Is Mike Piazza's net worth really $80 million dollars?

Mike Piazza

Michael Joseph Piazza is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1992 to 2007, and currently the manager of the Italy national baseball team. In 2022, Mike Piazza's net worth is estimated to be $80 million dollars.

March 29, 2022

Words by Matthew Taylor

Piazza also managed Team Italy in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Michael Joseph Piazza is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1992 to 2007, and is currently the manager of the Italy national baseball team. Piazza was drafted by the Dodgers in the 1988 MLB draft as a favor from Tommy Lasorda to Piazza's father. He was the last player selected and signed in his draft class to play in the Major Leagues. Piazza immediately impressed with his ability to hit for power and average, and his best year as a Dodger came in 1997 when he batted .362, hit 40 home runs, and had 124 RBI, leading to a runner-up finish in voting for the NL Most Valuable Player Award. In 1998, he was traded to the Marlins and then a week later to the Mets, with whom he spent most of the remainder of his career. He helped the Mets reach the 2000 World Series, the only World Series appearance of his career. Piazza is regarded as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball history and in 2016, Piazza was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 82.95% of the vote.

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.

Mike Piazza

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