Introduction

Alex Rodriguez is an American former professional MLB player and investor with an estimated net worth of $350 Million. 

Rodriguez played 22 seasons of Major League Baseball for three teams: the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers. He retired with a .295 batting average, hitting 3,115 times for 696 home runs. A-Rod earned approximately $455.2 million from salary and bonuses, translating to an average annual wage of $20.69 million.

Quick Facts

• Earned $455.2 million during his MLB career
• Peak annual salary of $35 million in 2011
• The highest career earnings in MLB history
• Signed two separate contracts worth over $250 million each

MLB Career

The Seattle Mariners selected Alex Rodriguez in the 1993 Major League Baseball draft and signed him to a three-year contract worth $1.3 million. He made his professional debut in 1994 as a minor league player for the Appleton Foxes before being promoted to the Jacksonville Suns. 

In July 1994, he debuted in the major leagues as a starting shortstop, the third 18-year-old to hold the position since 1900. The following year, he took over as the Mariners’ regular shortstop and led the American League with a .358 batting average. Rodriguez remained with the Mariners until 2000, when he became a free agent and was recruited by one of the richest MLB teams, the Texas Rangers. 

The Texas Rangers

With the Rangers, Alex Rodriguez signed the most lucrative contract in sports history, worth $252 million over 10 years, equivalent to $428 million today. Although the Texans were in last place in the division, Rodriguez’s hitting numbers significantly improved their standing. During his first season, he enjoyed one of the top offensive seasons for a shortstop, leading the league with 52 home runs. That year, he also won his first Golden Glove Award and the Babe Ruth Home Run Award for leading the MLB in homers. 

The 2003 season was meant to be his last with the Rangers, and he was going to be traded to the Boston Red Sox. However, the deal fell through, and in 2004, he was traded to the Yankees, where he transitioned to third base, as Derek Jeter was the team’s shortstop. 

The New York Yankees

In 2004, Alex Rodriguez was elected to the American League All-Star Team, but his team lost the ALCS to their rivals, the Red Sox. He won his second AL MVP Award in 2005, becoming the fifth player to win it with two different teams. Shortly after, he was named an All-Star and hit his 2,000th hit six days before his 31st birthday, which also marked his 450th home run. 

Rodriguez appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2007 before earning his 14th career grand slam. The same year, he became the first player in MLB history to have 35 home runs, 100 runs, and 100 RBIs in 10 consecutive seasons. At the end of the season, he opted out of his contract and became a free agent before he could hash out another contract. Under his new contract, which included multimillion-dollar incentives for milestones, he finished the 2008 season strong. 

Injuries and Scandals 

Rodriguez was set to represent the Dominican Republic in the 2009 World Baseball Classic but withdrew due to a cyst on his hip. He then discovered he had a torn labrum and underwent surgery and a nine-week recovery period, after which he started spring training. 

In 2010, Rodriguez became the seventh player in history to hit 600 homers, and in September, he hit his 30th homer of the season. The following year, he underwent surgery on his knee and then, in 2012, suffered from a non-displaced fracture that landed him on the disabled list. After more surgery, he played with the Yankees’ Class A affiliate, the Charleston RiverDogs, but soon sustained another injury. 

When he returned to the Yankees in 2013, he was immediately suspended due to the Biogenesis baseball scandal. Although he missed the 2014 season, he returned with an apology in 2015 and had an overall solid season. 

A Post-Baseball Career

Alex Rodriguez played his final season in 2016 and announced he’d remain a special advisor to the Yankees owner the following year. The same year, he became a guest judge on Shark Tank and signed a deal with ABC to become a contributor. He also served as an MLB analyst for FOX Sports and earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality of the Year. 

In 2018, he hosted “Back in the Game,” a show that focused on athletes like Evander Holyfield as they attempted to regain their form. Most recently, he appeared in The Captain, a 2022 miniseries that showcased Derek Jeter’s life and career, as well as their friendship and fallout.

MLB Salary & Contracts

Despite being out of the game for several years, Alex Rodriguez still holds the record for the highest-earning player in MLB history. He earned a total of $455.2 million throughout his career, comprising both salary and bonuses. This figure was split across the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees, with the latter representing just under $345 million of his career earnings.

Early Career Contracts

In 1994, at just nineteen years old, the Seattle Mariners signed A-Rod to a three-year rookie contract worth $1.3 million. This included a $1 million signing bonus, which at the time was a significant sum for a player’s first contract.

At the end of his rookie period, Rodriguez signed a new three-year agreement with the Mariners, guaranteeing him $10.7 million. With most of the value being heavily weighted toward the end of the contract’s lifespan, he earned $1.1 million in his first year. His annual salary then increased by roughly $1 million per season, reaching $4.36 million by 2000. This concluded his time in Seattle, accounting for $12 million, or approximately 2.6% of his lifetime earnings.

Peak Career Earnings

When Alex Rodriguez signed with the Texas Rangers in 2001, he secured a record-breaking $252 million, ten-year contract. At the time, this was the highest-value contract ever signed in the sport’s history. In fact, the record remained unbroken for almost a decade until A-Rod decided to break it himself. We’ll get to that in just a second.

Under the contract, Rodriguez played the first three seasons with the Rangers, earning an average annual salary of roughly $19.4 million. Following this period, he was traded to the New York Yankees, and the Rangers agreed to pay $67 million of his remaining salary. This money was deferred and later paid out annually from 2011 to 2013. Hence, A-Rod earned a total of $98.2 million with the team, despite only playing with them for three seasons.

By 2007, Alex Rodriguez’s annual salary had reached $24.7 million. He opted to void the final three years of his deal and negotiate a new $275 million, ten-year agreement with the Yankees. His salary eventually peaked at $33 million per year in 2009 and 2010. Rodriguez opted for retirement at the end of the 2015 season, finishing his career with $455.2 million in earnings. At the time of writing, only one other player in Major League Baseball (Justin Verlander) has exceeded $400 million in career earnings.

Business Ventures

Rodriguez started in business in 2011, when he partnered with entrepreneur Mark Mastrov. During that year, they launched Energy Fitness in Mexico, expanding it into one of the country’s largest gym chains. Five years later, Rodriguez joined NRG Esports as an early investor in March 2016, alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Jimmy Rollins. NRG was founded by Sacramento Kings co-owners Mark Mastrov and Andy Miller in late 2015.

As its popularity grew, Rodriguez joined subsequent funding rounds, although the exact funding amounts were not disclosed. However, the Series B round, in which Rodriguez invested, raised approximately $15 million. In the same year, Rodriguez partnered with UFC GYM, obtaining the rights to develop the franchise across Miami-Dade County, Florida. His first purchase was the UFC GYM in Kendall, followed by other UFC gyms in Plantation and Doral in 2020.

Fitplan

A few years later, in 2019, Rodriguez and his company, A-Rod Corp, co-led a $4.5 million financing round for Fitplan, a personal trainer app. The app offers workout routines from top trainers worldwide. Two years later, in August 2021, Rodriguez co-founded another app, called Jump, with Marc Lore and Jordy Leiser. The app allows sports teams to manage their ticket sales, merchandise, and fan engagement in one place. In August 2025, Jump secured $23 million in a Series A funding round, led by Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six firm, pushing Jump’s total funding to $58 million and its valuation to over $100 million.

Minnesota Timberwolves Acquisition

Rodriguez continued his business ventures in April 2021, partnering with Marc Lore again to acquire the Minnesota Timberwolves and their women’s team, the Lynx, for $1.5 billion. The payment was split into three parts, and, after their first two payments, their stake increased by 20%. Following the third payment, it was set to rise by an additional 40%. However, in March 2024, the owner, Glen Taylor, announced that Rodriguez and Lore had missed the final payment.

As a result, Taylor attempted to cancel the deal, claiming that the value of the teams had risen and they were worth more than $1.5 million. However, Rodriguez and Lore disputed Taylor’s claim and initiated an arbitration process to determine who had the right to own the teams.

In early 2025, the arbitration panel ruled in their favor, ordering Taylor to honor the original contract. As a result, the Timberwolves and Lynx were then officially owned by the Lore-Rodriguez group.

PFL Investment

In May 2022, a year after the Timberwolves’ acquisition, Rodriguez joined a $30 million Series E funding round for the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Rodriguez also became a member of the PFL board of directors and began advising on the league’s strategy. By mid-2025, Rodriguez, along with other investors, had raised over $200 million in investment capital for PFL. This is just one of Rodriguez’s many successful investments, which have contributed significantly to his growing net worth.

Real Estate

Coral Gables Homes

In May 2010, Alex Rodriguez paid $7.4 million for a 1.11-acre plot of land on North Bay Road in Miami Beach, Florida. He constructed a 19,861-square-foot, nine-bedroom home on the property and listed it for sale at $38 million in August 2012. A deal was finalized for $30 million in May 2013. 

In July 2013, Rodriguez paid $2.69 million for a 1.46-acre lot in Coral Gables. He then built a 10,427-square-foot, six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home. The property is worth an estimated $11.5 million based on recent estimations. However, how much Rodriguez spent constructing either of these two homes is unknown.

Introduction

Randy Couture is an American professional actor and former MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $7 Million.

Early Career 

In his teenage years, Randy Couture joined the U.S. Army, where he was part of the wrestling team. Upon discharge, he attended Oklahoma State University, where he won gold at the Pan American Games. He served in the military from 1982 to 1988, finished college in 1992, and then became an Olympic alternate afterward.

MMA Career 

On May 30, 1997, Randy Couture made his UFC debut with two matches, defeating both Tony Halme and Steven Graham in the UFC 13 Heavyweight Division Tournament.

Just a few months later, Couture won against Vitor Belfort to set up a UFC Heavyweight Championship match against Maurice Smith, winning via majority decision. Couture lost his title due to a contract dispute with UFC and fought in Japan before returning in 2000 to defeat Kevin Randleman and reclaim his title.

Throughout his career, Couture would have five title reigns across the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions and fought the likes of Chuck Liddell, Brock Lesnar, and Tito Ortiz. During the back half of his career, Couture began an acting career and starred alongside Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham in the Expendables series.

UFC Earnings

Similar to most professional MMA fighters, not all of Randy Couture’s fight purses are public knowledge. There’s also a substantial difference between disclosed purses and the fighter’s total purse, which includes PPV revenue. The table above highlights seven fights where Couture’s salary was disclosed. However, several reports suggest he was also earning a hefty sum from pay-per-view shares. We’ll get to that in just a second.

Randy’s earliest recorded purse was $120,000 for his loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 46. During the peak of his career, Couture typically earned a base salary of $250,000 per fight. This was the case for the majority of his fights, including against James Toney, Brock Lesnar, and Tim Sylvia. Each of these bouts earned him $250,000. 

When Randy fought Gabriel Gonzaga in 2007, he earned $250,000 plus an additional $35,000 for Fight of the Night. For his third fight with Chuck Liddell at UFC 57, Couture received a base pay of $225,000. Finally, when he fought Antonio Nogueira at UFC 102 in 2009, Couture earned $250,000 for the fight and a $60,000 bonus for Fight of the Night, totaling $310,000.

This brings his total disclosed pay to $1.7 million from these seven fights. However, this doesn’t even account for a quarter of his 30 professional fights, and doesn’t account for PPV earnings.

Pay-Per-View Earnings

A fighter’s income from PPV revenue is not often disclosed to the public and varies significantly depending on the fighter and the number of buys an event receives. In Couture’s case, this is where things get interesting. In 2007, Randy claimed that the UFC wasn’t being honest about fighter pay, and that he was “being taken advantage of” by the promotion. Couture said he felt that his compensation wasn’t adequate, given his history as a primary face for the UFC. 

In response, the company’s CFO, John Mulkey, put out a statement, claiming that Couture had earned a total of $2.9 million for 2007 alone. He went on to say that for the year, Randy earned $1.2 million from UFC 68, $1.1 million from UFC 74, a $500,000 signing bonus, and $160,000 for his commentary work. Documentation for cashed checks from these two events highlights $924,000 and $787,000 in earnings for UFC 68 and 74, respectively.

UFC president Dana White later claimed that Couture was earning $3.25 million per fight, although this figure has never been backed up with documentation. The relationship between White and Couture soured during the 2007 pay dispute and lawsuit.

Real Estate

In March 2007, Randy Couture paid $828,000 for a 3,743-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Based on the public records, he still owns the house, which now has an estimated value of $1 million, and costs him approximately $4,600 in annual property taxes.

Summary 

When you think of the UFC, Randy Couture might be the first UFC fighter that you think of because of his impact. Couture was there with the early days of the company and helped to make it popular in the mainstream while making himself a star. Now a retired mixed martial artist, Couture continues his career as an actor and coach, building on his legacy in the sport.

Introduction

Junior Dos Santos is a Brazilian professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $10 Million.

Early Life 

Junior Dos Santos was born on 30 January 1984 in Cacador, Brazil, and trained in multiple martial arts and boxing while growing up. Much of Dos Santos’ training came in the form of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, although it wasn’t until he was in his early twenties that he began to train more seriously.

Dos Santos proved to be a natural in mixed martial arts and quickly joined the professional ranks at the age of 22. He would win his first five matches easily, as he defeated every opponent in the first round, including a 50-second submission victory.

MMA Career 

Just two years after turning pro, Dos Santos made his UFC debut with a victory over Fabricio Werdum and would go on a winning streak that included takedowns of Mirko Cro Cop, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Roy Nelson.

After defeating Nelson, Dos Santos was placed into the UFC Heavyweight Title Eliminator, where he defeated Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez to earn the UFC Heavyweight Championship. He would successfully defend the title against Frank Mir, but lost his rematch to Cain Velasquez, as well as the rubber match.

From December 2014 to March 2019, Dos Santos took on the likes of Stipe Miocic, Alistair Overeem, and Derrick Lewis, but lost his final four UFC matches. After losing to Ciryl Gane in late 2020, Dos Santos’ time with UFC came to an end, and he joined Eagle FC, where he lost his first match against Yorgan De Castro in May 2022.

UFC Earnings

During our research into Junior dos Santos’ fight earnings, particularly within the UFC, we found information relating to just nine of his thirty professional fights. The majority of these fights occured between 2010 and 2013, when dos Santos was considered to be at the peak of his career. At the time, his earnings were among the highest in mixed martial arts.

However, dos Santos’ earliest recorded fight purse was $71,000 against Fabricio Werdum. This somehow included his $65,000 knockout bonus, indicating that his base pay was just a few thousand dollars. In March 2010, he earned a similar sum ($70,000), for knocking out Gabriel Gonzaga in the first round.

After six straight wins in the UFC, five of which were knockouts, dos Santos quickly began commanding a higher salary. When he fought Shane Carwin at UFC 131 in 2011, Junior earned $200,000, comprising $100,000 to show and $100,000 for the win. Later that year, he secured a similar sum ($220,000) for his win over Cain Velasquez, securing the Heavyweight Championship belt. In 2012, his disclosed earnings from his bout with Frank Mir were $200,000; however, there may have been certain bonuses that went undisclosed. At UFC 155, where Velasquez reclaimed the belt, dos Santos reportedly secured a $400,000 purse.

The final three disclosed earnings of Junior dos Santos’ UFC career were $240,000 against Mark Hunt, $260,000 against Stipe Miocic, and $400,000 against Alistair Overeem. These nine fights amounts to an estimated $2.06 million in earnings, but may still be missing several bonuses, etc.

Additional Earnings

Post-UFC, Junior dos Santos also competed in the BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship), and Eagle FC, which is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s MMA promotion. However, these organizations are somewhat reluctant to publish their fighter’s earnings. Thus, we’re unable to know how much dos Santos has earned with them, despite many sources guessing. Junior has fought twice in the BKFC, and once for Eagle FC. In an interview, he claimed that he was “going to make as much” if not more with Eagle FC than he did in the UFC.

Personal Life

For much of his career, Junior Dos Santos was married to Vilsana Picolli, though the two announced that they would be divorcing in 2013 after a decade of marriage. That wasn’t the end of their working relationship, though, as Picolli remained as Dos Santos’ manager, and the former UFC Heavyweight Champion has more recently been linked to Brazilian TV presented Isadora Santos.

In addition to his fighting career, Dos Santos has made several appearances with All Elite Wrestling and competed in the 2019 season of Dancing with the Stars in his native Brazil.

Awards & Achievements

Here are the top awards and achievements from Junior Dos Santos’ UFC career:

• One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion with one successful title defense.
• Three-time Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night bonus winner.
• Holds the longest winning streak in the history of the UFC heavyweight division with nine.
• Has the second most knockout victories in UFC heavyweight history with 10.
• Named to the 2011 Sherdog All-Violence First Team.

How Does Junior Dos Santos Spend His Money?

Junior Dos Santos may be one of the richest fighters, but the former UFC Heavyweight Champion doesn’t quite spend like it. Dos Santos revealed that he just wanted to be comfortable as he grew up in an impoverished area in Brazil and spent a lot of money helping his family.

In fact, one of the reasons Dos Santos left the UFC was that the injuries were no longer worth the paydays, and he wanted to work on a more manageable schedule, even if it meant earning less money. Dos Santos loves winning, and that comes with good paydays, but the money primarily goes toward his family and community.

Summary 

Junior Dos Santos was a staple of the UFC’s heavyweight division for years and is considered among the promotion’s best fighters in its history. As he approaches his 40s, Dos Santos seems to have his sights set more on professional wrestling now with All Elite Wrestling. Along the way, Dos Santos has made millions and is considered a legend of the heavyweight division for good reason.