Russell Westbrook retirement
Westbrook played for the Lakers across two seasons before trades to Utah and the Clippers. Erik Drost/ Wikipedia

Russell Westbrook's last pay cheque as a professional basketball player was worth $3,634,153 (£2.7M), the league minimum for a player with 10 or more years of service. It closed a career that paid him roughly $350M (£259M) in salary. Celebrity Net Worth puts his fortune at about $300M (£222M).

The nine-time All-Star announced his retirement on Wednesday after 18 seasons, in a video posted to his social media accounts and narrated by the actor Michael B. Jordan. Westbrook, 37, wrote alongside it, 'And now it's over.'

He leaves as the NBA's all-time leader in triple-doubles with 209, fifth in career assists with 10,351, and 14th in scoring with 27,176 points, the league said. Across 1,301 games for seven franchises he averaged 20.9 points, 8.0 assists, and 6.9 rebounds.

The announcement came hours after Mark Walter agreed to sell the Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and the former Disney chief executive Bob Iger for a record $12.5B (£9.2B). Walter bought the franchise last year on a then-record $10B (£7.4B) valuation.

How Russell Westbrook's Net Worth Was Built

His two biggest contracts were both concluded in September 2017, the year he was named the league's most valuable player.

Westbrook had averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists across 2016-17, becoming the first player to average a triple-double over a full campaign since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62. He managed it again in each of the next two seasons, and once more in Washington in 2020-21.

The pair came 17 days apart. On 12 September he signed a 10-year extension with Nike's Jordan Brand, worth more in total than any endorsement the brand had previously handed an athlete, according to ESPN. Its terms were never made public. The deal was built to run through the 2025-26 season, the one he has just finished.

On 29 September came a five-year, $205M (£152M) extension with Oklahoma City. Counting the $28M (£21M) already owed to him for 2017-18, it guaranteed about $233M (£172M) across six seasons, the largest contract in league history at that point. It replaced a three-year, $85.6M (£63M) contract struck in August 2016, after Kevin Durant left for Golden State.

The supermax travelled with him through trades to Houston in 2019, Washington in 2020, and the Lakers in 2021. He exercised a $47.1M (£34.8M) player option for 2022-23, the biggest single-season figure of his career.

His pay fell sharply after that. Traded to Utah in February 2023 and bought out, he joined the Clippers on a fraction of the money. A two-year, $6.8M (£5M) minimum deal with Denver followed, then a one-year deal with Sacramento in October 2025.

Why Apron Rules Shaped Russell Westbrook's Final Contract

Westbrook had minimum-salary offers from the Kings and the Washington Wizards this summer, ESPN's Shams Charania reported, and chose to stop instead.

His agent, Excel Sports Management founder and chief executive Jeff Schwartz, issued a statement on the morning of the Lakers sale. Schwartz set the sale price against the reluctance of clubs to pay older players under the 2023 collective bargaining agreement, and signed off: 'Thank you, Union'.

The collective agreement introduced two payroll ceilings, the first and second aprons. A club above either one gives up exceptions it would otherwise use to add players, and runs into limits on trades and on moving draft picks. Schwartz represents other veterans in the same position, among them Kevin Love and Kelly Olynyk, both without contracts for 2026-27, Hoops Rumors noted.

The mechanics of the Sacramento contract show how teams now handle that exposure. Signed under the minimum salary exception, Westbrook's pay counted as only $2,296,274 (£1.7M) against the Kings' cap, with the league reimbursing the club the difference of $1,337,879 (£989,000).

What the Russell Westbrook Net Worth Estimates Do Not Show

Off the court he has held endorsement deals with PepsiCo and Samsung, and owns the clothing label Honor the Gift. His Why Not? Foundation funds education and community programmes in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City.

Westbrook never won a championship. He reached the Finals once, with Oklahoma City in 2012, and ranks fourth in career points among players who finished without a title, ESPN reported.

None of the totals in circulation are audited. Neither Westbrook nor Excel Sports has published a figure for his endorsement income, and the Jordan Brand terms remain private. The net worth estimates therefore rest on modelled earnings and sponsorship data rather than disclosed accounts.

Westbrook has not said what he will do next, and no post-playing role has been announced.

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