Coolest Athlete Homes
The value of the average home in the U.S. in April was $147,300, according to the real estate website Zillow.com. The home of the professional athlete, however, is likely to be anything but average.
The professional athlete is often a distinct type of home buyer who’s different from the average American, in part because the contract and endorsement money makes possible the purchase of colossal, multimillion-dollar homes. However, these athletes can have serious problems selling off real estate.
A multimillion-dollar mansion can have a hard time attracting a buyer, even under ideal circumstances, but the same mansion with a regulation-size basketball court attached to it can be next to impossible to sell, as basketball legend Julius Erving learned the hard way in 2010. As the great American poet Christopher Wallace (Notorious B.I.G.) once said, “The more money we come across, the more problems we see.”
What follows is a gallery of athletes’ homes that are on the market. All of them are studies in fully loaded, tricked-out luxury, as only a few people could afford. The owners were identified by the real estate site Trulia.com.
Read ahead to see 10 of the coolest athlete homes on the market.
By Daniel Bukszpan
Posted 19 June 2012
Sugar Ray Leonard
Location: Dana Point, Calif.
Price: $2.2 million
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4
Square Footage: 4,207
Sugar Ray Leonard was a professional boxer who was most active during the 1970s and 1980s. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997.
His house in the California city of Dana Point is for sale. The single-family, Mediterranean-style home is located within the Ritz Pointe gated community and features views of Catalina Island and the Monarch Beach Links golf course.
Jason Terry
Location: Atlanta
Price: $1.9 million
Bedrooms: 7
Bathrooms: n/a
Square Footage: 6,325
Jason Terry is a shooting guard and sometime point guard for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He lives with his wife and four children in a seven-bedroom Atlanta home that’s selling for just under $2 million.
The listing doesn’t disclose the number of bathrooms. However, the property has enough amenities that prospective buyers might not notice that small detail at first. Among them are a pool with a waterfall, a fireplace and a three-car garage, as well as a beauty salon and a media room.
Devin Harris
Location: Dallas
Price: $2.1 million
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 6
Square Footage: 7,464
Devin Harris plays basketball with the Utah Jazz. Despite having a workplace in the state that the Osmond family calls home, he has been living in a Mediterranean villa in Dallas.
The home, which recently went on the market for just over $2 million, is in the gated community of Green Park. According to the listing, it includes a gourmet kitchen with Viking appliances and has a “wall of windows and doors that open to pool area and covered patio.”
Babe Ruth
Location: Sudbury, Mass.
Price: $1.7 million
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 half
Square Footage: 5,124
There may be more glamorous places to live than Sudbury, Mass., but few offer sports fans the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of buying the home of a true legend. Sudbury is the site of 558 Dutton Road, the one-time home of Babe Ruth.
The Bambino’s former abode is a single-family home that’s been renovated to include a “state-of-the-art cherry kitchen” and to exude “warmth and ambiance.” The third floor includes what the listing calls a Babe Ruth memorabilia room, and the premises include a large barn zoned for both commercial and residential uses.
Barry Zito
Location: Kentfield, Calif.
Price: $11.5 million
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 5 full, two half
Square Footage: 7,116
Barry Zito is a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. He recently listed his home in Kentfield, Calif., for $11.5 million, and the 91,476 square foot lot where it’s located might make the offer enticing before one even sees the house.
As for the property itself, it offers views of Mount Tamalpais that the listing describes as “reach-out-and-touch-me.” The home has recently been upgraded to add a family room and a guest house with an 18-foot deck.
Ryan Madson
Location: Ladera Ranch, Calif.
Price: $2.2 million
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 5
Square Footage: 5,980
Ryan “Mad Dog” Madson is a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, although he hasn’t done much actual pitching for the team. After signing a $6 million, one-year contract in January 2012, the pitcher tore a ligament in his right elbow during spring training, costing him the entire season.
Madson recently listed his single-family home in Ladera Ranch, Calif., for $2.2 million. The custom home has a formal living room, formal dining room, and a billiards room with a bar and a wine cellar. The outdoor area features a living room with a fireplace and pool heated by solar power.
Rafael Furcal
Location: La Canada Flintridge, Calif.
Price: $3.8 million
Bedrooms: 6
Bathrooms: 6 full, 5 half
Square Footage: 7,402
Rafael Furcal is a shortstop who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals. His home in the La Canada Flintridge Country Club Greenridge Estates is currently on the market for $3.8 million.
The entry features a curved staircase, and the formal dining room features French doors that offer views of the swimming pool and waterfall. The listing describes this part of the home as ideal for “casual entertaining.” The basement has a sauna, a wine cellar and a media room.
Derek Jeter
Location: New York
Price: $18 million
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 5 full, 1 half
Square Footage: 5,425
Derek Jeter has been playing for the New York Yankees since 1995, an eternity by professional baseball player standards. So it makes sense that in all that time, he would drop anchor in his team’s city and buy a piece of prime New York real estate. The property in question is a penthouse suite in Trump World Tower, which Jeter has put on the market for $18 million.
The panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline from the 88th-floor apartment is a major selling point, to say nothing of the equally impressive views of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge and the Verrazano Bridge, along with the East River and the Hudson River. The apartment also features 16-foot-tall floor-to-ceiling windows, a wood-burning fireplace and wallpaper made of the finest ultra-suede.
David Wright
Location: New York
Price: $6.25 million
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4 full, 1 half
Square Footage: 4,100
David Wright has played for the New York Mets since 2004. In that time, he's won two Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards, and he's been a member of the All-Star team five times.
His New York penthouse is on the market for $6.25 million. Located in the Flatiron District, the home has a private roof deck with a hot tub.
Jamie Moyer
Location: Seattle
Price: $5.4 million
Bedrooms: 7
Bathrooms: 4 full, 1 half
Square Footage: 7,000
Jamie Moyer is a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, and at age 49, he’s the oldest player in major league baseball. His seven-bedroom home in Seattle is for sale for $5.4 million.
Described in the listing as “a handsome portrait commanding your attention,” the home was built in 1933, and great care has been taken to preserve its many authentic details. The listing describes its “high peak roof lines and copper channels, stone crests and shields,” and its “exquisite stone casings” as just a few of the highlights of this very special property.