NBA
Dennis Rodman Was Forced to Pay His Ex-Wife $500,000 to Finally Settle a Much Larger Debt
Stephen Sheehan began his sportswriting career as a high school student covering sports for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel through a student outreach program. He wrote for Bleacher Report and Fan Rag Sports and worked full-time for Sports7 in 2020 and 2021. Stephen specializes in covering the NFL, particularly the New England Patriots. Stephen is inspired by the stories sports can tell, from money to tragedies to breaking news; there are so many different ways to cover the industry. He monitors Twitter and various websites every day to find stories to tell in unique ways. Stephen was a 2008 Culpepper Journalism Foundation Fellowship winner, received a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2013 and a master's in sports management in 2015 from the University of Florida, and is an active rugby player and former rugby and football coach.
All posts by Stephen SheehanUpdated03 Apr 2021
Dennis Rodman certainly provided basketball fans with plenty of entertaining moments throughout the course of his Hall of Fame career. Yet, even though the Chicago Bulls legend earned millions during his heyday, Rodman's estimated net worth checks in much lower than expected.
Of course, legal issues played a significant role in his bank account getting drained. And in 2012, the controversial former NBA star was forced to pay a $500,000 price to finally take care of an obligation he failed to fulfill to his ex-wife.
Dennis Rodman made a lucrative living as one of the top NBA players of his generation
RELATED: Dennis Rodman Made a Crazy Amount of Money During His Run in Professional Wrestling
Although it took him a few years to earn a full-time starting gig, Dennis Rodman became an all-time NBA great. After leading the league in rebounding in his final two seasons with the Detroit Pistons, the talented big man took his talents to the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite a change of scenery, Rodman still led the NBA in rebounding in each of his two years with the team.
With two championship rings to his name from his days with the Pistons, the defensive stalwart joined a Bulls team headlined by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Thanks in large part to Rodman's relentless work as a defender and rebounder, Chicago captured three straight NBA titles.
While Jordan and Pippen made far more money, Rodman earned a lucrative living for his own skills on the court. By the time he retired, the two-time All-Star had racked up just north of $27 million in earnings. Rodman's best payday came in 1996-97 when he made $9 million.
However, 12 years after he played his final NBA game, the New Jersey native had no choice but to finally take care of a long-overdue financial obligation.
Rodman was forced to pay a steep price for failing to fulfill an obligation to his ex-wife
Right before his NBA career came to an end, Dennis Rodman met Michelle Moyer. The couple had two children before they got married in 2003.
But the partnership didn't last long.
Rodman's third wife filed for divorce the following year.
It took nearly a decade for the marriage to get officially dissolved. And during that time, the former NBA star failed to fulfill a major financial obligation. That came back to bite Rodman (and his bank account) in a big way.
On Dec. 6, 2012, he got found in contempt of court and was ordered to pay $500,000 in back child support. According to ESPN, Rodman could have paid much more than that. One of his ex-wife's attorneys argued the retired NBA player owed about $850,000.
However, the two sides eventually agreed to the $500,000 amount, which Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Barry Michaelson approved.
The former Bulls star has faced more legal and personal challenges in recent years
Unfortunately for Dennis Rodman, his widely-publicized child-support case didn't represent the end of his legal and personal challenges.
In November 2016, he got charged with causing a hit-and-run accident, lying to police, and driving without a license as part of an incident that occurred in July. He pleaded guilty to the charges and received a sentence of three years of probation and 30 hours of community service.
Rodman then got arrested in January 2018 for driving under the influence. He received three years of probation after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges.
And in 2019, TMZ Sports reported Rodman got charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly slapping a man at a Florida bar. However, the charges later got dropped as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.
All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference. All contract data courtesy of Spotrac.
