REUTERS
Joe Montana in a 1990 game.
San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana is pushing toward a close on a $25 million venture capital fund, Liquid 2 Ventures, a regulatory filing on Friday indicates.
The filing doesn't say the fund has closed yet. Rather it's an clue that closing is getting close, since this is the first time San Francisco-based Liquid 2 has registered anything with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Earlier this year Montana told Business Insider's Eugene Kim that his firm was in "the process of getting paperwork done" for a new investing vehicle that might raise this amount. At the time, he said he's invested in Pinterest three times, Dropbox twice, and other large startups like CoreOS in the past.
Already, Liquid 2 Ventures has begun putting money to work, with stakes in California-based real estate startup Open Listings and sports app GameOn Technology.
While Montana has enjoyed massive success on the field, he has run into some off-gridiron troubles as an investor.
After he completed his Hall of Fame career, Montana, joined by former teammates Ronnie Lott and Harris Barton, launched HRJ Capital. It reportedly took investment capital from heavy-hitter Barry Bonds, as well as NFL elite John Elway, Peyton Manning and Montana's former top target, wideout Jerry Rice.
But the fund was bought out from a creditor by Capital Dynamics in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis after it failed to meet its debt obligations.
Montana's far from being the only NFL Hall of Fame player to launch a finance career after wrapping up his glory days. Another, his former teammate and backup quarterback Steve Young, has outpaced most other private equity firms as an investor and is on his second fund with investment firm HGGC.