The Famous Golfer Who Owns Multiple Five Guys Restaurants

To your average consumer, Five Guys is a great stop for burgers and fries. To celebrity golfer Phil Mickelson, however, Five Guys is a delicious big business, since he's currently the franchise owner of several locations in Orange County, California. Mickelson, who rose to prominence around the turn of the millennium as one of the most elite players on the PGA Tour, is known for having spun his golfing fame into riches. Five Guys may or may not have an elusive breakfast menu available in the U.S., but it certainly offers the opportunity for franchise owners to build a business. Prospective franchisees must hold a worth of at least $1.3 million and have liquid assets of $500,000 or greater. Once they attain their Five Guys franchise, they pay a 6% annual royalty and 3% in marketing fees.

Mickelson made waves in 2010 when he publicly declared that he thought Five Guys had better food than In-N-Out. Being a scion of California, that was a pretty hot take from the golfer! (There's a reason some people skip In-N-Out's food that has nothing to do with state loyalty.) Shortly thereafter, it came out that Mickelson was part of a group that had purchased the rights to franchise in the Golden State, and some outlets accused him of undisclosed advertisement. Beyond that, however, it's not known exactly how many Five Guys locations Mickelson owns, what percentage stake he holds, or how much — if at all — he's involved in day-to-day operations.

Perhaps because professional athletes tends to have brief sports career and franchising is a relatively simple way to dive into business ownership, many pro athletes have taken the dive into either franchising or restaurant ownsership. Shaquille O'Neal, for instance, is a former Five Guys franchisee himself, having owned 155 locations at the peak of his investment in the company (he currently owns numerous Atlanta-area Papa John's restaurants and at least one Krispy Kreme location). Former NFL football players Richard Sherman and Sidney Rice have both opened Wingstop outlets in the Seattle area. Speaking of the gridiron, Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees has invested in sandwich shop Jimmy John's, liking it enough personally that he wanted to see the chain come to New Orleans, where he formerly played for the Saints. Meanwhile, retired NBA hooper Jamal "Monster Mash" Mashburn owns a whole slew of Outback Steakhouse and Papa John's locations.

This is all to say nothing of the sports stars who have opened their own restaurants, taking a dive into the culinary world. Michael Jordan and Brett Favre both own steakhouses; Wayne Gretzky's Toronto sports bar has a rooftop deck. Archie Manning, John Elway, and Vince Young are all football greats who dove into owning eateries after they left the field for the last time. And, of course, we can't forget current (as of this writing) Chiefs Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, who recently opened their 1587 Prime steakhouse in Kansas City.