“I Have More Money Now”- Shaun White Revealed the Secret of Making Fortune Even With Less Sponsors

Shaun White has had a long list of sponsors throughout his career, acquiring his first sponsorship at 7. Retired this year after his run at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, White has dipped his toes in every pond. From being an actor, musician, snowboarding legend, and apprentice of skateboarding icon Tony Hawk, what hasn’t he done?

And funding his career is a long list of sponsorships from the very beginning. White even found himself in a position to reject endorsements and still make more money.

Shaun White on streamlining his portfolio

White now has a much slimmer sponsorship portfolio as compared to more than a decade ago. He has been, in the past, sponsored by many major brands over the years, including Ubisoft, American Express, Target, and Red Bull. After his win at the Vancouver Olympics, he established the Shaun White Enterprises to consolidate all his business dealings.

White talked to Elizabeth Weil for the New York Times, where he talked about this process of transitioning from athlete to owner. “It’s a long-term play,” he said. “I have more money now, so I can have fuller relationships, not just that sponsor setup where you’re like, ‘How many stickers do I need to slap on my board.” 

In 2011, ended his relationship with RedBull, a sponsorship that offered him a lot of money and even built him his private half-pipe. White wanted more autonomy. “Not a lot of people know this: I have fewer sponsors than I’ve had in the past, and I’m making more money.”

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For Shaun White Enterprises, he hired Keith Yokomoto, a COO with extensive experience, to run things.

White’s entrepreneurial journey moving forward

Currently, White has six long-term agreements in the bag. He added Celsius energy drinks, Krave beef jerky, and the Masters’ workout app to his portfolio over the last year. White is the highest-paid snowboarder. 

White continues to earn six figures annually with his deals. This is quite a feat, given that extreme sports like snowboarding and skateboarding seldom get television coverage. White has announced and started his own lifestyle brand, Whitespace, with his brother Jesse. White’s partnership with Burton Snowboards of over two decades ended. And he saw it as an opportunity to make a board tailored to his every need. 

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He released a limited number of Whitespace Freestyle Shaun White Pro signature snowboards to celebrate the launch. After retirement, White has the time to grow the brand from its current stage of infancy.