Penny Hardaway Net Worth Stands at $70 Million Updated
Back in the 90s, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway was one of the hugest basketball superstars around. With his crazy crossovers and monster throwdowns, Penny wowed fans everywhere.
His epic playing career allowed him to make a giant NBA salary and build a net worth of about $70 million.
Penny Hardaway Net Worth
Penny earned well over $120 million just in NBA salary during his career, and built up a net worth around $70 million as of 2023. Even after injuries forced him to retire early, Penny’s been smart with his money, and got plenty of time left to keep increasing his fortune.
He’s made some savvy investments and business deals to keep his wealth growing. Now he’s living large but keeps a low profile and doesn’t flaunt his fortune. Instead, Penny focuses on giving back and helping the next generation of ballers.
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How Penny Hardaway Built His Net Worth
What is Penny Hardaway salary in the NBA?
Over his 14 years in the NBA, Penny Hardaway banked a total of $120 million in salary. Adjusted for inflation, that’s over $211 million in today’s 2023 dollars!
He was drafted 3rd overall by the Orlando Magic in 1993 and made $1.24 million his rookie season. But his paycheck shot up fast as he turned into a megastar. His salary maxed out at $15.75 million in 2005-2006 when he was with the New York Knicks.
Even after knee injuries messed up his game later on, Penny kept raking in the big bucks thanks to his earlier fame and reputation. He stayed one of the highest paid players even though his stats dropped off.
His long NBA career meant he crossed the $100 million mark in earnings despite declining play. The huge salary Penny pulled down during his playing days formed the foundation for the net worth he enjoys now.
Endorsement Deals
When Penny Hardaway was a huge NBA star in the 90s, he scored some massive endorsement deals with big companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, Wilson, and Upper Deck.
His biggest was with Nike – they saw his potential for marketing and signed him right out of college with a deal worth over $7 million, beating out Converse.
Nike put Penny and his popular puppet “Lil Penny” in commercials with megastars like Michael Jordan and Tyra Banks. Penny had his own signature shoe line with Nike, including hot models like the Air Foamposite One.
Even after injuries sidelined Penny in the late 90s, the Nike deal kept him financially secure.
And he still earns endorsement cash today from re-releases of his signature shoes long after retirement. Those endorsement deals in his prime built up a nice chunk of Penny’s wealth.
Team Penny
After Penny retired from the NBA, he went back home to Memphis and got involved coaching youth basketball. In 2012, he started up the Nike-sponsored AAU program Team Penny to showcase talented local kids to college coaches.
With Penny’s fame and Nike’s money backing it, Team Penny quickly became one of the top grassroots basketball programs in the country.
As the director and coach, Penny likely gets paid big bucks by Nike to run it, though the exact deal is private. Through camps, travel teams, and sponsorships, Team Penny brings in steady income for Penny. It also lets him give back by helping develop the next generation of players.
His major role with Team Penny keeps Penny financially tied to basketball long after his playing days ended. It’s a way for him to keep making money from the game he loves.
What is Penny Hardaway’s salary at Memphis?
In 2018, Penny returned to coach at his old college, the University of Memphis, as head coach of the men’s basketball team. In 2022, Memphis extended Penny’s contract to 2028, worth $16.5 million in total over 6 years. He’ll make $2.5 million in 2022-23, then it goes up each year to $3 million in 2027-28. His base salary is $200,000, but most of his pay comes from radio, TV, PR and speaking gigs. As a former NBA superstar, Penny can command multi-million dollar paychecks as a college coach.
His comeback to Memphis has been great financially, while also letting him mentor younger players. Between the coaching money and his other ventures like Team Penny, Penny Hardaway has stayed financially secure long after retiring as a player.
Penny Hardaway Investments
Since retiring from the NBA, Penny Hardaway has built a diverse investment portfolio and array of businesses to ensure financial stability.
He launched a high-end salon and barbershop in Memphis, opened a celebrity fitness center in Miami called Terf Athletic Facility.
Hardaway also became an executive producer for the sports talk show Bottom Line Sports Show.
He was brought on as a strategic brand ambassador for Upstream in 2022, a regulated NFT and digital collectibles marketplace. Hardaway plans to release his own NFT collection on the platform.
In 2022, Penny became an investor and spokesperson for Tradeblock, a platform for trading sneakers and collectibles online.
Penny was pumped about Tradeblock because he’s so into sneaker culture. He saw their potential not just as a business, but as a way to empower sneakerheads everywhere.
On top of the sponsorship deal, Penny personally invested in Tradeblock because he believed in the company’s founders and their vision to evolve sneaker collecting.
Through these business moves and investments, as well as income from endorsements and coaching, Hardaway has maintained his multimillion dollar net worth. His varied sources of income beyond just basketball display Hardaway’s business acumen and ability to adapt in retirement.
Philanthropy and Giving Back
Giving back has always been important to Penny Hardaway. Over the years, he’s donated over $1 million to various charities and foundations that help people. Some organizations Penny has supported are,
- the Compound Foundation
- James R. Jordan Foundation
- Make-A-Wish Foundation
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Nevada Cancer Institute
- Keep Memory Alive
Penny really cares about helping kids, giving money to support children’s education, health, and wellbeing. He also donated a lot to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in 2005.
In addition to money, Penny hosts free basketball camps for youth and started a scholarship fund at the University of Memphis. His kindness and generosity go beyond basketball to lifting up folks in need.
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Kenya Lee
