What is Sebastian Telfair's net worth and salary?
Sebastian Telfair is an American former professional basketball player who has a net worth of $4 million. Telfair was drafted directly out of high school by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2004, and he went on to join the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, and Oklahoma City Thunder. He also played for the Chinese Basketball Association teams Tianjin Ronggang, Xinjiang Flying Tigers, and Fuijan Sturgeons.
He is the subject of the Ian O'Connor book "The Jump: Sebastian Telfair and the High-Stakes Business of High School Ball" and the documentary "Through the Fire," which were both released in 2005.
Adidas Deal
Soon after being drafted, Sebastian signed a five-year, $10 million sneaker endorsement deal with Adidas. That deal ultimately was canceled by Adidas due to Sebastian being under investigation in the 2006 shooting of rapper Fabolous. The incident reportedly cost him $20 million in future Adidas money.
Career Earnings
During his 10-season NBA career, Telfair earned a total of $19 million in salary.
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Early Life
Sebastian Telfair was born on June 9, 1985, in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Otis (a Vietnam veteran/former Marine) and Erica Telfair, and he grew up with brothers Dan and Ethan, sister Octavia, and cousin Jamel Thomas, who Erica took in after his mother was murdered. Jamel also became a professional basketball player as did another cousin of Telfair's, Stephon Marbury. Sebastian played basketball at Abraham Lincoln High School, where he was the all-time leading scorer until 2009 when Lance Stephenson broke his record. Rivals.com named Telfair a five-star recruit, ranking him the #6 player and #2 point guard in the country in 2004. Though he originally planned to play for the University of Louisville after high school, Sebastian decided to go pro instead after a murder occurred at the apartment complex where his family lived.
Career
In 2004, Telfair was the thirteenth overall pick in the NBA draft and was chosen by the Portland Trail Blazers. On New Year's Day in 2005, he scored 14 points in a game against the Golden State Warriors, and the following month, he was promoted to the starting lineup. The 2005–06 season began with Sebastian as the starting point guard, and in December 2005, he injured his thumb, and Steve Blake replaced him in the starting lineup. After missing 12 games, Telfair returned to the basketball court, but Blake continued to serve as the starting point guard. In June 2006, Sebastian was traded to the Boston Celtics. In April 2007 after Telfair was arrested for gun possession, the team's managing partner Wyc Grousbeck announced, "I wanted to let you know that we have removed Sebastian's nameplate from his locker in Waltham. The facts and circumstances of his case have not been determined but he does not have a Celtics locker and we do not anticipate that he will."
In July 2007, Telfair was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the 2007–08 season ended up being his best season in the NBA. That season he averaged more than nine points and five assists per game. The team signed Sebastian to three more years in July 2008, but he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in July 2009. In February 2010, the Clippers traded Telfair to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who traded him back to the Timberwolves in July of that year. In December 2011, he signed with the Phoenix Suns, and he stayed with the team until February 2013 when he was traded to the Toronto Raptors. That summer Sebastian became a free agent, and in October of that year, he signed a one-year contract with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) team the Tianjin Ronggang. He signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in July 2014, but the team waived him in November. Telfair signed with the CBA team the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in December 2014 and played with them until the end of the 2014–15 season, and in November 2016, he signed with the CBA team the Fuijan Sturgeons.
Personal Life
Telfair has two children with Samantha Rodriguez, daughter Samaya and son Sebastian Jr. Samantha filed for divorce in mid-2019 and listed the date of separation as January 1, 2018. She filed a temporary restraining order against Sebastian after he showed up at her home and smashed her car's windshield in January 2018. In the court documents, she stated that Telfair "has become increasingly hostile, unstable and violent." Sadly, Sebastian lost his mother and his older brother, Dan, to COVID-19 in 2020. Dan passed away on March 28th, and Erica died on April 27th after 38 days in the hospital.
Financial and Legal Problems
At one point, Sebastian reportedly invested $1 million to open Phillipe Chow restaurant locations in New York and Miami. These investments were ultimately not successful. In November 2018, American Express sued him over $43,000 worth of unpaid credit card debt. In June 2017, Telfair was arrested in Brooklyn on a gun possession charge. Officers found a semiautomatic rifle, three loaded handguns, 100 pairs of sneakers, and marijuana in the car. He was facing charges that could have come with a 15-year prison sentence, but he was ultimately sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. In October 2021, ESPN reported that Sebastian was one of 18 former NBA players arrested for "pocketing about $2.5 million illegally by defrauding the league's health and welfare benefit plan in a scam that authorities said involved claiming fictitious medical and dental expenses."
Real Estate
In March 2014, Telfair put his 7,452 square foot home in Hopewell Junction, New York, on the market for $1.1 million. The home includes four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a home theater, a wet bar, and a heated pool. According to real estate records, the price was reduced several times and finally sold for $790,000 in August 2015.
