What Is Carmelo Anthony's Net Worth and Salary?
Carmelo Anthony is an American former professional basketball player who has a net worth of $160 million. Carmelo Anthony is perhaps most famous for being a player for the New York Knicks. Anthony has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team member six times. On May 22, 2023, Anthony announced his retirement from the NBA after a 19-year career in which he earned more than $262 million in salary alone.
Early Life
Carmelo Anthony was born on May 29, 1984, in Red Hook, New York. His mother, Mary Anthony, died of cancer when Anthony was just two years old. His father moved the family to Baltimore when Anthony was eight, and they lived in one of the roughest parts of town. Sports served as a crucial distraction from the violence and drug dealing that were prevalent in the housing projects they lived near. Anthony commuted to Townson Catholic School for high school. In the summer of 1999, he suddenly grew five inches and reached 6'5." He became one of the top players and made a name for himself in the area, even being named "The Baltimore Sun's" metro player of the year. He attended Syracuse University for one year, from 2002 to 2003, before deciding to turn pro and enter the NBA draft. While playing for the Syracuse Orange in college, he won a national championship as a freshman in 2003 and was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Pro Basketball Career
Carmelo was chosen as the third pick in the first round of the 2003 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. He was chosen after LeBron James (#1) and Darko Miličić (#2). During his first nine years in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony earned just over $94 million in salary alone. Anthony spent his first seven seasons with the Denver Nuggets, who drafted him after he spent one season playing for Syracuse. While playing for Denver, Carmelo led the Nuggets to the playoffs every year from 2004 to 2010, and the team won two division titles. Anthony played for the Nuggets from 2003 to 2011 and then for the New York Knicks from 2011 to 2017 before joining the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017. In 2014, Anthony scored a career-high of 62 points, setting a Knicks' single-game record.
Carmelo is a 10-time NBA All-Star and has played for Team USA in the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics. He earned gold medals for the USA in 2008, 2012, and 2016 as well as in the 2007 Americas Championship. In 2013, he won the NBA scoring championship.
In August 2018, Anthony signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract with the Houston Rockets. He was held out of the last three games of the season for an undisclosed illness. The Rockets traded Anthony in 2019. Carmelo played for the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls during the 2018-2019 season, earning $2.4 million. He moved to the Portland Trail Blazers for the 2019-2020 season, where he earned $2.1 million. He was signed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal on November 19, 2019. In January 2020, Anthony's contract became fully guaranteed. Anthony scored a season-high 32 points on February 23 against the Detroit Pistons on February 23, 2020. He announced his retirement from the NBA on May 22, 2023.
(Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Salary
Carmelo Anthony's annual salary peaked at $26 million in the 2017-2018 season. He earned an additional $9 million a year from endorsements. His contract with the New York Knicks was worth $80 million over 5 years. Between June 2017 and June 2018, Anthony earned $33 million from salary and endorsements. Carmelo earned $260 million from his NBA salary alone. That salary is broken down as such:
$53 million from the Nuggets (2,775 days on the team)
$136 million from the Knicks (2,404 days)
$26 million from the Thunder (297 days)
$25.5 million from the Hawks (27 days)
$182,000 from the Rockets (94 days)
Personal Life
Carmelo married MTV personality La La Vasquez in July 2010. They had been engaged since 2004. Their son, Kiyan Carmelo Anthony, was born in March 2007. In 2017, it was reported that La La had moved out, and the couple became separated. During this time of an "on-again, off-again" relationship with La La, Anthony fathered a child (Genesis Harlo) with Mia Burks. Carmelo admitted to fathering Genesis and accepted responsibility and contributes financially, but has refrained from posting or speaking publicly about her.
In April 2008, Anthony was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was ticketed and released, but the Nuggets suspended him for two games.
In June 2021, La La filed for divorce from Carmelo.
Philanthropy
Anthony has made substantial charitable donations, including $1.5 million to the Living Classrooms Foundation in 2006 and $3 million to Syracuse University for a basketball practice facility. While he was in Denver, Anthony was a spokesman for the Family Resource Center and helped organize charitable Christmas Parties for underprivileged children. In 2004, Anthony donated $35,000 to the relief efforts following the Indian Ocean earthquake. He also committed $3 million toward the construction of a newly planned basketball practice facility at Syracuse University, and the practice facility will be named after him. Anthony was ranked #8 on "The Giving Back 30 List of Largest Charitable Donations by Celebrities in 2006" list for contributions totaling $4,282,000.
Real Estate
In 2007, while playing for the Denver Nuggets and the real estate market was peaking, Carmelo paid $12 million for a 21,000-square-foot mansion in Denver that sat on nearly six acres. He listed this home for sale in 2010, after the bubble burst, for $9.5 million. He ultimately accepted $6.2 million for the home, a loss of nearly $6 million. Anthony reportedly owns another property in Colorado, a 12,700-square-foot home with an indoor basketball court and batting cage.
In 2015, Carmelo paid $11 million for a brand new five-bedroom condo in New York City. He listed this property for sale in February 2020 for $12.85 million. It failed to sell, so he took it off the market, extensively renovated the home, and re-listed it in 2022 for $12.5 million.
Investments
In 2015, Carmelo founded the North American Soccer League expansion team Puerto Rico FC. In 2018, Carmelo led a $5 million investment round in Nobodys Pizza, with a plan to roll the chain out to 20 to 30 locations around the country. In April 2021, Anthony launched a production company, Creative 7.
