Seattle Seahawks midline linebacker Bobby Wagner # 54 watches ahead of their game against the Baltimore Ravens at CenturyLink Field on October 20, 2019 in Seattle, Washington.
Abbie Parr | Getty Images
As the National Football League tries to chart its Covod-19 impacted 2020 regular season, star linebacker Bobby Wagner is busy making post-football plans.
The Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowler joins a new tech fund created by Fuse Venture Partners. The company says its goal is “to invest in early-stage venture capital funds in Seattle-based seed and Series A companies.” Wagner is joining as a venture capital partner alongside other investors, including former Microsoft executive John Connors and former Amazon executive Satbir Khanuja.
Fuse said he wanted to help a new wave of e-commerce companies “who are reinventing the modern economy with software.” In a statement to CNBC, Wagner echoed this mission, adding that Fuse, led by general partner Kellan Carter, is committed to “working tirelessly with innovative people to help them succeed.”
“It’s this commitment that uniquely positions us as the best partner for the next generation of businesses that are reinventing and re-inventing the way work is done through AI, machine learning and software. ‘automation,’ Wagner said.
“Seattle is at the epicenter of business innovation efforts in digital transformation,” Carter said. “There is a growing, untapped and flourishing ecosystem of emerging entrepreneurs in the region.”
Amazon, the dominant force in e-commerce, is based in Seattle, which means Fuse would invest in potential competitors to Amazon.
Wagner is the second NFL star last week to get involved in the e-commerce space. Former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has announced his partnership with Fanatics in a deal that will see the e-commerce company operate the Lynch’s Beast Mode apparel website.
Wagner, who negotiated his $ 54 million deal with the Seahawks in 2019, also became an investor in Denali Therapeutics in 2014 and joined Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant at venture capital firm Andreessen. Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund.
Wagner is expected to join CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday to discuss his new venture.
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