Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing absolutely nobody can deny, it’s that Vincent “Vinnie” Peter Jones is one of the most controversial ex-defensive midfielders to ever play the game of football (soccer). In fact, as a so-called hard man as well as a pivotal member of Wimbledon’s “Crazy Gang,” he still holds the record for the most red cards in English top-flight/Premier League history. He actually garnered a reputation for being aggressive and uncompromising, which he managed to turn into something positive upon making the switch from athletics to entertainment.
How Did Vinnie Jones Earn His Money?
Vinnie Jones was admittedly just a young boy growing up in Hertfordshire, England, when he first developed an interest in soccer thanks to his local environment and passionate parents. He thus began playing for his school’s team, where he quickly proved his mettle to such an extent that he was named captain and encouraged to join the local village team to hone his skills. Therefore, after high school, he turned semi-pro with Wealdstone FC to help them win the non-league Football Association (FA) Cup, all the while also having a career in construction.
“Football to me was everything on this planet,” Vinnie said in Netflix’s ‘Untold UK: Vinnie Jones.’ “My day job is on the building site. But, all around Watford now, I was known as a good player.” So, the hod carrier moved forward to play one season with a Swedish club called IFK Holmsund in 1986 before finding a way to personally connect with the then-Wimbledon FC Manager to get signed. He hence jumped from a non-league semi-professional athlete to a rising in-league First Division player within 2 years, making his debut as the latter in the fall of 1986 at the age of 21.
Vinnie had no idea at the time that his ensuing camaraderie with his team would help them thrive – after all, they won their first-ever FA Cup in 1988 by beating the reigning champions, Liverpool. In these two seasons, the star midfielder and his teammates had even made a name for themselves as the “Crazy Gang,” with him standing out for his unwavering enthusiasm as well as toughness. However, things changed after the 1989-1999 season when he chose to leave his beloved club to join Leeds United in the hopes of proving himself beyond the scope of others’ expectations.
Vinnie played a significant role in ensuring Leeds’ promotion from Second to First Division in his very first year, only to reportedly be played little the following year under new management. Thus, he moved to Sheffield United mid-season in September 1990, where he played a total of 35 games before being sold to Chelsea a year later in August 1991 – both contracts were very lucrative for him. Yet, by the time the summer of 1992 rolled around, there were talks of him returning to Wimbledon, and that’s precisely what he did around the same time the Premier League was formed.
Vinnie played for Wimbledon from 1992 to 1998, during which he helped them secure their best league finishes several times and reach the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup. He parted ways with the organization when he landed the opportunity to not only be a player-coach for Queens Park Rangers FC but also join the entertainment industry as a serious actor (not a gimmick). Thanks to one of his grandmothers being Welsh, he was also able to represent the Wales National Team from 1994 to 1997 before announcing his retirement from football in 1999 at age 34.
That’s when Vinnie really dove headfirst into the entertainment world, which he had already been dabbling in with appearances on shows like ‘Gladiators’ in 1993 and a stint in pro wrestling in 1998. He made his acting debut with ‘Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels’ (1998) and earned the Empire Award for Best Newcomer, only to follow it up with ‘Snatch’ (2000) and the Empire Award for Best British Actor. His early credits also include ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ (2000), ‘Mean Machine’ (2001), the sitcom ‘Extras’ (2005), ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ (2006), ‘The Riddle’ (2007), and ‘The Midnight Meat Train’ (2008).
Vinnie has even starred in ‘Year One’ (2009), ‘The Ballad of G.I. Joe’ (2009), ‘The Battle of the Irishman’ (2011), ‘Madagascar 3’ (2012), ‘Escape Plan’ (2013), ‘Reaper’ (2014), and ‘Gridlocked’ (2015). As if that’s not enough, the one-time columnist for News of the World has even featured in renowned television shows like ‘Galavant’ (2015-2016), ‘Arrow (2015-2016), and ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ (2021). Just some of his other credits include ‘The Midnight Man’ (2016), ‘Madness in the Method’ (2019), ‘The Big Ugly’ (2020), his Discovery+ show ‘Vinnie Jones in the Country’ (2023-Present), ‘The Gentlemen’ (2024-Present), and at least 5 upcoming projects.
Vinnie Jones’ Net Worth
With almost 15 years as a professional football/soccer player and credits in over 100 films as well as television shows as of writing, it goes without saying that Vinnie has managed to do wonders. As per his accounts, he was making barely enough to survive when he first started playing his beloved sport semi-professionally, and that was when it was combined with his construction day job. Things changed when he signed with Wimbledon FC in 1986, as they paid Wealdstone £10,000 for him while also agreeing to set his personal base weekly salary at £150. He claimed in Netflix’s ‘Untold UK’ that it was good money at the time, especially since he soon realized he could make more through either public appearances or tabloids and national interviews.
Vinnie’s side hustles continued for years, with him even becoming a well-received columnist for News of the World in the 1990s, despite all the controversies around his aggressiveness. It’s imperative to note that by this point, he’d been transferred from Wimbledon to Leeds United for £650,000, Leeds United to Sheffield United for £700,000, and Sheffield United to Chelsea for £575,000. However, since the Premier League was established in 1992 and more money started being involved, he likely earned millions during his second stint with Wimbledon from 1992 to 1998. Then comes his brief stint as a player-coach, which likely helped him bag at least £500,000, before he transformed into a movie and television star whose base was again in the millions. We should mention that he currently also serves as a betting/sports columnist for Easyodds and is a farm owner who splits his time between Los Angeles, California, and Petworth, West Sussex. So, taking all these factors into consideration, along with his potential assets, investments, returns, and expenses, we believe Vinnie’s net worth is at least £15 million (approximately $21 million).
