The story of Alex Rodriguez is typical of what the ‘American Dream’ should stand for. The son of Dominican immigrants who grew up in Washington Heights and went ahead to become an icon in a nationally loved sport. It reads like a fairy-tale story. Alex Rodriguez forged a reputation as one of the greatest baseball players of all time across his sports career.
As a result, he has amassed some well-earned fortune and is living the dream life post-retirement. It has not always been rosy and enjoyable, though. He has also endured some trying times in both his personal and professional lives. The true grit of a champion is how they bounce back from adversity, and Alex Rodriguez has bounced back spectacularly.
Becoming MLB’s Most Expensive Player
Alex Rodriguez’s professional baseball journey began when the Seattle Mariners selected him as the overall first pick in the 1993 Major League Basketball draft. After starting in the minor leagues with Appleton Foxes and Jacksonville Suns, the Mariners felt it was time to promote him to the big time.
When he eventually made his debut for the team at the age of 18, he made history and broke some records. The records include The third 18-year old Major League shortstop since 1900, the first 18-year old Major League player in 10 years and the youngest position player in Seattle history. Big moves for one so young.
After six years, A-Rod, as fans popularly call him, decided it was time to move on. During this period, he had become the team’s star player and had broken numerous records along the way.
As a free agent in 2000, he had the attention of multiple teams. He decided to sign with the Texas Rangers in a record-shattering deal.
He signed a 10-year deal worth a scarcely believable $252 million. At that time, this was the most expensive contract in the history of all sports. It led to a lot of criticism. Despite recording impressive individual performance, his time with the Texas Rangers did not last long. After two years, he moved on.
In 2004, the Rangers traded him to the New York Yankees. He would remain with the Yankees until his official retirement from baseball in 2017. While with the Yankees, he broke his record of the most expensive sports contract in history with another 10-year deal worth $275 million. In 2009, he won his first and only World Series title. After 13 years with the Yankees, he retired from baseball.
the time he retired from baseball, he had earned a total of $441.3 million in salaries, the highest in baseball history. As a world-class baseball player, it was only right that A-Rod got a salary that matched the talent and he did.
Of his $441.3 million earnings, though, only about $40 million came from endorsements, an unusually low figure in comparison to amounts earned by other baseball stars for sponsorship deals.
Post-Baseball, Rodriguez Became A Successful TV Host
After he retired from baseball, A-Rod joined the New York Yankees front office as a special advisor. He also embarked on a career as a media personality when he started hosting multiple shows. After appearing regularly as a guest judge on Shark Tank, he signed a deal with ABC News. This deal would see him become a frequent contributor to ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and Nightline.
His media career grew when he became an MLB studio analyst for Fox Sports. This role earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality in 2019. In 2018, he also joined ESPN as a Sunday Night Baseball analyst and a host of Back in the Game on CNBC in March 2018. In July 2020, A-Rod announced that he would be part of the judging panel for the Forbes’ Next 1000 list. Though his earnings with these media bigwigs were not revealed, it is no doubt that his contracts with them were lucrative.
Alex Rodriguez is also actively involved in real estate with extended investments in New York apartment buildings. Via his A-Rod Corp vehicle, he has collaborated with brokerage expert, Adam Modlin, to purchase apartments and condos of all sizes all over the city.
He is the chairman and CEO of A-Rod Corp and also the chairman of Presidente Beer, a Dominican beer sold in the United States. All these endeavors have made A-Rod a very wealthy man. His net worth, as of 2020, is estimated to be around $300 million – $350 million.
With Great Wealth Comes A Luxurious Lifestyle for Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez is a man with a vast fortune, and he certainly knows how to deploy them towards the finer things of life. He has made a series of curious purchases in his lifetime, ranging from the cerebral to the ludicrous. Here is a small timeline of some of the luxurious purchases made by A-Rod.
2007 – According to the New York Post, he purchased a gulf stream IV jet for an undisclosed amount.
2010 – An avid real estate enthusiast, he bought a $7.4 million piece of land in Miami for his home. He then used his own construction company to build a 20,000-square-foot modern home. He sold it in 2013 for $30 million.
2014 – He purchased a Miami Beach condo for $2.1 million. He sold it for $2.6 million less than a year later. Also, in 2014, he bought Meryl Streep’s Hollywood Hills home for $4.5 million. He sold this in 2019.
Rodriguez bought a Nate Lowman painting for a reported $140,000. He also loves his cars and has splurged to purchase a Porsche 911, Maybach 57s, and a Ferrari 575 Maranello.
Alex’s lavish spending also extends to his fiancée, Jennifer Lopez. He proposed to her with a 15-carat emerald cut stone that experts deduced cost just over a million dollars. Now that is serious money for a ring. While he has vacationed on luxury yachts and boats in the past, A-Rod is yet to purchase one for himself. With a $350 million net worth, it would not be a surprise if he eventually gets one.
Alex Was Married to his First Wife for Six Years
Alex Rodriguez met his first wife, Cynthia Scurtis, at a gym in Miami, Florida. After dating for a while, the couple married on December 2, 2002, in Dallas, Texas. The union lasted six years before Cynthia filed for divorce from A-Rod in July 2008.
She claimed that she and her kids were victims of emotional abandonment at the hands of her husband. She also claimed he was a serial cheater and had numerous extra-marital affairs. During divorce proceedings, she made several requests.
These include the couple’s $12 million waterfront estate in Florida, alimony and child support payment, life, and health insurance packages. All of these were rejected by A-Rod, who wanted to stick to the agreement on their prenup. The couple finally reached an amicable settlement in September.
His marriage to Cynthia Scurtis produced two children. The first, Natasha Alexander, was born on November 18, 2004. The second child, Ella Alexander, duly arrived almost four years later on April 21, 2008. She was born in Miami, Florida. A-Rod arrived at the hospital 10 mins after his wife gave birth.
Alex and Lopez Became a Thing After Their Second Meeting
Alex Rodriguez had previously met Jennifer Lopez in 2005 during a game between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees. They had both always had a cordial relationship with each other. However, they reconnected when they both had separate lunch at the same venue in 2016.
According to Jennifer Lopez, she went up to him and ‘tapped his shoulder’ after she finished lunch. Conversations initially centered around living in Los Angeles and the East Coast. Eventually, A-Rod asked J-Lo on a date, and the coolest nicknamed couple’s love story began.
In March 2019, A-Rod proposed to J-Lo after a romantic vacation in the Bahamas. After J-Lo followed a trail of petals from the floor to the bed, she discovered an ‘I love you’ message on the bed, and the proposal took place. J-Lo, a mother of twins from her previous marriage to Marc Anthony, shared the news to her Instagram followers before A-Rod followed suit. As of August 2020, the couple is yet to walk down the aisle.
They are both parents to two children each with A-Rod fathering two daughters, Natasha and Ella, from his marriage to Cynthia Scurtis. J-Lo, meanwhile, shares twins Max and Emme with ex-husband, Marc Anthony.
The couple revealed that their children get along well and even spend the holidays together. She has also shared that it is her wish to expand the family and have more children with A-Rod.
