Ravens players are making big moves in the world of entrepreneurship

Lamar Jackson, the Ravens’ record-breaking quarterback-turned cologne mogul, isn’t the only Baltimore football legend with an entrepreneurial streak.

Several current and former Ravens players are flexing their wealth and fame into the business world, either by starting their own companies or investing in fellow athletes’ ventures. It’s a national trend that includes the Kelce brothers’ cereal deal with General Mills and Tom Brady’s protein powder and wellness company. 

On the field, it’s been a busy season, which continues in the playoffs with Sunday’s divisional round against the Bills. The team has broken records — including two by Jackson: the NFL career rushing record for quarterbacks and the franchise record for touchdown passes (which he previously held).   

But Ravens have been busy off the field, too. Ex-players are making entrepreneurial moves, despite professional athletes consistently dealing with financial issues after retirement. 

Helping athletes transition off the field 

Kyle Richardson, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens in 2000, was part of a group that last year established the Association for Elite Athletes’ Individual Success. It’s a nonprofit that aims to connect former athletes with mentors and teach them skills in entrepreneurship and business leadership they can use after retiring. 

Patrick McQuown, executive director of entrepreneurship at Towson and founder of the school’s StarTUp  entrepreneurship hub, helped create the nonprofit and serves with Richardson on the board. It fills a necessary gap, he noted.

“These professional leagues,” McQuown said, “they’re not doing anything about athlete transition. There’s no formalized structure around that whatsoever. So what we’re looking to do is formalize it.” 

The program will be similar to an accelerator, McQuown said, and will teach people skills like personal financial literacy as well as entrepreneurship deftness. The first cohort is expected to convene sometime this year. 

Richardson also last year launched an investment fund out of Towson, dubbed the Tiger Fund. The plan is for it to invest in startups that participate in university-led accelerators, and it’s in the process of bringing on limited partners, per McQuown. Though he acknowledged momentum fell off when he broke his collarbone shortly after announcing the fund, an info session is slated for the next few weeks. (Term sheets will ask for pledges that meet a $2 million threshold; email pmcquown@towson.edu for additional details.) 

McQuown and Richardson are also establishing a venture studio within StarTUp in collaboration with the healthcare company MedStar. The goal for the studio is to take inventions from MedStar researchers and doctors, and spin them into scalable products, per McQuown, who said he’s in the process of hiring its CEO.  

Outside of Towson, Richardson is the founder of Hunt Valley’s Caring One, which is a healthcare information services provider for hospitals and other health systems. 

$1 million for sweat-friendly headphones 

Former wide receiver Mark Clayton, a Raven from 2005-2009, is also an entrepreneur. In 2023, founded the company LIVV Audio, with the goal to develop reliable, sweat- and water-resistant headphones with a 50-hour battery life. 

The Arlington, Texas, founded company received attention from fellow athletes, including tennis player Mark Knowles. Designed with athletes in mind, its product is intended to fit securely so the tech won’t fall off when the user is running and jumping. The earpads are also removable to clean as needed.  

In December, the company boasted a $1 million raise as part of its $1.5 seed round. 

“With this investment, LIVV Audio is stepping into a new league,” Clayton wrote in a press release. “We’re here to set the standard for what performance headphones should be.”