What is Bob Whitfield's net worth, salary, and career earnings?
Bob Whitfield is a retired American football player who has a net worth of $1 million. Bob Whitfield played in the NFL from 1992 to 2006. During his career, he played for the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the New York Giants.
Sheree Whitfield Relationship
Bob Whitfield is also notable for being formerly married to reality star Sheree Whitfield. They began a relationship in the mid-1990s, welcomed their first child in 1996, a second child in 1999, married in 2000 and divorced in 2008. Outside of her marriage to Bob, around the time of their divorce Sheree became famous as an original cast member on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." The series debuted in 2008. Sheree was a main cast member through season four. She returned as a guest in seasons 8, 9 and 10. She then returned as a guest again in season 13 and was made a main cast member again starting in 2022's season 14.
Financial Problems
Bob paid Sheree child support for both children but was not forced to pay alimony by the courts. Because of her lack of a formal education and no skilled trade or profession, she appealed the decision of no alimony, but lost the case, as well as her home they shared together. Sheree sued Bob in 2012 for failing to pay his $2,142 monthly support for 38 months. In his own filing, Bob claimed to be unable to make the payments because he did not have enough money. He ultimately agreed to pay Sheree $75,000 (the owed amount for the missed 38 months), and she agreed to accept just $1,000 per month for 12 months before reverting to $2,142 per month.
Atlanta Mansion
In September 2000, Bob – without Sheree – paid $2.395 million for an 8,500-square-foot mansion in Atlanta. In 2007, amid their separation and pending divorce, the home was put up for sale for $2.8 million. The timing could not have been worse. As the housing bubble burst and the economy spiraled, the Whitfields ultimately lost the home to foreclosure, with their mortgage company acquiring the property for $1.1 million. Here's a video tour from when the home was listed for sale in 2017 (it sold this time around for $2.75 million and again in June 2023 for $3.6 million):
Early Life and Education
Bob Lectress Whitfield was born in Carson, California, on October 18, 1971. He attended Banning High School in Wilmington, California, and then Stanford University. Bob was a true freshman starter in his first year at Stanford. After completing his junior season, he declared eligibility for the NFL draft. He was chosen by the Atlanta Falcons as the eighth pick in the first round of the 1992 NFL Draft. He was inducted into the Stanford Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Bob returned to Stanford in 2012 and earned an economics degree.
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NFL Career
Bob played for the Falcons from 1992 to 2003. He was a 1999 Pro Bowler during his time with the Falcons. He played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2004 and then finished his career with the New York Giants from 2005 to 2006.
During his NFL career, Bob played in 220 games. He started in 176 of those games. He officially announced his retirement in February 2007.
$30 Million Falcons Contract
In December 2000, Bob signed a 6-year, $30 million contract with the Falcons. The deal included an $8 million signing bonus and was worth an average of $3 million per year through 2007, not including the bonus. Two years later, in August 2002, Bob agreed to restructure his deal to give the Falcons more cap room. He had been due to earn a base salary of $2.3 million in the upcoming season but instead agreed to accept $750,000. With the restructuring, Bob was paid a $1.55 million guaranteed signing bonus. At the time, it was also determined that Whitfield would not be offered a franchise extension beyond 2006. As such, he was actually released after the 2003 season. Of the $30 million deal signed in December 2000, Bob earned the $8 million signing bonus and roughly $6 million for his years before agreeing to the restructuring. In total he earned around $16 million of the $30 million deal.
PatchWerk Recording Studios
In 1993, Bob founded a record label in his hometown of Carson, California that he named PatchWerk Records. Using his NFL money, he helped produce a debut album for a high school friend, a rap artist named Ras Kass. The album produced a mildly successful single and led to a licensing deal with Priority Records.
In 1995, Bob set up a recording studio in Atlanta in a 7,500-square-foot former art studio. He called it PatchWerk Recording Studios. His timing was perfect, as the Atlanta hip-hop scene was just starting to boil. Between 1995 and 1996, Outkast recorded their now-iconic "Atliens" at Patchwerk. Ludacris recorded his first two albums at PatchWerk. More than 600 gold and platinum albums were recorded at PatchWerk between 1995 and 2009. Artists including OutKast, Nelly, Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, Beyonce, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Whitney Houston, and many more recorded at the studio.
At its peak, Patchwerk charged $200 an hour, or $2,775 per day. According to Bob's LinkedIn, he divested from PatchWerk in 2009. He remains CEO of the multi-media branch of the company, PATCHWERKS, INC.
