Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is an American former professional basketball player, coach and executive in the National Basketball Association. In 2022, Larry Bird's net worth is estimated to be $70 million dollars.
March 29, 2022
Words by Matthew Taylor
Larry Bird Net Worth
$70 million
Est. Range $54M - $86M
Larry Joe Bird is an American former professional basketball player, coach and executive in the National Basketball Association. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Bird was born in French Lick, Indiana, and was a local basketball phenom. He was highly recruited and initially signed to play for coach Bobby Knight of the Indiana Hoosiers, but dropped out after one month and returned to French Lick to attend a local community college. The next year he attended the smaller Indiana State University, playing ultimately for three years for the Sycamores. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft after his second year at Indiana State, but elected to stay in college and play one more season. He then led his team to an undefeated regular season in 1978–1979. The season finished with a national championship game matchup against Michigan State, a team that featured Magic Johnson, beginning a career-long rivalry that the two shared for more than a decade.
You vs. Larry Bird
How long would it take you to earn as much as Larry Bird?
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
Larry Bird's net worth of 70 million can buy...
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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