What is Ed O'Bannon's Net Worth and Salary?
Ed O'Bannon is an American former professional basketball player who has a net worth of $800 thousand. Ed O'Bannon earned his net worth as a power forward in the NBA for the New Jersey Nets and Dallas Mavericks before continuing his professional career for eight more years, mainly playing in Europe. O'Bannon was the lead plaintiff in O'Bannon v. NCAA, an antitrust class action lawsuit against the NCAA which led to the discontinuation of college sports video games.
Early Life
Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. was born on August 14, 1972, in Los Angeles, California. He was a 6-foot-8 power forward who played at Artesia High School. O'Bannon helped lead his team to a California Interscholastic Federation Division II state championship and he also was named the MVP at the Dapper Dan Classic.
O'Bannon had a remarkable college career playing at UCLA where he won an NCAA Championship in 1995 and was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. He was also named the USBWA College Player of the Year, Pac-10 co-Player of the Year, won the John R. Wooden Award, and was named a consensus first-team All-American in 1996. O'Bannon was named third-team All-American in 1994 and was a three-time First-team All-Pac-10 selection. His No. 31 was retired by UCLA and he was elected to the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor in 2012.
Basketball Career
Ed O'Bannon was the number nine overall pick by the New Jersey Nets in the 1995 NBA Draft. He signed a three-year, $3.9 million deal but soon became homesick. O'Bannon played for the Nets from 1995 to 1997 and the Dallas Mavericks in 1997. He never found his footing in the league and ended his NBA career averaging 5.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game.
He then played in the CBA for the La Crosse Bobcats before going overseas to play professionally in Italy, Spain, Greece, Argentina, the ABA, and Poland. After the NBA, he only played on one-year contracts and never made more than $400,000 in a season. Over his pro career, O'Bannon played for 12 different teams in at least six countries and for 15 coaches.
O'Bannon won gold medals representing the US at the 1990 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and the 1993 Summer Universiade.
Contracts and Salary
After being drafted in the 1995 NBA draft, Ed signed a three-year $3.9 million contract with the Nets. That was his only NBA contract so his career earnings are $3.9 million.
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O'Bannon v. NCAA
Ed was the lead plaintiff in the O'Bannon vs. NCAA which is an antitrust class action lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association regarding the use of images of college athletes by the NCAA and whether the players should be compensated for their usage. In 2018, he published his book about his fight with the NCAA, "Court Justice: The Inside Story of My Battle Against the NCAA." O'Bannon supported the Fair Pay to Play Act, a California law that allowed college athletes to receive endorsement deals.
After the Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA restricted trade in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act in NCAA v. Alston, the NCAA allowed student athletes to be compensated for their image, name, and likeness.
Personal Life
O'Bannon and his wife, Rosa, have three children together and live in Henderson, Nevada. Their daughter Jazmin played college basketball at UNLV.
Ed attended UNLV to continue earning his bachelor's degree, and in the summer of 2011, he returned to UCLA to complete his studies. He graduated that fall with a degree in history.
Ed O'Bannon is the older brother of Charles, who won the championship with him at UCLA and went on to play for the Detroit Pistons. His half-brother, Turhon O'Bannon, played college football for the New Mexico Lobos and professionally for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
