Wealthiest
Photo of Alex Smith

Alex Smith

Alexander Douglas Smith is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 16 seasons. In 2022, Alex Smith's net worth is estimated to be $55 million dollars.

March 30, 2022

Words by Matthew Taylor

Alex Smith Net Worth

$55 million

Est. Range $43M - $67M

Medium Confidence

Alexander Douglas Smith is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he was recognized as an All-American and led his team to victory in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. Following his collegiate success, he was selected first overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Smith struggled with consistency and injuries until 2011 when he led the 49ers to their first NFC West division title and playoff win since 2002, along with their first NFC Championship Game appearance since 1997. The next year, however, a concussion resulted in Smith losing his starting position to backup Colin Kaepernick. He was subsequently traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he guided them to four playoff runs between 2013 and 2017 and one postseason victory in 2015, their first since 1993. Smith also received three Pro Bowl selections during his Chiefs tenure and led the league in passer rating for 2017. Smith was traded to the Washington Redskins in 2018 to make way for Kansas City's second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes; in the 2017 season Smith had been considered instrumental in developing Mahomes who would be named the 2018 NFL MVP.

During his first season with Washington, Smith suffered a life-threatening injury to his right leg that nearly resulted in amputation. Although expected to never play again, Smith completed a lengthy rehabilitation process that allowed him to return in 2020. He became Washington's starter midway through the season, leading the team to an NFC East division title and earning him NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Smith retired after he was released by Washington during the 2021 offseason and joined ESPN as an NFL analyst later that year. His comeback from injury is cited as among the greatest in NFL history.

Alexander Douglas Smith was a professional football player for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah where he was an All-American and led his team to a bowl victory. He was then drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. Smith struggled with injuries and inconsistency early in his career but had a breakout season in 2011. The next year he was injured and lost his starting position. He was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs where he had 4 successful seasons. In 2018, he was traded to the Washington Redskins. During his first season with the Redskins, he suffered a life-threatening injury but made an incredible recovery and return to football. He retired in 2021 and became an analyst for ESPN.

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Richest Athletes

The average salary for athletes in the United States is around $49,143 per year. Not however, if you play in the NBA where the average salary is projected to be around $8 million this year. Even then, though, earnings vary greatly. While some of the top players (we’re looking at you, Stephen Curry) earned over $45 million last year, others didn’t even reach the million-dollar mark.

All sports aren’t created equal though and basketball doesn’t even make the top five highest earning sports. Ice hockey, tennis and soccer stars round out the top three, with athletes in those sports able to build a huge amount of wealth from their appearance fees alone.

Still, there’s always ways for athletes to increase their earnings. UFC fighter Conor McGregor managed to be the top earning athlete in 2021, but a sizeable amount of his income was due the sale of his majority stake in Irish whiskey distiller Proper No. Twelve. However, opportunities for athletes go well beyond business deals.

As is the case with actors, musicians and other celebrities, the golden ticket to building an athlete’s net worth tends to lie in endorsements, sponsorships and selling their name (and often photos) wherever they can. Athletes have to be careful about what they do and say though… more than a few athletes have lost their product endorsements and been dropped by a brand over a scandal or unwise comment.

Buying Power

Alex Smith's net worth of 55 million can buy...

6179x
Nights in the Burj Al Arab Royal Suite
Priced at $8,900
1746x
Rolex GMT Master II
Priced at $31,499
418x
Tesla Model S
Priced at $131,440

Methodology

The Wealthiest Index is a ranking of the world's richest people. In calculating Andre Agassi’s net worth, we strive to provide the most transparent calculations available with detailed analysis of how that Andre Agassi’s fortune was made. Each net worth figure is updated at regular intervals to reflect market movements.

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