Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana is more than a quarter century removed from his NFL playing days.
Despite this, the 63-year-old four-time Super Bowl champion knows full well the toll football takes on your body.
He underwent multiple surgeries on his neck during the latter days of his career with the San Francisco 49ers before moving on to the Kansas City Chiefs for the final two years of his career.
Montana has in the past noted that he’s turned to cannabis to help with the pain. He’s now taking a hands-on approach in the booming marijuana industry by investing in start-ups.
“One thing is clear is that Montana appears serious about the industry. He has made direct cannabis industry investments in the past,” Bill Shea of the Athletic reported. “Last January, he was part of a $75 million Series A investment round in San Jose, Calif.-based Caliva, a cannabis operation seeking to expand its farm, retail and distribution operations for its branded products. Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter is the company’s brand strategist.”
Montana just recently pitched an outfit called the National Institute for Cannabis Investors that is a clearinghouse for anyone seeking advice on marijuana investments.
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The cannabis industry has taken off into a multi-billion dollar entity since multiple states legalized it for recreational use. A ton of other states have legalized it for medicinal purposes.
The backdrop here is an NFL that had in the past pushed back against marijuana as a safer pain-killing alternative to Opioids. A number of former players have taken this up as a major issue in their post-football life.
As it relates to the NFL, owners sent through a collective bargaining agreement to the NFLPA that includes an incredibly relaxed marijuana policy. We’ll see if anything comes to fruition on that end.