NFL Hall of Fame quarterback-turned-ESPN announcer Steve Young recently declared that he wanted to give up any connection to the game and focus on his new love: private equity: “My wife hates football, and my kids don’t really care.” (He says he only does it because his partners want him to keep a high profile.) This got us thinking: What athletic greats have conquered the world of finance the way they once beat opponents? And having determined that, which of them have suffered particularly brutal losses. Here are the best and the worst superstars at managing their own money.
The Best
5. Michael Jordan. Jordan made more than any other athlete in the world in 2016 … which is particularly impressive because he stopped being an athlete in 2003. Jordan has already achieved two feats that once seemed impossible for an athlete: amassing over $1 billion dollars (his net worth is $1.3 billion) and owning a pro team in his sport (the Charlotte Hornets). And yes, the NHL’s Mario Lemieux did technically do it first with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Jordan gets props for taking control of the team by himself, whereas Lemieux has to share the reins.
4. Greg Norman. As a golfer, the Shark was often mocked as one of the biggest choke artists ever. As a businessman, he devours all in his path. He’s made a fortune off areas you’d expect (golf apparel and course design) and some you might not (wine and asset-based debt lending through the Great White Shark Opportunity Fund). Indeed, his only setbacks have come in matters of the heart, as his 2008 divorce alone cost him a reported $103 million. (Don’t worry about the Shark: he’s still worth an estimated $300 million.)
3. Magic Johnson. While he jokingly asked Michael Jordan for money after Jordan was announced as a billionaire, he’s done fine on his own. Johnson last played in 1996, before NBA players could make frightening money. (He once signed a $25 million contract … which becomes less impressive when you learn it was meant to be spread out over 25 years.) His assets now range from his Magic Johnson cinemas to Starbucks franchises to a stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s also now the Lakers’ newly named president of basketball operations. His estimated net worth is at least $500 million.
2. Arnold Palmer. The late King earned a total of $3.6 million playing golf, and $871.4 million doing other things. It can be argued that Palmer invented branding for pro athletes and few, if any, have done it better. Yet the top dog is still …
1. Roger Staubach. The iconic Cowboy QB is No. 1 both because he earned very little during his playing days (he retired in 1979) and turned his back on the sport entirely. Instead, Staubach went into real estate and proved quite good at it, in the sense that his net worth has been estimated at up to $600 million. Even if that’s high, there’s no denying he’s done remarkably well for a man who didn’t even reach the NFL until age 27—he served in Vietnam—and in his first season with the Cowboys earned a whopping $25,000.
The Worst
5. Warren Sapp. The NFL Hall of Famer could not be stopped by offensive linemen—or a budget. He somehow went from earning over $82 million during his career to having barely $800 in the bank. A combination of wild spending and $75,495 a month in alimony and child support wiped him out entirely just five years after retiring.
4. Antoine Walker. The only thing more shocking than learning this former Celtic earned $108 million is learning that he also blew it all. Walker says his fall came from a combination of being heavily invested in “undeveloped real estate” when the Great Recession hit and serving as an “open ATM” for friends and family.
3. Lenny Dykstra. One of the ’86 Mets, “Nails” actually presented himself as an investment wizard. He did so quite convincingly: Jim Cramer made a point of praising him as one of investing’s “all-time greats.” Dykstra wasn’t. Total financial collapse and prison followed, as he faced a bizarre array of charges ranging from fraud and money laundering to grand theft auto and indecent exposure.
2. Evander Holyfield. The heavyweight champ known as the “Real Deal” lived large. (Literally: he had a 54,000-square-foot home on 235 acres.) It’s believed he squandered nearly $250 million. But he seems downright frugal compared to the next guy …
1. Mike Tyson. Holyfield beat him twice in the ring, but loses out on this list. Tyson lost an estimated $400 million. Only 20 when he became the heavyweight champ in 1986, arguably Tyson remained boxing’s biggest attraction until his final fight in 2005, earning and then jettisoning at least two nine-figure fortunes over his career. To get a better sense of how a human being can spend so much money, watch the video below. A truly bizarre time capsule—it’s hosted by Roseanne Barr—it takes us inside Iron Mike’s home, which contains a surprising number of tigers and statues of Alexander the Great. (For things like that, any number over “zero” comes as a shock.)
—Sean Cunningham for RealClearLife
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