The NFL has unveiled its first-ever ‘Chief Kindness Officer’ for next week’s Super Bowl: a former marijuana entrepreneur who was once convicted on felony fraud charges.
Dhar Mann was chosen by the NFL to help ‘activate kindness and sportsmanship across fans and players’ ahead of the Seahawks’ clash with the Patriots in Santa Clara.
The league hailed Mann – who said he was ‘honored’ to be given the role – as ‘one of the most influential storytellers in the world’ and said his ‘commitment to kindness comes from lived experience.’
‘Dhar creates content that uplifts the world by helping people feel seen and connected,’ the NFL announced. ‘[He is] a mission-driven entrepreneur, father, and husband, his work is guided by a simple belief: that storytelling can change lives.’
In its announcement, the NFL did mention that Mann had ‘navigated significant setbacks early in his life.’
But the league did not specify that, back in 2014, Mann was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to repay the city of Oakland $44,399 after pleading no contest to five felony counts of defrauding the city.
The NFL has chosen Dhar Mann as its first-ever ‘Chief Kindness Officer’ for the Super Bowl
According to reports at the time, Mann – then 29 – was accused of ‘pocketing city grant money meant for building improvements.’
Mann, whose work in the marijuana industry earned him the nickname ‘ganjapreneur’, later paid the fine and was released early from probation, according to the Mercury News.
At the time, Mann owned a real estate company and a luxury car rental firm. He was also the CEO of weGrow, which was known as the ‘Walmart of Weed.’
As detailed by Mother Jones more than a decade ago, Mann partnered with a Morgan Stanley investment banker, Derek Peterson, who later accused him of running ‘a f***ing hydroponzi scheme.’ Mann and Peterson went through an ‘ugly divorce’ and accused each other of unpaid debts.
According to reports at the time, the pair filed lawsuits against each other before reaching a settlement. ‘We’re putting differences aside,’ Mann was quoted as saying.
He now runs Dhar Mann Studios, which claims to be a ‘video production company aimed at creating positive content for the social media generation.’
Their ‘short, motivational videos’ focus on ‘life, business, and relationships’. Dhar Mann Studios has 26.7million subscribers on YouTube and claims to have amassed more than 100billion views across social media.
‘These compelling stories depict real-life situations shown by actors that teach important life lessons, inspired by Dhar’s personal experience of success and failure,’ the company says on LinkedIn.
Mann was recently ranked No 2 on Forbes’ list of the top creators for 2025. His earnings were estimated to be $56million, with Forbes claiming Mann has ‘established a full-fledged Hollywood studio and a team of hundreds.’
Super Bowl LX between the Patriots and Seahawks will take place in Santa Clara, California
Mann, pictured with his wife Laura Avila, was once convicted on felony fraud charges
But in 2023, Dhar Mann Studios faced protests by actors who reportedly argued they were underpaid and unfairly treated.
In February 2023, Mann addressed the protests and the ‘various misleading stories that have spread.’ In a statement, he said: ‘These protestors represent a small percentage of the thousands of actors we have and do not represent the views of all actors.
‘The protestors have said that I won’t meet with actors and did not show up for a planned meeting. That’s not true.’ He even accused ‘certain protestors’ of spreading ‘false information to hurt the Studio, my family and me.’
Mann also ‘addressed the misinformation being spread by protestors that we don’t pay our actors. This is 100 per cent not true.’
But Mann did admit ‘there’s always opportunity for growth,’ adding ‘my mission on why I started this channel has always been to spread positivity. Although this has been a challenging time, I’m never going to stop working hard towards that goal.’
