It’s always a great time when the Olympics come around because we get to see many up-and-coming athletes show their stuff and impress the world. It also gets us thinking about many of the iconic athletes that have graced our screens over the years. Some of the most exciting athletes of all time have played and retired during the last 50 years. Many fall out of the spotlight, and we never hear about them again. Do you ever wonder where they ended up? So do we. So, let’s talk about life after sport and answer the question of where these iconic athletes are now.
For many iconic athletes, life is good after retirement. Take Michael Jordan, for instance. He is considered one of the best basketball players of all time. After retirement, he went on to co-own other sports teams, and he continues to earn millions of dollars from his Air Jordan shoes. Then there’s Alex Rodriguez who’s now a successful MLB analyst and podcast host.
With that said, there are also many iconic athletes who retired and didn’t do so well once they left their sport. One of them is basketball legend Allen Iverson, who retired and then essentially went broke. Some players had very devious ends. For instance, MLB pitcher Ugueth Urbina retired and then got into serious legal trouble. He was charged with attempted murder and is currently in jail. There are some wild stories, and we have them all here.
To learn about life after sport for these iconic athletes, 24/7 Tempo checked many online sources, including Bleacher Report, ESPN, Prime Time Sports Talk, and more. Want to learn about other iconic athletes? Check out this list of the athletes with the most Summer Olympics medals ever .
George Foreman
- Sport: Boxing
- Year Retired: 1997
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
For many iconic athletes, life after sport has been very good, and that’s certainly the case for George Foreman. After being the oldest fighter to ever win the world heavyweight boxing championship, Foreman went on to several other business endeavors. The most successful was his George Foreman Grill. The famous clamshell design and easy-to-use operation made it a hit with adults, teens, college students, and more. The company who produces it paid Foreman over $137 million dollars to use his name, and he’s been enjoying that stardom ever since. Other than that, he’s mostly been out of the spotlight.
Allen Iverson
- Sport: Basketball
- Year Retired: 2013
- Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending
You’ll likely find many people who thought that Allen Iverson was one of the best competitors in the NBA. However, though he made over $200 million during his career, once he retired, he began to lose much of his nest egg. It’s reported that he was supporting 50 friends and family members, and they started bleeding him dry. Then, he was banned from several casinos after his gambling went wrong. He tried to start a new career playing professional indoor soccer, but that fell through. Iverson has tried to say he’s doing fine financially, but things don’t look good.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
- Sport: Wrestling
- Year Retired: 2004
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
At the beginning of his career, The Rock was known for his showmanship in the ring as a WWE wrestler. Though he does some part-time appearances here and there, he basically retired from wrestling in 2004. Since then, he mostly goes by Dwayne Johnson, and he has become one of the biggest movie stars of the last two decades. Some of his hit movies include the remake of “Jumanji,” the disaster movie “San Andreas,” and appearances in a few “Fast and Furious” films. He’s easily the most successful person to ever make the transition from wrestling to Hollywood.
Magic Johnson
- Sport: Basketball
- Year Retired: 1996
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
Another iconic athlete who has done well after retirement is Magic Johnson. He was one of the best basketball players and he made history as part of the Olympic Dream Team back in the day. After his retirement, he became quite the businessman. In 2012, he was part of the group that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers, which made him even wealthier, especially after the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series. He also owns a minor league baseball team, he helped to purchase the WNBA team the Los Angeles Sparks, and the soccer team called the Los Angeles FC.
Jack Nicklaus
- Sport: Golf
- Year Retired: 2005
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
Jack Nicklaus was considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. He continued to win for many years. He was Player of the Year five times, and he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. When he finally hung his golf clubs up officially in 2005, he began to start other business endeavors. One of them is designing golf courses. His designs have been so successful that he’s made millions off of his work. So now, he can be remembered for his golf game and also whenever someone plays on one of his courses.
Evander Holyfield
- Sport: Boxing
- Year Retired: 2014
- Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending
During his heyday, Evander Holyfield was one of the best in the game and a big name in the sport. It’s reported that he made over $250 million over his career. However, he always had a hard time saying no to friends and family who asked him for money, and that really cost him once he stopped boxing. Not only did he lose a lot of his money, but he also had to sell a lot of his boxing memorabilia. It’s a sad ending for someone so giving. These days, he still makes some money off of his speaking engagements.
David Beckham
- Sport: Soccer
- Year Retired: 2013
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
For many years, David Beckham was considered one of the best soccer players on the planet and made a lot of money along the way. That fact did not change when he retired in 2023. Since then, he has had many endorsement deals that have made him millions of dollars. One of those endorsements was a $160 million contract with Adidas. He also had a long-term deal with PepsiCo. Basically, he’s sitting back and enjoying life with his wife, Victoria Adams, aka Posh Spice, during his retirement.
Ugueth Urbina
- Sport: Baseball
- Year Retired: 2005
- Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending
Sadly, life after sport for baseball pitcher Ugueth Urbina was downright sinister. Urbina is mostly famous for his life after baseball. One month after retirement, he was arrested for attacking several workers on a farm he owned. He attacked them with a machete and tried to set them on fire. He did it because he believed one of the workers stole his gun. As a result of his actions, Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in jail, where he still sits to this day.
Tony Hawk
- Sport: Skateboard
- Year Retired: 2003
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
Tony Hawk is among the most influential skateboarders of all time. Luckily, when he retired, he had a contingency plan. The same year that he retired from competing professionally, he signed a deal with the video game company Activision to create the first Tony Hawk skateboarding game. Since then, the series has taken off in a big way and many of the Tony Hawk games are considered to be amongst the best overall games of all time. These days, Hawk still makes cameos on TV shows and makes professional appearances from time to time, but he’s not hurting for money.
Michael Strahan
- Sport: Football
- Year Retired: 2007
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
In 2007, football player Michael Stahan retired after 15 seasons with the New York Giants. However, his career has not died down just because he hung up his cleats. Since then, he’s been a co-host of the long-running NFL show “Fox NFL Sunday.” Later on, when famous broadcaster Regis Philbin retired, Strahan joined Kelly Ripa to take his place on their show “Live with Kelly and Michael.” Strahan also hosts a gameshow, and he has guest appearances on various shows. Reportedly, he makes around $20 million per year due to his various ventures, so life is good.
Lawrence Taylor
- Sport: Football
- Year Retired: 1993
- Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending
Another iconic athlete who went south after retirement is NFL defensive player Lawrence Taylor. He retired as the franchise sacks leader playing for the Giants. Life after retirement included losses in the stock market, tax issues, and several run-ins with the law. Just when it seemed like he was getting his life right in 2009, he was arrested for a hit-and-run accident where he fled the scene. Later on, he would be arrested for allegedly paying an underage girl to commit lewd acts. He hasn’t been arrested lately, but his retirement has mostly been bad news.
Alex Rodriguez
- Sport: Baseball
- Year Retired: 2016
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
In 2016, acclaimed baseball player Alex Rodiguez stopped competing professionally. He was considered to be one of the best to ever play the game and many people wondered what he would do next. In the years following, he has worked as an announcer for other baseball games and he’s had a good career doing so. His other claim to fame is co-hosting the podcast “The Deal,” which he hosts with Jason Kelly. They have many famous guests on the show and talk about all things sports. It’s a big hit, so Rodriguez is doing just fine.
Julie Foudy
- Sport: Soccer
- Year Retired: 2004
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
Julie Foudy is considered to be one of the best female soccer players of all time. During her career, she played 270 games and had incredible success. She won two gold medals and two silver medals in four different Olympics. She also won two World Cups, and she’s now in the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Since she’s retired, she’s had a pretty good career working as a commentator for ESPN soccer as well as being a sports analyst. She’s not the most famous person in the world, but she’s living a good life, and that’s all that matters.
Denny McLain
- Sport: Baseball
- Year Retired: 1973
- Happy/Sad Ending: Sad Ending
Denny McLain was an iconic athlete and baseball pitcher during the 1960s and the early 70s. He did so well that he won two Cy Young Awards during back-to-back years. However, he was released by the Braves and completed two years of minor league baseball before retiring at only 29 years old. After that, things went downhill quickly for him as he was arrested multiple times for various crimes, ranging from mail fraud to embezzlement to counts of drug trafficking. These days, he does odd jobs.
Michael Jordan
- Sport: Basketball
- Year Retired: 2003
- Happy/Sad Ending: Happy Ending
Arguably one of the best overall athletes of all time, basketball player Michael Jordan was a dominant force on the court and is arguably the GOAT of the sport. One of his biggest claims to fame after retirement is becoming the minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. He has also continued to enjoy the profits of his NIKE franchise, which has officially made him a billionaire. Jordan mostly enjoys life after retirement, and many people close to him say he’s the happiest ever. It’s no wonder why Jordan is one of America’s favorite athletes of all time .
The post Life After Sport: Where Are These Iconic Athletes Now appeared first on 24/7 Tempo .
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