to start their businesses. “It makes no sense for every guy in the [NFL] league who wants to get into franchising to find an operator, go buy their own store, do all of those things when most people just want the exposure in their portfolio,” he explained. “Like, I’m not making any pizzas. But I’ve got a team around me that can execute these things.”

RELATED CONTENT: [Passion to Purpose] NFL Baller Malcolm Jenkins