Dennis Rodman is likely best known for his prolific career with the NBA, showcasing incredible defensive abilities during his 20-year tenure on the court. However, the retired basketball star has gone on to exhibit a host of eccentric accolades in his 62 years on Earth, making him one of the most interesting humans to ever live.
Today, Dennis Rodman touts a paltry net worth of only $500,000 according to Watcher Guru, in spite of his multi-million dollar legacy. Rodman sits at this figure for a number of reasons, most notably due to a number of shady business deals that saw his long-time financial advisor embezzling millions from his personal fortune.
Despite Dennis Rodman’s lower-than-expected net worth, the retired basketball legend seems to be living comfortably today, and has tons of social credit to fall back on in case he needs additional financial security. Since retiring from the NBA, Rodman has gone on to wrestle at a professional level, appear in numerous film and television roles, author a wide array of books and even take on the role as international ambassador, mitigating the threat of global nuclear annihilation. Without further ado, let’s examine the life and times of Dennis Rodman, and the many contributing factors to his net worth throughout the years.
Dennis Rodman Isn’t The Only Athlete In His Family
Accounts of Dennis Rodman’s early life are so bonkers that they sound like poorly-crafted satire. Rodman’s father was an Air Force pilot named Philander, who abandoned his family when Dennis was 5 years old. Over the course of the following several years, Philander would go on to have dozens of children all over the world, abandoning them all, before eventually settling down in the Philippines to run a dive bar. According to Dennis Rodman, he has over 40 siblings as a result of his philandering father, though Philander claims to only have helped conceive 29 children in total.
Of these many kids, Dennis Rodman only knew two sisters growing up, both of whom were naturally gifted at basketball, and known to smoke Dennis on the court. As a result, Rodman was an incredibly shy and anxious child, a far cry from the bombastic outgoing personality seen on the NBA courts a few decades later. Rodman’s sisters, Kim and Debra, each went on to become All-Americans at Stephen F. Austin State University and Louisiana Tech, winning national titles with their natural gift, as Dennis failed to make it onto his high school football and basketball teams.
Rodman’s Basketball Career
While Dennis Rodman has earned plenty of cash from his extracurricular activities, the single largest stream of income bolstering his net worth is almost certainly his time spent in the NBA. After struggling to keep up with his athletic sisters through childhood, Rodman hit a major growth spurt in college, and suddenly commanded the ability to net multiple rebounds per game. Despite struggling academically throughout his time I college, Rodman managed to hone a prolific career on the court, and eventually joined the 1986 NBA draft.
Over the course of his twenty years with the NBA, Dennis Rodman honed his skills, and eventually became known as one of the greatest defensive players of all time, despite his propensity for engaging in interpersonal drama and provocative behavior with other players. Rodman was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year twice, and led the league in rebounds for seven consecutive seasons. The famed baller earned $27 million in salary alone over the course of his NBA career, not accounting for brand and sponsorship deals, nor his cultural icon status that came from his many high-profile antics off the court, such as a years-long relationship with Madonna. At one point, Rodman was the tenth highest-paid player in the NBA, which, if invested properly, should have provided generational wealth for the prolific player.
Financial Struggles
Unfortunately, Dennis Rodman wasn’t able to maintain his millions in net worth over the course of the last few decades, due to a number of factors. Rodman reportedly struggled with an addiction to gambling throughout much of his life, losing untold amounts of money at both above-board casinos and backroom card games. Furthermore, the former power forward went through three extremely costly divorces, shelling out millions to each of his spouses, and even more in collective child support payments.
One of the worst financial blows dealt to Dennis Rodman over the years came at the hands of Peggy Ann Fulford, a business manager who worked alongside a number of high-profile clients within the NBA. Fulford was arrested on fraud charges in 2016, with multiple players discovering that the exec had stolen millions of dollars from them over the years. While handling Rodman’s money, Fulford reportedly wrote herself personal checks under Rodman’s name, and using the funds to purchase luxury vehicles, jewelry, and even property. While the figures regarding Fulford’s scamming are not 100 percent clear, it is obvious that she made a serious dent in Dennis Rodman’s financial nest egg.
Rodman’s Extracurriculars
Listing Dennis Rodman’s many non NBA outings over the years would genuinely take a lifetime, but here’s a brief lightning round on Rodman’s bonafides. The NBA champion joined professional wrestler Hulk Hogan in the ring in 1997 for the first of many pro-wrestling appearances. During this time, Rodman aided in Hulk Hogan’s WCW World Heavyweight Championship win, by striking rival wrestler Lex Lugar with a baseball bat. Rodman would later go on to appear in Hogan’s 2008 television venture “Celebrity Championship Wrestling,” winning the series against a number of performers including Dustin Diamond and Butterbean.
Dennis Rodman also appeared in a wide array of television and film projects, including “Third Rock From The Sun,” “The Simpsons,” “Love Island,” “Celebrity Big Brother,” and his own reality show titled “The Rodman World Tour.” He also appeared on the series “Celebrity Apprentice,” where he befriended future United States president Donald Trump. Against all odds, this friendship would ultimately be integral to the good of humanity, as Rodman later became diplomatically involved with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and brokered a historic meeting between the two highly controversial heads of state in 2018.
Rodman authored nearly half a dozen books between 1994 and 2013, each of which offer unique insight into his personal life and invite readers to engage with his wild off-the-court extracurriculars. At one point, Dennis Rodman was even invited to The Vatican during the selection of Pope Francis in 2013. The defensive legend is truly a real-life Forrest Gump in terms of his shocking social and political impact. While he may not have the most exceptionally high net worth, Dennis Rodman’s legacy is rich in spirit, and touts experiences unfathomable to the average person.
