Big-Name Athletes Buy Farmland

Even though he won’t be playing in this weekend’s Super Bowl, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrows (a one-time Nebraska recruit) is destined to be a player in agricultural land markets. The National Association of Farm Broadcasters reports the quarterback along with longtime NBA player Blake Griffin are among some big-name athletes investing in Iowa farmland. Several athletes from the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB joined with Burrows and Griffen to form a $5 million investment fund to be used to buy farmland. The first land purchases by the fund occurred in Iowa. Iowa isn’t the only state to attract the group’s attention, they have also looked into several watermelon farms in Oregon that offer a higher per-acre rent than other larger farms.