Former Dallas Mavericks center Brendan Haywood has an opportunity to enjoy March Madness up and close.
Haywood, who won the NBA Finals with the Mavericks in June 2011, is now a rising star among basketball announcers. His journey has brought him to the NCAA Tournament, where he will serve as one of the color commentators this year.
As Haywood embraces the present and his future, let’s look back at his past. How much money did Haywood make in his long NBA career?
Brendan Haywood is calling March Madness this year
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At 7 feet tall, Brendan Haywood is far different than how the average commentator — even among those in basketball — might look.
Haywood, 41, has used his experiences from a 13-year NBA career to his advantage. This year, Haywood will join Spero Dedes and Lauren Shehadi in calling games for truTV during the tournament’s opening round.
The trio will call No. 14 Colgate vs No. 3 Arkansas and No. 12 Oregon State vs. No. 5 Tennessee on Friday, March 19. A day later, the three will call 10th-seeded Rutgers’ matchup with Clemson, a seven-seed.
CBS and Turner have 10 total broadcast teams this year. The foursome of Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson make up the lead team for CBS.
Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, and sideline reporter Allie LaForce are Turner’s No. 1 team for March Madness. Turner will air games on TBS, TNT, and truTV.
Haywood played 13 NBA seasons
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Brendan Haywood has come a long way in 20 years.
The 20th overall selection in the 2001 NBA draft, Haywood averaged 6.8 points and six rebounds across 816 games and 549 starts with four teams in 13 NBA seasons. Haywood spent nine of those years in Washington, contributing 7.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 697 games.
A midseason trade in 2010 brought Haywood and Caron Butler to the Dallas Mavericks, and both remained in town to win a championship in June 2011. Haywood averaged 3.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 18 games off the bench during that year’s postseason.
Haywood closed his career with the Charlotte Bobcats (2012-13) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (2014-15) before he retired. Although the Cavaliers drafted him in 2001, they sent him to Orlando in a draft-night trade; Orlando sent Haywood to Washington several weeks later.
How much money did Brendan Haywood make in the NBA?
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Brendan Haywood cashed in during his NBA career and made far more than one might think.
Despite never being an All-Star or ranking among the league’s top centers, Haywood made $64.8 million in his career, according to Basketball-Reference. From 2005-2013, Haywood made over $4 million each season.
All in all, Haywood has had quite the basketball life. Haywood made a great deal of money and won an NBA Finals, and now he’s calling the NCAA Tournament — an event that ranks among the Super Bowl as the most important and popular in sports.
Not bad for someone who was traded twice as a rookie. Not bad at all…
All stats and contract figures courtesy of Basketball-Reference.