The famous basketball player takes part in the new season of “Who Wants to Be My Partner”
Back on the air on M6 this Wednesday, January 17 in the first part of the evening, the show “Who wants to be my partner” will include a new member, well known to the public and sports fans: Tony Parker. The former San Antonio Spurs legend, inducted into the Hall of Fame a few months ago, appears on this speed dating show for young entrepreneurs looking for investors. As Le Parisien explains, the presence of Tony Parker in the show is not a coincidence, but a real choice of the production which had been trying to convince the former basketball player for several years. “We had his name in mind since the first season, explains Jonathan Curiel, deputy director of programs at M6. “His profile particularly interested us because of his strong reputation, his outspokenness and the authenticity of his reconversion in deals. It could also offer us a great international opening for our entrepreneurs.”
Asked by different media to promote the show, Tony Parker explained that he initially agreed to join the show during season 2, but ultimately did not join the cast, fearing that the show resembles Shark Tank, a rough show from which M6 was inspired to create the program. But ultimately, Tony Parker followed season 3 in its entirety, notably seeing the passage of Blaise Matuidi and was convinced by the format. “I discover that the French version is very different from Shark Tank. She is caring and can change the lives of these young entrepreneurs. It’s totally consistent with what I want to do today: transmit and give back.”
A big investment during the show
His salary for participating in the show has not been disclosed, but is “symbolic” according to the channel. “I don’t do this for the money at all,” says Tony Parker when asked the question. According to Anthony Bourbon, a businessman quite close to the former player, “Tony even lost money by participating in Who wants to be my partner? “, by canceling a very lucrative event in the Middle East. And according to M6 production, Tony Parker put a lot of money on the table to convince the entrepreneurs. Jérémy Henriet, producer even mentions a figure of 1.6 million euros according to Le Parisien. As a reminder, during the 3rd season of “Who wants to be my partner?”, there were nearly 4.4 million euros per six investors, with an average of 230,000 euros invested per deal.
At the head of the group Nine Infinity
If Tony Parker has a certain legitimacy to join this show, it is because TP is the boss of Nine Infinity, which brings together ASVEL, the Lyon-Villeurbane league 1 team, of which he is the president, the Tony Parker Adéquat Academy (a sports-study course), but also a production company, a stud farm, vineyards and ski lifts! A lucrative business that he tried to launch very early on, as he explained for Le Point. “I always prepared myself for the future. My parents educated me in this sense. In the NBA, the competition is very fierce. The average for a player is four years. I managed to do ten -eight. But I didn’t want to experience this depression, this little death that most athletes experience when they retire. So I started finding out very early, meeting business leaders who took me on. under their wing.”