What is Vernon Wells' Net Worth?
Vernon Wells is an American former professional baseball player who has a net worth of $70 million. Vernon Wells earned his net worth as an MLB player for the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and New York Yankees over a 14-year career.
Contracts & Career Earnings
In 2003, Vernon Wells signed a five-year, $14.7 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2008, he signed a monster seven-year, $126 million deal with the club.
Over his MLB career, Vernon Wells earned more than $144.5 million in salary alone.
Early Life
Vernon Michael Wells III was born on December 8, 1978, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was raised in Arlington, Texas, where his family moved in 1988. Vernon attended Bowie High School where he played quarterback on the football team and outfield on the baseball team. He batted .565 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs his senior year. Wells signed a letter of intent to play baseball and football (wide receiver) for the University of Texas before ultimately choosing to enter the MLB Draft.
MLB Career
With the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 1997 MLB Draft, Vernon Wells was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent several years as a top prospect in the Blue Jays organization. He also played in the Australian Baseball League with the Sydney Storm, from 1999 through 2001. Wells was a regular September call-up and played in 57 games. And in 2002, he was given his first opportunity to be an every day player for the major league team. Wells proved to be one of the game's rising stars while hitting .275 with 23 home runs and 100 RBIs and scoring 87 runs and becoming one of the best defensive center fielders in the game.
Wells made the All-Star team in 2003, 2006, and 2010 and was a three-time Gold Glove Award winner from 2004 through 2006. He also won the Silver Slugger Award for the 2003 season. And then on January 21, 2011, Wells was traded to the Los Angeles of Anaheim in exchange for catcher Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Riveria. His year started out rough but got better by the game in Toronto on August 12th in which he received a standing ovation before his first at bat; he followed that up by belting the first pitch thrown by Brandon Morrow over the left-center field fence. On March 26, 2013, Wells was traded to the New York Yankees for minor leaguers Exicardo Cayones and Kramer Sneed. Here he played third base for the first time in his career. Wells was designated for assignment and later released on January 16, 2014.
Vernon Wells was eligible to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019 but received less than 5% of the votes and became ineligible for the 2020 ballot. He hit .270 along with 270 home runs and 958 runs batted in over his 14-year career and sits atop many Blue Jays leader categories such as career hits, doubles, runs, RBIs, total bases, and home runs.
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Personal Life
Vernon Wells married his high school sweetheart, Charlene Valenti in 2001. He has two sons and resides in Westlake, Texas.
Vernon's father, Vernon Wells Jr., was an acclaimed sports artist and early contributor to Upper Deck baseball cards that featured his art on team checklists and Baseball Heroes subsets. His dad also played in the Canadian Football League.
Westlake, Texas Mansion
In 2009 Vernon bought a 2-acre property in Westlake, Texas. He proceeded to construct a lavish 16,000 square foot mansion, completing construction in 2010. He listed the home for sale in July 2017 for $9.9 million. He ultimately sold the home in June 2019 for an undisclosed amount, a year after the price had been dropped to $8.5 million. The buyer was former Exxon Mobil CEO and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson's purchase was almost certainly the highest price paid for a home in the county, topping a $5.25 million home that sold in 2017. Here's a video tour of Vernon's former Westlake mansion:
