Updated

One of the last acts of Dwyane Wade's offseason was spending eight hours in a hotel ballroom, surrounded by about 35 of his teammates, albeit ones with no names on their clothing.

They weren't Miami Heat teammates, but the principals in what he calls Brand Wade. His business partners from the U.S. and China got together to brief not just the three-time NBA champion, but each other, on how his off-court interests are doing.

They've done it this way for five years, as Wade has grown into a worldwide pitchman. From $15 ties to socks to six-figure cars, Wade has a hand in plenty of different things these days, diversifying his workload and his portfolio at the same time.

Wade says "it's mindboggling" how many companies he's aligned with.