John Elway: Retired In 1998
Career Earnings: $45 million
Current Net Worth: $145 million
Some players enjoy the game so much that they never leave it behind. One of them is John Elway. The Washington-born player finally became the team’s General Manager in a sweet twist of fate after retiring from the sport after 16 years with the Denver Broncos in 1998. Through and through, Elway is football. While playing, not only did he earn $45 million, but Elway earned nearly double that post-retirement. The Broncos managed to sign a multi-year sponsorship contract with American car giant Ford under his leadership. That’s a good flow of cash that nobody will pass up on.
Pat Tillman: Retired In 2002
Career Earnings: $5 million
Current Net Worth: $1 million (Deceased)
Pat Tillman’s story is an interesting, honorable, and tragic one. The Arizona Cardinals snapped up the talented young player in 1998. He soon caught the attention of the cardinals of St. Louis, who offered him a contract of $9 million to hop over to them, but Tillman stayed put. However, in 2002, in the aftermath of the previous year’s events, he decided to join the US Army and died while on duty in 2004. Tillman didn’t land much in the way of sponsorship deals because of his short career.
