What Is Brendan Schaub's Net Worth and Salary?
Brendan Schaub is an American former mixed martial artist and former professional football player who has a net worth of $4 million. Brendan Schaub played for the Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League and was a member of the NFL's Buffalo Bills' practice squad. The heavyweight champion has also done stand-up comedy and hosted several podcasts.
Early Life
Brendan Peter Schaub was born on March 18, 1983, in Aurora, Colorado. He is the son of Debra and Peter Schaub. His mother was English, and his father was a second-degree black belt in taekwondo. Brendan attended Overland High School, where he lettered two years in varsity lacrosse and one year in football.
Football Career
Although he received no athletic scholarships, Schaub tried out for both football and lacrosse at Whittier College and made both teams. Before his junior year, he transferred to the University of Colorado to play football full-time. Brendan went undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft but was picked up by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted rookie free agent where he landed on their practice squad for a brief time. He then signed with the AFL's Utah Blaze but was released without making the roster. He was brought back in 2007 before being waived again just two days later. Schaub retired from the sport that same year.
(Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Primary Wave Entertainment)
Fighting Career
Schaub returned to Colorado after retiring from football and began training in boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. After just six months of training, he entered an amateur boxing competition and won the Colorado novice-division Golden Gloves heavyweight title. Brendan began a career in MMA after meeting UFC heavyweight contender Shane Carwin and becoming friends and training partners. Schaub made his debut in 2008 against Jay Lester and started his career off with a record of 4-0. He won the Ring of Fire heavyweight title defeating Bojan Spalevic.
Schaub then signed on with Ultimate Fighting Championship to compete on "The Ultimate Fighter." Brendan won his first fight on the show in the first round against Demico Rogers via submission. He went on to the heavyweight finale in what would be his official UFC debut losing to Roy Nelson via KO. In March of 2011, Brendan won the Knockout of the Night, defeating Mirko Filipovic. His final fight was a loss to Travis Browne in December of 2014 to bring his career MMA record to 10-5.
Entertainment
Brendan went on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast on October 10, 2015, to announce his retirement from MMA and became a regular guest on the show in the years to follow. He started a podcast along with Bryan Callen called "The Fighter and the Kid" before launching a solo podcast, "Big Brown Breakdown." In 2018, Brendan partnered with Showtime and rebranded his solo podcast as "Below the Belt with Brendan Schaub." Additionally, Brendan and Theo Von created a podcast together titled "King and the Sting." Schaub also did some stand-up comedy and made some television and film appearances. He co-hosted the after-shows of the "Golden Globes," "Academy Awards," "Emmy Awards," "People's Choice Awards," and "Grammy Awards." He had a role in the 2016 movie "Range 15" and played a part in David Ayer's "The Tax Collector" in 2020.
Personal Life
Brendan has two sons with his long-time girlfriend, Joanna Zanella. He previously had a relationship with Ronda Rousey. After 14 years of training, Schaub was promoted to black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2021.
