How Latrell Sprewell Turned Down an NBA Contract and Went on to Feed His Family

In the early 2000s, NBA star Latrell Sprewell was offered $21 million over three years to play with the Timberwolves. However, he turned this down because he said he had a family to feed and retired from basketball altogether — much to the dismay of fans and his peers alike. But what happened to him afterward? And why did he turn down such an offer?

Here’s how it all turned out for him and how he ended up feeding his family anyway. You might be surprised by how much his career took off in his second act in life! [Read full article]

What Happened with Latrell Sprewell?

Latrell Sprewell was a three-time all-star for the Golden State Warriors before he got in trouble with his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, during the 1995-1996 season. He was suspended indefinitely after he choked Carlesimo during a practice session. The team terminated his contract with pay so that he could sign elsewhere when it expired at the end of the season.

When asked if he would like to return to the Warriors, he declined, saying I’ve got family I need to feed. However, because of this decision, Sprewell never played basketball again professionally. Here’s where things get interesting. If you don’t know much about basketball, you might think that after declining a multimillion-dollar contract, Latrell Sprewell should have died broke.

But it didn’t quite work out that way. Thanks to endorsements from companies like Nike and Adidas, it has been estimated that he took in somewhere between $35-$40 million during his 11-year hiatus from professional basketball. Some of his endorsement deals even continued during his time away from basketball!

Despite turning down millions for one season in 1995/1996, Latrell Sprewell was still able to provide for his family by working with other brands through corporate sponsorships or independently with personal brand sponsorship deals.

What was his new dream?

Latrell Sprewell’s goal was not to get rich or make a fortune, but instead to take care of his family. He wanted them to be able to live the best life they could give their circumstances. So in 2002, he started a new career as CEO of Full Court Press, Inc., which is now one of the largest minority-owned marketing companies in America.

Latrell Sprewell has gone on to create over 100 jobs for people who might have otherwise struggled with employment due to what they call the prison pipeline. He’s also been selected as one of Black Enterprise’s 40 under 40 most influential African Americans in business.

What did he do next?

After declining the contract, Sprewell was traded to the New York Knicks. He played sparingly for the Knicks in 1997-1998 but was traded again after just a year. He played for four other teams before retiring in 2005, yet he never earned more than $7 million a year. In 2007, he joined ESPN as a studio analyst, and now makes over $500K per year with them.

After giving up his career in basketball, Sprewell was offered $21 million to play for Milwaukee. It’s easy to imagine he would have earned much more if he’d accepted their offer, but ultimately he was able to use that rejection as a springboard into a long-term career with ESPN.

After all, not many other players could say they turned down millions of dollars from playing basketball in order to feed their families. Now that’s how you write a professional blogger resume cover letter! When it comes down to it — whether writing about sports or about business professionalism is what matters most when delivering content for your audience.

Ten years later…what are they doing now?

Latrell Sprewell had a great year with the Golden State Warriors. He averaged 17.5 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 4 assists per game while playing in all 82 games that season. The following season, he was traded to the New York Knicks where he averaged 18 points per game in 37 games before breaking his wrist.

After this injury, he never played a full season again. While he didn’t make it in basketball, things took a turn for the better when he was offered a job as a part-time boxing coach. It may not have been full-time or paid well, but he really enjoyed coaching.

Soon after that, he started working with troubled youths at risk of ending up in jail like him. He enjoyed working with troubled youths so much that he decided to start his own organization called Team Kidz Korner where they helped these kids stay away from drugs and gangs by organizing sporting activities for them.