Inside the Homes of Sports Icons
Superstar athletes rake in millions in contracts and sponsorships, and some of them use their established wealth and fame to earn hundreds of millions in the business world. With all that cash, the most famous athletes in the world live in some extravagant mansions.
These superstar athletes from the NFL, NBA, PGA and MLB haven't scrimped on their cribs. They've dropped millions on super-luxe homes all around the United States. Some are fancy. Some are over the top. All are outside our price range.
Come take a look at the homes of legendary athletes like Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Mike Tyson, Tom Brady and many more.
Michael Jordan's House
Value: $14.855 million
Location: Highland Park, Illinois
Square footage: 56,000
Number of bedrooms: 9
Number of bathrooms: 15 full
Michael Jordan's House Unique Features
What do you get in Michael Jordan's multimillion dollar mansion? For starters, there's an indoor basketball court custom-made for the former Chicago Bulls superstar. And there are a lot of over-the-top features, all of which were custom-designed for Jordan.
There's a pair of decorative doors that were once installed in the Playboy mansion, an upstairs library, multiple media rooms, putting green, tennis court, cigar room, game room with several card tables, a circular infinity pool with a grass island in the middle, a pond and a fully loaded gym.
Michael Jordan's House: Bottom Line
Jordan has owned this house for 19 years and has been trying to sell if for eight. The home is luxurious, sure, but it's also so stuffed with custom touches and it's so freakin' big that finding a buyer is proving near impossible. In 2015, Jordan even offered to include a complete set of Air Jordans with the price tag but still had no takers.
The home originally listed for $29 million but has been steadily dropping in price and even went to auction in 2013, but the reserve price of $13 million was never met.
Seems like no one wants to dance with MJ's mansion, at least not for the price.
Scottie Pippen's House
Value: $9.8 million
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Square footage: 9,782
Number of bedrooms: 6
Number of bathrooms: 7 full
Scottie Pippen's House Unique Features
Scottie Pippen's house in Fort Lauderdale has a wine cellar, theater, gym, outside basketball court, chef's kitchen, huge walk-in closet and a resort-style freeform pool that includes a twisting slide and water features.
Scottie Pippen's House: Bottom Line
While "The Last Dance" is still on our minds, let's take a look at the home of Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen, who actually earned more from NBA contracts than Michael Jordan did.
Pippen's Fort Lauderdale mansion is in the same kind of bind as Jordan's home: It's been on the market for 11 years. However, there aren't nearly as many custom finishes, and it looks like a pretty normal mansion for its size, price and location.
Pippen's house originally listed for $16 million but has dropped in price nearly every year since 2009, and has currently been on sale for $9.8 million since 2018. It sits on a canal, but its views aren't too great, which is probably hurting its appeal.
Pippen also owns a home in Highland Park, Illinois (the same town as Jordan), and tried to sell it for $1.9 million in 2019. But he took it off the market in 2020 after failing to find a buyer.
David Ortiz's House
Value: $4.995 million
Location: Weston, Massachusetts
Square footage: 7,714
Number of bedrooms: 6
Number of bathrooms: 6 full
David Ortiz's House Unique Features
The Boston Red Sox legend owns a palatial home with extensive hardwood flooring, a huge kitchen, spiral staircase and a Fenway Park scoreboard in one of the upstairs rooms.
Downstairs in the man cave, there's a theater with tiered seating that connects to a game room and bar with custom brickwork walls.
Outside, there's a pool, hot tub, patio and large yard on the estate's 2.15-acre grounds.
David Ortiz's House: Bottom Line
Ortiz has had a hard time selling this house, which he purchased for $4.5 million in 2007. He originally listed it for $6.3 million in early 2019 but has since dropped the price to just $5 million, hoping to turn somewhat of a profit on the Adirondack-style house.
He seems to be a motivated seller. Not only has he dropped the price, but he held an estate sale in February 2020, drawing hundreds of visitors who picked the house clean of cookware, plaques, artwork, clothing, various baseball mementos and cleaning products, like Tide detergent.
Big Papi is moving away from the Boston burbs. He owns a 10,000-square-foot house in Miami, Florida, and a home in the Dominican Republic. In 2019, he was shot and severely wounded in an assassination attempt in his native country but luckily made a full recovery.
Cal Ripken Jr.'s House
Value: $5 million
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
Square footage: 6,740
Number of bedrooms: 4
Number of bathrooms: 4 full
Cal Ripken Jr.'s House Unique Features
Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Ripken, Jr. just bought this three-story mansion, which includes dark hardwood flooring, coffered ceilings, 220 feet of water frontage, a dock big enough for a 60-foot boat, and loads and loads of windows.
Carl Ripken Jr.'s House: Bottom Line
After selling a 22,000-square-foot mansion in Reisterstown, Maryland, for $3.9 million in February 2020, Cal Ripken Jr. plopped down $5 million for this waterfront estate in Annapolis.
The former Baltimore Orioles shortstop swapped out his backyard baseball diamond and home movie theater for a more relaxed living space with a convenient place to set sail.
Mike Tyson's House
Value: $1.5 million
Location: Henderson, Nevada
Square footage: 5,740
Number of bedrooms: 5
Number of bathrooms: 4 full
Mike Tyson's House Unique Features
The pictures that you're seeing here are what it looked like when former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson lived here.
At the time, his house included a 25-foot lighted waterfall, an LED-lighted rain shower, travertine floors, loads of marble, disco-ball-like lighting features and a sunken great room.
Mike Tyson's House: Bottom Line
Tyson bought this house for $1.75 million in 2008 and remodeled it to his liking, then spent eight years there along with his wife, Lakiha Spicer, before selling it in 2016 for $1.5 million.
With all the upgrades and renovations, the champ took a loss on this one, but he didn't seem to care. Tyson sold it within a few days of listing the 5,800-square-foot mansion and moved on down the street for a mansion almost double the size of this one.
Greg Norman's Ranch
Value: $40 million
Location: Meeker, Colorado
Square footage: 13,907
Number of bedrooms: 8
Number of bathrooms: 7 full
Greg Norman's Ranch Unique Features
This massive contemporary ranch includes an incredible 11,900 acres of pristine Colorado land that's dotted with lakes, streams, rivers, crests and valleys.
The house itself is a cabin-style ranch with theater, bars and a saloon/dance hall.
Greg Norman's Ranch: Bottom Line
Iconic golfer Greg Norman owns this sprawling remote property located in Colorado's White River Valley in the Flat Tops mountain range. There are numerous cabins and buildings throughout the property and the White River, which runs through the parcel, is known for its excellent trout fishing.
The main house has rustic log cabin features and feels almost more like a resort than a home, which isn't a bad thing. The dance hall/saloon is particularly interesting, but whoever buys this property is going to be just as wealthy as Norman, who is worth somewhere around $400 million or $500 million.
He originally listed the property for $55 million in 2016 but has since sliced off 27 percent of that asking price and is teeing it up for $40 million.
Anyone care to take an expensive swing?
Tom Brady's House
Value: $33.9 million
Location: Brookline, Massachusetts
Square footage: 12,112
Number of bedrooms: 5
Number of bathrooms: 5 full
Tom Brady's House Unique Features
The great former New England Patriots quarterback's house includes a gym, wine room, spa, pool, herb and vegetable garden, theater, massage room and remodeled guest house.
Tom Brady's House: Bottom Line
Eight months before Tom Brady announced he was leaving the Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he and his wife Gisele Bundchen put their home up for sale. But they never actually sold i, and it sat on the market for several months and was quietly de-listed.
Brady's house is very prim, proper and stately — pretty much exactly what you would expect of the straightlaced quarterback. The coolest feature is the 2,400-square-foot guest house, which used to be a barn and doubles as a meditation area.
For a more in-depth look at Brady and Bundchen's home, we have more photos.
Aaron Rodgers' House
Value: $28 million
Location: Malibu, California
Square footage: 3,592
Number of bedrooms: 3
Number of bathrooms: 3 full
Aaron Rodgers' House Unique Features
Aaron Rogers' house in Malibu, California, is situated on a bluff with incredible views of the Pacific Ocean, a two-bedroom guesthouse and a courtyard that includes both a pool and a spa.
Aaron Rodgers' House: Bottom Line
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his girlfriend, race car driver Danica Patrick, put down an astonishing $28 million in cash for this beachy blufftop pad in 2019.
It's an astonishing amount of money for a home that's "only" 3,600 square feet, but it's all about the location. The house has incredible views of the Pacific Ocean and is on a prestigious swath of cliffside parcels in Malibu, California.
The house itself is a 1981 build but has clearly been renovated into an airy and open modern-style, three-story house.
Anthony Davis' House
Value: $8 million
Location: Westlake Village, California
Square footage: 15,815
Number of bedrooms: 5
Number of bathrooms: 6 full
Anthony Davis' House Unique Features
Los Angeles Lakers power forward Anthony Davis, a former New Orleans Pelicans baller and seven-time NBA All-Star, owns a house that has an indoor basketball court, gym, luxury home theater, huge kitchen with two islands, and a sprawling freeform pool with water features and dual slides.
Anthony Davis' House: Bottom Line
Located about 20 miles from the Staples Center is this extraordinary mansion, which Davis purchased for $7.84 million in 2018. He's now selling it for nearly $8 million, probably because Davis is set to become a free agent whenever the 2020 NBA season ends.
Davis declined a four-year, $146 million max extension with the Lakers so he could presumably re-sign with them for a max $202 million, five-year contract. That is to say, $8 million is peanuts for Davis, who made $25 million during the 2018-19 season with the Pelicans.
His house is very luxe, and the swimming pool with two water slides and multiple water features reportedly cost $1 million all by itself. The movie theater is decked out to look like a real movie theater, and the home comes with an interior basketball court. There's also a small fleet of solar panels to cut down on energy costs.
Sugar Ray Leonard's House
Value: $52 million
Location: Pacific Palisades, California
Square footage: 16,773
Number of bedrooms: 7
Number of bathrooms: N/A
Sugar Ray Leonard's House Unique Features
This knockout mansion is covered in ivory and includes a solarium, gym, media room, vaulted ceilings, large motor court, gardened grounds, a full-sized tennis court, pool, putting green and two-story guest house, all of which is encircled by trees.
Sugar Ray Leonard's House: Bottom Line
Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard has a lavish Italian villa-style estate located in the swanky Los Angeles community of Pacific Palisades. This one is located on 1.8 acres of fantastic grounds with enough room to relax and play for parties of any size.
Leonard has lived in this home for about 22 years, and if it sells at the $52 million asking price, it will break records in the Pacific Palisades and become the reigning champion for highest-priced property ever sold in that area (the current record is held by a home sale for $33.875 million).
Leonard is rumored to be worth around $120 million. If this house is worth $52 million and sells at that price, he stands to substantially increase his net worth.
Shaquille O'Neal's House
Value: $22 million
Location: Windermere, Florida
Square footage: 31,000
Number of bedrooms: 12
Number of bathrooms: 11 full
Shaquille O'Neal's House Unique Features
Shaquille O'Neal owns a custom-made, 31,000-square-foot spread in Florida that includes aquariums, a showroom garage, a 15-foot bed, basketball court (nicknamed the Shaq Center), cigar room, home theater, pool and lots of Superman logos.
Shaquille O'Neal's House: Bottom Line
Shaq's house is legendary and replete with custom features. Among them are a 30-foot circular bed (with the Superman logo) and two aquariums that were custom-built by the guys from the Animal Planet show, "Tanked."
Shaq has been trying to sell this property for several years now but has had less luck finding a buyer than he has at sinking a free throw. All the custom touches probably don't help — not everyone loves Superman as much as Shaq does — and Shaq de-listed the property sometime in 2019.
That doesn't take away from how interesting the home is. Come take a tour of Shaq's mansion.
Derek Jeter's House
Value: $14.75 million
Location: Greenwood Lake, New York
Square footage: 12,590
Number of bedrooms: 6
Number of bathrooms: 12
Derek Jeter's House Unique Features
Former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter owns this ridiculous castle-like mansion, which includes numerous water features, an infinity pool, a lagoon, four indoor kitchens, 700 feet of shoreline, gardens, boathouse, elevator, and a turret tower.
Derek Jeter's House: Bottom Line
Jeter spent 15 years restoring this 1915 castle, which he purchased for $425,000 in 2003. The castle once belonged to his maternal grandfather, and he spent summers here as a boy. It was later sold in 1996 but came back on the market seven years later, and Jeter scooped it up.
Technically, it's two castles, with the main castle and a guest castle, both of which are connected by a bridge that spans the property's lagoon.
Jeter, who is now the co-owner and CEO of the Miami Marlins, put this on the market for $14.75 million in 2018 but couldn't catch a buyer. He de-listed it about a year later. It isn't Jeter's main home, but his vacation property.
His main property is a 30,000-square-foot mansion in Tampa, Florida, which he is renting to Tom Brady, the new Tampa Buccaneer, while living in a luxe condo in Coconut Grove.
Jesper Parnevik's House
Value: $8.5 million
Location: Tequesta, Florida
Square footage: 13,621
Number of bedrooms: 9
Number of bathrooms: 8 full
Jesper Parnevik's House Unique Features
This modern Mediterranean estate sports a large swimming pool, beach frontage, interior courtyard with lily pond, bedroom-sized master closet, bar, game room, four-bedroom guest house, theater, 1,000-bottle wine room, gym, spa and putting green.
Jesper Parnevik's House: Bottom Line
Eccentric Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik had this home custom-built for him and his family in 2002.
The snappy and flamboyant dresser has lived here for 18 years and put it on the market for $10.7 million in 2018, but reduced the price a year later to $8.5 million.
Among the home's features is an enormous closet to house all of Parnevik's clothes and a storage room for hundreds and hundreds of golf clubs.
Rob Gronkowski's House
Value: $1.7 million
Location: Miami, Florida
Square footage: 3,850
Number of bedrooms: 5
Number of bathrooms: 4 full
Rob Gronkowski's House Unique Features
Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end and resident NFL party boy Rob Gronkowski bought this double condo in Miami in 2019.
It features a cantilevered bedroom, sweeping views of downtown Miami and Biscayne Bay, a minimalist style and walls of glass.
Rob Gronkowski's House: Bottom Line
Gronk announced he would sign with the Buccaneers in 2020, but he purchased this double condo in July 2019. He's had ties to Miami for a while, including throwing a party called Gronk Beach in 2020 which included high-roller ticket prices of $1 million.
This is Gronk's seasonal property, though. His main property is a compound in Foxborough, Massachusetts. For a more in-depth look into the life and real estate of Gronk, check out our feature.
Paula Creamer's House
Value: $6.35 million
Location: Windermere, Florida
Square footage: 11,100
Number of bedrooms: 6
Number of bathrooms: 7 full
Paula Creamer's House Unique Features
This mansion in Windermere is situated right by the 15th hole on the Isleworth Golf and Country Club and features a movie theater, game room, wine cellar, gym, two-story windows, elevator, 150 feet of water frontage and a private boat dock.
Laura Creamer's House: Bottom Line
Paula Creamer has pocketed $12 million in career earnings since her rookie year in 2005, not to mention all the sponsorships that come along with being the second-youngest LPGA event winner of all time.
Creamer's home, which she recently listed for sale, was built in 2004 and has awesome lake views and some nifty features, like a room devoted to virtual golfing.
The 33-year-old purchased the home for $5.25 million in 2018, so she stands to make a cool million if she can sink a sale.