Kriti Mehrotra
It was on July 27, 1975, that Alexander “Alex” Emmanuel Rodriguez (or A-Rod) was born to proud Dominican immigrants Lourdes Nelly Navarro Melo and Manuel Rodríguez Marcano. He actually spent his formative years in New York, but the family soon moved back to their homeland before eventually choosing to settle down in Miami, Florida, around the mid-1980s. By this point, he had long developed a passion for baseball thanks to his father and the craze of it in the Dominican Republic, yet no one could have imagined he would become an icon in the sport himself.
How Did Alex Rodriguez Earn His Money?
Alex was just a young boy when he picked up a club and a mitt for the first time, only for him to soon fall so in love with baseball that it admittedly consumed most of his waking thoughts. Therefore, it’s no surprise that he played for a youth team in his homeland and was then able to not only secure a spot but be a star athlete on his middle school and high school teams in Miami as well. In fact, he was crucial to Westminster Christian School’s national championship win during his junior year, following which he earned several national accolades as a true All-American.
Alex was selected as the USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year and was even named National Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year by Gatorade, which were titles he lived up to as a senior. His dream until the early 1990s was to attend college on an athletic scholarship, so he committed to the University of Miami to play both baseball and football for them when the opportunity arose. However, he ultimately turned down their offer because he was selected by the Seattle Mariners as the first overall pick in the 1993 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft at the tender age of 17.
Not only did Alex make history with his draft, but that same year, he also became the first high school athlete to try out for the US National Baseball Team, where he was regarded as the top prospect. He ultimately made his professional debut in 1994 for the minor Class A Midwest League, only to be promoted to the Class AA Southern League and then the major leagues within a few months. He was merely 18 years old when he played his first MLB game with the Seattle Mariners on July 8, 1994, and to this very day, he remains the last to play at such a high level at such a young age.
Alex thrived as a shortstop for the Mariners, maintaining a batting average of .309 with a total of 966 hits, 189 home runs, 595 runs batted in, and 627 runs scored in 790 games across 7 seasons. He was already considered one of the greatest to ever play the game by this point, so he chose to become a free agent after the 2000 season, which led to one of the most infamous sports deals in history. That’s because he signed a 10-year agreement of $252 million (equivalent to $475 million in 2025) with the Texas Rangers – $63 million more than the last most lucrative baseball contract.
However, Alex was only with the Rangers for a total of 3 seasons owing to their reported financial constraints, resulting in him agreeing to be traded to the New York Yankees on February 15, 2004. That’s when he switched positions from shortstop to third base because the latter team already had the legendary Derek “The Captain” Jeter as their shortstop, and Alex did not want to be a backup option. It was here that he remained for the rest of his pro career, even with scandals, tumultuous moments, and a 211-game turned 162-game suspension for taking human growth hormones.
Alex played his last MLB game on August 12, 2016, concluding his career with a .295 batting average, 3,115 hits, 696 home runs, 2,086 runs batted in, and 2,021 runs scored across 2,784 games. Since then, he has actually evolved into a media personality as well as an entrepreneur, which he kickstarted in late 2016 itself by serving as a broadcaster or studio analyst for Fox Sports. Then, in 2017, the former athlete became a guest judge on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ before signing a deal to be a contributor for their shows like ‘World News Tonight,’ ‘Good Morning America,’ and ‘Nightline.’
Alex subsequently joined ESPN’s broadcast team of ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ too, all the while also embracing other opportunities such as hosting CNBC’s inspirational show ‘Back in the Game.’ He then appeared in the 2022 ESPN limited miniseries titled ‘The Captain’ about his former teammate Derek Jeter, wherein they sat down to discuss all the highs and lows of their friendship. As if that’s not enough, that same year, the athelete turned public figure even decided to join ESPN2 to serve as a play-by-play broadcaster alongside renowned long-time professional Michael Kay.
Alex Rodriguez’s Net Worth
Considering Alex has been actively working since he was merely 17 or 18 years old, it goes without saying that he has managed to accumulate significant wealth over the years. His first contract with the Seattle Mariners itself actually made him a millionaire because it was worth $1.3 million (equivalent to $2.25 million in 2025), with an additional $1 million signing bonus. Then, when he signed the astounding $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers in 2000, he essentially indicated that he was worth $150,000 per game – there are 162 games in an MLB regular season.
Alex was traded to the New York Yankees in 2004, but the Rangers had still agreed to pay him $67 million out of the $179 million remaining on his original 10-year agreement. Then, when he negotiated his own deal with the Yankees in 2007, it was finalized as a 10-year contract worth $275 million (equivalent to nearly $500 million), with a $10 million signing bonus as well as potential extra earnings for historic milestones. Along with all this, we believe Alex currently earns approximately $2 million per year through a combination of his broadcasting career and public appearances.
As if that’s not enough, in June 2025, 50-year-old Alex also became a part-owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, after his $1.5 billion deal in partnership with Marc Lore was finalized. Furthermore, he has likely also earned some passive income through his social media platforms, mentoring work, and as a guest lecturer at universities, focusing on Business and Strategic Pivoting. Therefore, taking all these aspects into account, along with his assets, investments, returns, and lifestyle expenses, the estimated net worth of the 3-time MVP recipient, 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner, 14-time All-Star athlete, and 2009 World Series Champion is close to $350 million.
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