How Much Tom Brady And Gisele Bundchen Are Really Worth
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen are not only really, really, really ridiculously good looking, but also ridiculously rich. Some might say filthy rich. According to Business Insider, the New England Patriots' quarterback and former supermodel have a net worth of — and you might want to sit down for this — $580 million. Yes, this super couple has a combined net worth of over half a billion dollars. In other words, a nearly unfathomable amount of money. Just let that sink in.
The Brady Bündch are far from the only power couple in the world of professional football or modeling, but they way out-earn the others — which is impressive given both NFL player and supermodel salaries are not exactly known for their paltry pay. So, how did these two lovebirds manage to amass a much larger fortune than their peers? The short answer: their fingers are in many, many pies. Here's the details behind their gargantuan nest egg.
Brady was one of the highest-paid athletes
By Brady's sixth Super Bowl win in 2019 and ninth overall time fighting for the title, the New England Patriots' quarterback had been in the NFL for a whopping 19 seasons. Brady's NFL career first began in the year 2000. That year, the quarterback earned a salary of $231,500, according to spotrac.com (via Forbes). Just two years later, Brady made closer to $4 million, which is quite a departure from his starting six-figure salary.
By 2006, the same year Brady met Bündchen, the football star earned a paycheck of $16 million. And, by 2013, thanks to a three-year extension with the Patriots, Brady brought home an incredible $33 million. It's hard to imagine that Brady could ever make more than that — but that's what happened. In 2016, Forbes named Brady the 15th highest paid athlete in the entire world, due in large part to his over $36 million salary and bonuses from the NFL.
He's been taking pay cuts
When Forbes released their list of highest-paid athletes in 2018, Brady's name was nowhere to be found. That must've been a mistake, right? Nope. Just two years after raking in over $36 million, he was no longer one of the 100 highest-paid sports figures. In fact, his average annual salary in 2018 was less than half of what he made in 2016. If you're wondering how this could be, it all comes down to the NFL's pay system. Across the league, teams' salaries are capped.
According to Business Insider, the Patriots "have frequently adjusted [Brady's] deals to lower his base salary and cap hits to address roster needs while giving him a bigger signing bonus and money upfront." Because of the capping system that is in place, the publication estimates that Brady has lost out on at least an additional $60 million as of 2019, though that figure could actually be closer to $100 million. That's right, Brady could have been even richer.
He doesn't make that much playing in Super Bowls
Playing in the Super Bowl is a big deal. Each season, 32 teams set their sights on the championship game, but only two will end up making it. Of course, that makes it even more exciting — if you're a Patriots fan — and maddening — if you're a fan of literally any other team — that Tom Brady has participated in nine Super Bowls. Some seriously great players have never made it to the big game. Despite the high honor of playing in a Super Bowl, there's not much money involved — relatively speaking.
According to information from the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement compiled by Sports Illustrated, the Super Bowl bonus is set at $118,000 for each member of the winning team and $59,000 for the players on the losing team. With Brady's nine Super Bowl appearances and six wins, money.com calculated his earnings to be about $661,000. Yes, chump change for someone like Brady.
He makes a few extra millions doing this
Brady is certainly not hurting for cash, but he still has quite the profitable side hustle. In 2016, Forbes reported that the NFL quarterback tacked on an additional $8 million to his $36.1 million salary through brand endorsements. Brady is sponsored by the Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer, car manufacturer Aston Martin, mattress startup Molecule, Under Armour apparel, and even Ugg boots. Yes, Uggs.
Brady explained to Town & Country, saying, "I was living in L.A. six years ago, and I was approached by Ugg to be the face of the men's brand. I started wearing Ugg when I was like 13 or 14, in high school, and my mom got me a pair for Christmas one year." He continued, "I've loved them ever since, so I was like, 'Yeah, this is perfect!'" Hmm, okay then. You do you, Tommy Boy, you do you.
Bundchen brings home (most of) the bacon
Brady may be a high-earning professional football player, but his wife Bündchen is the majority breadwinner — by a lot. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Brady's business ventures and assets add up to a net worth of $180 million. While that's certainly nothing to scoff at, Bündchen's net worth is — ahem — $400 million. Together, these figures add up to the couple's joint net worth as reported by Business Insider.
Now, $400 million sounds like a lot — and, well, it is — but when you consider Bündchen's long modeling career, you can start to understand just how she amassed such a fortune. For 14 years, Bündchen was the world's highest-earning supermodel. It wasn't until 2017, when Kendal Jenner took the lead, that Bündchen's supermodel salary was surpassed. It's worth noting, though, that Bündchen also didn't work nearly as much as her successor in 2017. According to Forbes, Bündchen "had a quieter year."
She earns five figures daily
Although Bündchen has continued to have "quieter" years, she's still bring in a whole lot of moolah. After tracking Bündchen's income over the years, Forbes estimated her earnings to total $386 million by 2014. In that year alone, Bündchen received $47 million in take-home pay. As the publication reported, that's over $128,000 per day. But that was 2014, you might say. What about now? It's true that Bündchen makes significantly less than she did in the past, but it's still a whole lot more than most people will ever even dream of making.
According to Forbes' list of highest-paid models in 2018, Bündchen took home just $10 million. While that means she's pulling in an average of roughly $27,000 per day as opposed to her six-figure sum from four years earlier, she still makes about the same per day as the average 20- to 24-year-old worker makes in a year. Cray.
She's retired and still out-earning working models
What makes Bündchen's income so much more impressive is that she's technically not even in the modeling industry anymore. In April 2015, Bündchen took to Instagram to announce her retirement. "I am grateful that at 14, I was given the opportunity to start this journey," she captioned a throwback photo of herself. "Today after 20 years in the industry, it is a privilege to be doing my last fashion show by choice and yet still be working in other facets of the business."
Despite retiring, she remained the highest-paid model for the remainder of 2015 and all of 2016. Talk about impressive. Even after Bündchen was inevitably dethroned, she's still been able to stand her ground. In 2018, her income was on par with one of the biggest names in the industry: Cara Delevingne. Bündchen also out-earned model-sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid, as well as Joan Smalls and Doutzen Kroes.
She still works with big brands
Much of Bündchen's income these days comes from what she referred to in her retirement announcement as "other facets of the business." She doesn't walk the runway anymore, but she does still work with major brands — including her own. Before retiring, the former model increased her income stream by launching her own intimates and skincare lines. Post-retirement, Bündchen is still contracted with both Chanel and Carolina Herrera, according to Forbes. Bündchen has also done campaigns for Givenchy and Rosa Chá.
Bündchen's main priority these days, though, is taking care of her family. In an interview with Good Morning America (via E! News) after winning the Super Bowl in 2019, Brady revealed that his wife has been "sacrificing a lot of her dreams" to care for her husband and children. He further admitted that his wife "carries the burden a lot of the times" because of his football schedule and vowed to do "a better job" in supporting her.
Brady and Bundchen are both authors
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen make most of their big bucks through their day jobs and endorsement deals, but they've also made money through the sale of their books. Well, one of them has.
In 2016, Brady released a $200 cookbook, er, "nutrition manual." You might think that it's expensive — and you'd be right — but that's nothing compared to the cost of his wife's self-titled book. About seven months after retiring from the runway, Bündchen released a limited run of a thousand books for $700 each — which sold out in one day, before they even made it to bookstores. In 2018, Bündchen also released a more affordable book, her memoir, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life. Her book even made it on The New York Times' Best Sellers list. But don't get too mad at Bündchen's sales. Unlike her famous hubby, the former supermodel donated the proceeds from both books to charity.