Not-So-Humble Athlete Abodes
Athletes are bigger, better, faster, and/ or stronger than the rest of us, and some of them almost achieve the superpower of flying. The pros perform on a larger than life scale, and many live that way as well. In the interest of gawking at eye candy, we’ve gathered more than a dozen of those athlete mansions and houses, including more than a few in the Miami area. These homes’ square footage ranges from a relatively modest 6,000 to a positively palatial 28,000. Aerial images provided by Realtors Jeff and Cary Lichtenstein, with other images supplied by Zillow.
Colleen Kane
Posted May 12, 2011
Ray Allen
Price: $3,700,000
Location: Carnation, Washington
Square footage: 10,630
Bedrooms: 5
Baths: 6.75
This mansion in the Blakely Woods neighborhood is owned by Boston Celtics star Ray Allen, who once upon a time played for the now-decamped and renamed Seattle SuperSonics. Located on nearly 4.5+ acres, the estate features a grand vaulted entryway, six fireplaces, three family rooms, two laundry rooms, wood-paneled office and gourmet kitchen, a full-size basketball and tennis court, pool with kitchen cabana including all stainless steel appliances, a putting green, Jacuzzi, and a children’s play house.
Adrian Beltre
Price: $19,800,000
Location: Bradbury, California
Square footage: 16,600
Former L.A. Dodgers and current Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre put his dazzling Mediterranean-style mansion on 4.16 acres on the market last year. The entryway has a 35-foot custom-painted ceiling, inlaid marble floors, a crystal chandelier and dual staircases. As for sporting features, there’s a rec room with batting cage, an infinity pool, golf greens, tennis and basketball courts.
Shawn Green
Price: $10,900,000
Location: Irvine, California
Square footage: 13,500
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 9
Former LA Dodger and New York Met Shawn Green has drastically reduced the price on his estate in Irvine’s Shady Canyon community from $17.5 million in 2009. It must be the market’s fault, because this estate is not short on special touches: The home’s interior was designed by d. Kruse, the motor court features reclaimed French pavers, and the gourmet kitchen has Calcutta marble countertops, a walk-in fridge, and an island with pop-up TV. A subterranean wine cellar tunnel connects the main house to the pool house and home theater.
LeBron James
Price: $11,900,000
Location: Coconut Grove, Florida
Square footage: 12,178
Bedrooms: 6
Baths: 8 full, 1 half
This property’s Realtor would not confirm that this walled-in, guarded bayfront mansion is the home of LeBron James, but evidence points to it being his, and it’s certainly outfitted for a major celebrity. Check out these palatial details: two story foyer with onyx walls, his and hers baths with onyx walls and floors, kitchen with mahogany cabinets and top-of-the-line appliances, custom wine cellar, home automation, auto-video distribution and lighting, tropical gardens, direct ocean access with docks to fit two yachts, and a ground floor pool bar.
Michael Jordan
Price: $12- $20 million to build
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Square footage: 28,000
Bedrooms: 11
One of the world’s foremost basketball players has built one of the world’s largest athlete's mansion complexes. It’s located in the 55-estate luxury community developed by eminent golfer Jack Nicklaus, the Bears Club. The community is already very private, but Jordan’s grounds have a two-story guardhouse. Naturally, the sprawling estate also features an athletic wing with a basketball court and gym, a guest house, and a pool house.
Anna Kournikova
Price: $9,400,000
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
Square footage: 6,630
Bedrooms: 7
Baths: 8
This ivy-covered Mediterranean waterfront home in Miami’s Sunset Islands belonging to tennis pro Anna Kournikova was put on the market last week. It has lots of outdoor space around the heated pool, including a coral rock pool deck and a covered outdoor dining area. Bedroom, bath and other rooms offer views of the water, and a two-story guest house with a kitchen downstairs.
John Madden
Price: $4,900,000
Location: New York, New York
Bedrooms: 2
Baths: 2 full, 1 half
John Madden is not necessarily thought of as an athlete, but as coach he led the Oakland Raiders to Super Bowl victory in 1977, and then he became a fixture as a football commentator. When Madden retired from broadcasting to San Francisco, it’s likely he no longer made it to New York enough to warrant keeping his apartment in the famous Dakota building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a residential co-op famous as the home shared by the late John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and home to numerous other celebrities. Now that the elegant apartment is on the market, it’s certainly appreciated since Madden bought it. Zillow reports that Madden purchased this apartment for $625,000 from Gilda Radner, who purchased it in 1979 for $150,000.
Jamie Moyer
Price: $6,750,000
Location: Seattle, Washington
Square footage: 7,100
Bedrooms: 7
Baths: 4 full, 1 half
The Seattle house of Phillies pitcher / ESPN personality Jamie Moyer is on the market for areduced price, down from $8.9 million. Although Moyer originally paid about $1.3 for the 1933 Tudor style home, it has since undergone two extensive remodels, keeping the character of the home intact. It has wood, stone, and brick interiors, a family room with French marble floors, three fireplaces including one in the master bedroom, a media room, a wet bar, outdoor kitchen with pizza oven, wine cellar, skylights, a vaulted ceiling, and a walk-in closet. Zillow reported that the family moved to Florida so that two of the Moyers’ eight children could attend baseball school at IMG Academies.
Carson Palmer
Price: $2,100,000
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Square footage: 5,575
Bedrooms: 5
Baths: 5 full, 1 half
After eight seasons, “disgruntled” quarterback Carson Palmer is said to be retiring from the Cincinnati Bengals since he didn’t get traded as requested, and now he’s put his Indian Hill house on the market. Special features include high ceilings, a solarium, a gourmet wood-paneled kitchen, wood-paneled office, game room with bar, pool, spa, golf green, and pond.
Mark Teixeira/ Sean Peyton
Price: $2,890,500
Location: Westlake, Texas
Square footage: 8,554
Bedrooms: 5
Baths: 6
This new rustic house with the hunting-lodge taxidermy flavor in the mega-affluent, gated Westlake neighborhood Vaquero belongs to New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, but it’s currently being rented by New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. Teixeira has tried unsuccessfully to sell the house since 2008 for $5.75 million, then $4.55 million, then $3.99 million. It’s now priced at $2.89 million and Payton is now paying $15,000 a month rent for the space, which includes a separate guest house, a game room, a bi-level office, negative edge space, covered patio with outdoor kitchen, fire pit, and more.
Terrell Owens
Price: $1,132,500 (Zestimate ®)
Location: Lithonia, GeorgiaSquare footage: 7,694
Bedrooms: 6
Baths: 8
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens sold this home on 5 acres, featuring parquet floors, a pool, high-ceilinged master bedroom with his and hers baths, and the ubiquitous celeb-home feature, the media room. But T.O.’s place stood out in that it also has a free-standing full-size basketball court gymnasium with stands for spectators.
Venus and Serena Williams
Location: Palm Beach, Florida
Square footage: 11,000
Bedrooms: 4
Baths:5 full, 2 half
Tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams have lived in their shared mansion for a decade and recently added a 4,000 square foot training facility. This enormous estate in the triple-guarded Grand Key Estates features two master suites for the sisters, each in her own wing, and numerous circular rooms such as the foyer, library, and sitting rooms.
Tiger Woods
Price: $50- $60 million
Location: Jupiter Island, Florida
Square footage: 9,729
Tiger Woods’ barrier island bachelor pad allows for plenty of swingin’—of golf clubs, that is. It has a tennis court, an oxygen therapy room, a diving pool and lap pool, two boat docks a boat house, a large wine cellar, guest house, and a 6400 square foot gym. Golf-wise, there’s a separate golf-training center building, and as seen in this aerial photo, a sizeable private putting green.