Derek Jeter: Retired In 2014
Career Earnings: $269 million
Current Net Worth: $185 million
Derek Jeter can do it all when it comes to being a hard hitter. As a baseball shortstop for the New York Yankees, Jeter made a good enough impression to be entered into the Baseball Hall of Fame the first year he became eligible. The team never underestimated his worth during his 20-year career, paying him about $269 million. No wonder companies were (and still are) falling over themselves in order to get Jeter to endorse their products. Derek has starred in Nike, Gillette, Visa, Ford, and Discover Card advertisements, to name just a few.
Lou Gehrig: Retired In 1939
Career Earnings: $3 million
Current Net Worth: $3 million (Deceased)
Lou Gehrig, the New York Yankees star, once said, “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.” He was right in several respects. Gehrig still put in 110% when it came to his work, right up to the point when he was forced to retire because of neuromuscular disease in 1939. Gehrig never got to exploit his earning potential entirely because of his relatively short career and, unfortunately, short life. At the age of 37, Gehrig succumbed to his incurable illness two years after retirement.
