Nothin’ But Net … Worth

Nothin-But-Net-Worth

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Nothin’ But Net … Worth

7 NBA Stars Who Get Business Done Off the Court!

It is no surprise that NBA players make a ton of money. What may surprise you is that a staggering 60% of NBA players go broke after they stop playing professional basketball.

The average number of years a person plays in the NBA is 4.8 years. The average salary an NBA player makes is $5.15 million a year. That means that the average NBA player makes a career salary of $24.7 million.

[Side Note: Here is a chart of the minimum salaries for NBA Players according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement of 2011. Even if a person plays for 4.8 years at the league minimum he will make around $4 million.]

Years of Service

2011-2012

2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

2019-2020

2020-2021

0

$473,604

$473,604

$490,180

$507,336

$525,093

$543,471

$562,493

$582,180

$602,557

$623,646

1

$762,195

$762,195

$788,872

$816,482

$845,059

$874,636

$905,249

$936,932

$969,725

$1,003,665

2

$854,389

$854,389

$884,293

$915,243

$947,276

$980,431

$1,014,746

$1,050,262

$1,087,021

$1,125,067

3

$885,120

$885,120

$916,099

$948,163

$981,348

$1,015,696

$1,051,245

$1,088,038

$1,126,120

$1,165,534

4

$915,852

$915,852

$947,907

$981,084

$1,015,421

$1,050,961

$1,087,745

$1,125,816

$1,165,220

$1,206,002

5

$992,680

$992,680

$1,027,424

$1,063,384

$1,100,602

$1,139,123

$1,178,992

$1,220,257

$1,262,966

$1,307,170

6

$1,069,509

$1,069,509

$1,106,942

$1,145,685

$1,185,784

$1,227,286

$1,270,241

$1,314,700

$1,360,714

$1,408,339

7

$1,146,337

$1,146,337

$1,186,459

$1,227,985

$1,270,964

$1,315,448

$1,361,489

$1,409,141

$1,458,461

$1,509,507

8

$1,223,166

$1,223,166

$1,265,977

$1,310,286

$1,356,146

$1,403,611

$1,452,738

$1,503,583

$1,556,209

$1,610,676

9

$1,229,255

$1,229,255

$1,272,279

$1,316,809

$1,362,897

$1,410,598

$1,459,969

$1,511,068

$1,563,956

$1,618,694

10+

$1,352,181

$1,352,181

$1,399,507

$1,448,490

$1,499,187

$1,551,659

$1,605,967

$1,662,176

$1,720,352

$1,780,564

 

Here is a list of 7 business savvy NBA players who were able to turn their earnings into more cash. They are ranked by what we call the “Turn-a-Buck Ratio.”

 

1. Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman

Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman is the wealthiest former basketball player that you’ve never heard of. The man made far less playing basketball than the majority of the players on this list. Yet, his net worth is the 3rd highest. He buys restaurants so quickly it’s hard to keep up. These numbers are current to January 2014.

Turn-a-Buck Ratio: 95:1

  • Net Worth: $400 million
  • Career Basketball Salary: $4.2 million*

Stats

  • Positions: Small Forward, Shooting Guard
  • Teams: Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers
  • Years: 12 (1975-1987)
  • Points per Game (PPG): 13.6
  • Rebounds per Game (RPG): 3.5
  • Assists per Game (APG): 2.4
  • Steals per Game (SPG): 0.8
  • Player Efficiency Rating (PER): 13.74

Notable Investments

  • 196 Wendy’s franchises
  • 125 Chili’s restaurants
  • 30 Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza stores
  • Partial owner of Milwaukee Soda’s Black Bear Beverages
  • Currently exploring purchasing a partial share in the Milwaukie Bucks

*No record was found for Bridgeman’s career salary so we generously used his peak salary ($350,000 in 1985) for all 12 years of his career.

 

2. Earvin “Magic” Johnson

Magic Johnson made it to our number two spot because of his wise investments. Today, most of Johnson’s net worth is tied up in Magic Johnson Enterprises (MJE). MJE houses multiple businesses in a variety of industries such as real estate, restaurants, and media. MJE is valued at $1 billion giving Johnson a net worth of $500 million.

Turn-a-Buck Ratio: 28:1

  • Net Worth: $500 million
  • Career Basketball Salary: $18 million

Stats

  • Positions: Point Guard
  • Teams: Los Angeles Lakers
  • Years: 13 (1979-91, 1995-96)
  • Points per Game (PPG): 19.5
  • Rebounds per Game (RPG): 7.2
  • Assists per Game (APG): 11.2
  • Steals per Game (SPG): 1.9
  • Player Efficiency Rating (PER): 24.1

Notable Investments

  • 105 Starbucks franchises (sold in 2010 for approximately $75 mill)
  • 4.5% of the Lakers (sold in 2010 for approximately $27 mill)
  • Partial owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers ($50 million) and the Los Angeles Sparks
  • Real estate, restaurants, media, and movie theaters

 

3. Michael Jordan

Technically, the majority of Michael Jordan’s wealth did not come from investing money. However, his negotiations with Nike that gave him royalties of the Jordan Brand was a great move. He makes over $60 million a year from that deal alone. With the highest net worth of any professional basketball player in history, Jordan deserves to be on this list.

Turn-a-Buck Ratio: 7:1

  • Net Worth: $650 million
  • Career Basketball Salary: $93.7 million

Stats

  • Positions: Shooting Guard
  • Teams: Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards
  • Years: 15 (1984-93, 1994-98, 2001-03)
  • Points per Game (PPG): 30.1
  • Rebounds per Game (RPG): 6.2
  • Assists per Game (APG): 5.3
  • Steals per Game (SPG): 2.3
  • Player Efficiency Rating (PER): 27.9

Notable Investments

  • A handful of restaurants
  • Car Dealership
  • Motorsports Team
  • 80% of the Charlotte Bobcats

 

4. David Bing

David Bing founded his own steel company called Bing Steel in 1980. By 2009 the company reported $400 million in sales. Bing’s company was hit hard by the recession and sold around 2010 otherwise he would probably be higher on this list. Bing was elected Mayor of Detroit in 2009 and has since been re-elected to a second term.

Turn-a-Buck Ratio: 2.5:1

  • Net Worth: $5 million
  • Career Basketball Salary: $2 million*

Stats

  • Positions: Guard
  • Teams: Detroit Pistons, Washington Bullets, Boston Celtics
  • Years: 12 (1966-78)
  • Points per Game (PPG): 20.3
  • Rebounds per Game (RPG): 3.8
  • Assists per Game (APG): 6.0
  • Steals per Game (SPG): 1.3
  • Player Efficiency Rating (PER): 17.6

Notable Investments

  • Bing Steel
  • Bing Metals Group
  • Bing-Lear Manufacturing

* A generous estimation based on salaries for 1966 ($15,000), 1969-1971 ($450,000 total), 1976 ($225,000), and 1977 ($190,000).

 

5. LeBron James

James is the only active player on our list. What makes him so brilliant is the way he approaches deals. He is a brilliant negotiator. Not only does he get creative control over ad campaigns in which he appears but he also attempts to get stake in the companies with whom he does business. His net worth could grow over a billion dollars eventually.

Turn-a-Buck Ratio: 2:1

  • Net Worth: $185 Million
  • Career Basketball Salary: $92 million

Stats

  • Positions: Forward
  • Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat
  • Years: 11 (2004 – Present)
  • Points per Game (PPG): 27.5
  • Rebounds per Game (RPG): 7.2
  • Assists per Game (APG): 6.9
  • Steals per Game (SPG): 1.7
  • Player Efficiency Rating (PER): 27.8

Notable Investments

  • Partial owner of Liverpool FC
  • Cofounded PureBrands and the clothing store UNKNWN
  • A limited edition drink with Sprite
  • A mobile App exclusively for Samsung mobile devices
  • Partnerships with American Signature furniture, Beats by Dr. Dre, and Cannondale bikes
  • Executive Producer of the Starz network’s upcoming original series called “Survivor’s Remorse”

 

6. Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon

Hakeem “The Dream” is best known for his signature move on the court, the Dream Shake. While the Dream Shake made him one of the best Centers of all time, his knack for playing the real estate market has made his net worth sky rocket. One of his most noteworthy investments was when he made $13 million in profit selling swampland to Houston’s transportation agency.

Turn-a-Buck Ratio: 1.9:1

  • Net Worth: $200 Million
  • Career Basketball Salary: $107 Million

Stats

  • Positions: Center
  • Teams: Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors
  • Years: 18 (1984-2002)
  • Points per Game (PPG): 21.8
  • Rebounds per Game (RPG): 11.1
  • Assists per Game (APG): 2.5
  • Blocks per Game (BPG): 3.1
  • Player Efficiency Rating (PER): 23.6

Notable Investments

  • Real Estate
  • DR34M – a clothing, accessories, and body products line

 

7. Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O’Neal’s LinkedIn profile says it all, “CEO, President: A Lot of Companies, Inc.” While his career salary was extremely high, his investments could help him become the first former NBA billionaire. If that weren’t enough, in May 2014, Shaq wrapped up a crowd funding campaign to fund the creation of a new video game sequel called “Shaq-Fu: A Legend is Reborn.”

Turn-a-Buck Ratio: 1.2:1

  • Net Worth: $350 million
  • Career Basketball Salary: $292 million

Stats

  • Positions: Center
  • Teams: Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics
  • Years: 19 (1992-2011)
  • Points per Game (PPG): 23.7
  • Rebounds per Game (RPG): 10.9
  • Assists per Game (APG): 2.5
  • Blocks per Game (BPG): 2.3
  • Player Efficiency Rating (PER): 26.4

Notable Investments

  • A partner in Metropolitan Miami
  • Movie theaters and night clubs
  • 55 Five Guys restaurants
  • 17 Auntie Anne’s Pretzels stores
  • Many 24-Hour Fitness Clubs
  • 150 carwashes
  • A pre-IPO investor in Google
  • Owns equity in Muscle Milk, Vitamin Water, and Tout.

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