Key Takeaways
- Rick Ross says he shifted his money from Wingstop franchises to stocks, arguing that even 200 franchises could not match his level of stock-market investing.
- Investor Eric Jackson’s review of franchise filings found that Ross’ family-linked Boss Wings companies went from 21 open Wingstop restaurants in 2016 to one in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the end of 2025.
- 50 Cent mocked the decline online, while Wingstop previously said Boss Wings transferred its Memphis locations to a new operator in 2022.
Rick Ross has shifted his focus away from Wingstop, and he's taken a moment to explain why.
In a new video shared to social media, the rapper explained why he moved his money out of the chicken wings business. "People in my DMs want to know if I'm still a lemon pepper stepper. Of course I am. It's Ricky Ross. I love Wingstop. Always will," he said.
"My game went from more franchising to stocks. I was down with Wingstop before stocks. You understand? A franchise is an amazing experience. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. But the stock game is a whole other game. And the way I went into the stocks, you could have 200 franchises and not play at that level," Ross added.
The MMG rapper's response comes after investor Eric Jackson published a review of nine years of Wingstop's state franchise filings, which showed the Boss Wings companies tied to Rozay's family listed 21 open restaurants at the end of 2016.
By the end of 2025, those same filings showed one open Wingstop left under the Boss Wings umbrella, located in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Ross' mother's hometown.
The filing trail picked up extra heat once 50 Cent took the opportunity to troll Ross about the situation. "See this fool only has one location, LOL," Fif wrote on Instagram.
Ross has leaned on Wingstop as a pillar of his businessman persona for years, which is part of why a document trail ending at a single store traveled so fast. One earlier marker in that run came in 2022, when Wingstop said Boss Wings had handed its Memphis stores to a new operator.
Ross previously revealed that his interest in Wingstop began in Miami when he tried its lemon pepper wings. In August of 2011, Wingstop had announced he'd signed a deal to open stores in Memphis.
