The former NFL player and current MMA fighter Herschel Walker is worth $10 million. Herschel played for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants during his time in the NFL. In fact, he first entered the league in 1983 with the now-defunct USFL’s New Jersey Generals.
Early Life
Herschel Walker entered this world on March 3, 1962, in the city of Augusta, Georgia. His Wrightsville, Georgia upbringing was provided by his parents, Willis and Christina Walker, who raised a brood of seven kids.
During his time at Johnson County High School, Walker participated in football, basketball, and track and field as a student-athlete. Walker, a senior running back for the Trojans football team, rushed for 3,167 yards during his senior season, a feat that contributed to the team’s historic run to the state title.
Education
Upon completing high school, Walker enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he played running back for the Bulldogs football team. He was a phenomenal player for the Bulldogs and finished his collegiate career with a trio of All-American honors and a pair of prestigious awards in 1982: the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award.
Walker was the only player in NCAA history to finish in the top three in Heisman voting all three years he was a student-athlete. On top of all that, he finished in the top 10 in rushing yards for the NCAA for the first time ever by a player who only played there for three years. Walker, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest college football players ever, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Although he attended UGA, Herschel never earned his degree from Walker. After committing to a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Studies program, he dropped out to play in the USFL.
A Pro Football Career
The three-time All-American started his professional career with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL. For both 1983 and 1985, he was the USFL’s rushing champion. The Dallas Cowboys drafted Herschel in the fifth round (114th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft in light of the imminent demise of the USFL. And with the demise of the USFL in 1986, Herschel signed on with the Cowboys.
During his first two years with the Cowboys, Walker and teammate Tony Dorsett had a rocky relationship because Dorsett was unhappy with the reduction in his playing time that resulted from Walker’s arrival. However, once Dorsett left for the Denver Broncos, Walker was able to finally reach his full potential.
In 1988, Walker racked up some impressive stats: 1,512 yards on the ground and 505 receiving yards despite playing a whopping seven positions (halfback, fullback, tight end, H-back, and wide receiver). He became only the 10th player in NFL history to reach 2,000 all-purpose yards in a single season, a feat he accomplished by combining his rushing and receiving yards.
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The Cowboys sent Walker to the Vikings in a trade that took place in 1989. The Cowboys acquired Jesse Solomon, Isiac Holt, Darrin Nelson, David Howard, and Alex Stewart, as well as six draughts, picks in exchange for Walker. The “HWT” (Herschel Walker trade) was widely seen as a chance for the Vikings to make it to the Super Bowl.
Time revealed, however, that the real beneficiaries of the HWT were the Cowboys, and the deal is now widely regarded as one of the NFL’s most one-sided. During the 1992 season, Walker signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before joining the New York Giants in 1995, he stayed there for three years.
The Giants reportedly extended a three-year contract worth $4.8 million to him. After that, he signed on with the Dallas Cowboys and played there until 1996. After the 1997 season, he called it quits, finishing his NFL career with the same team he had joined.
Earnings and Agreements
Herschel signed a record-breaking contract with the New Jersey Generals in 1983, one that paid him $5 million over the course of three years. For a time, J. Walter Duncan, an oil magnate from Dallas, owned the club. The USFL, like the NFL, had a salary cap of $1.8 million.
Herschel’s deal was structured in a way that allowed him to earn more than the league maximum by having him sign a separate “Personal services” contract with the team’s owner. When Donald Trump bought the team at the end of the 1983 season, he inherited the contract.
Herschel made $2 million in his first year between his salary and his bonus. In addition, he made a million dollars in 1984. It all added up to a cool $1.25 million for him in 1985.
Herschel Walker signed a new five-year, $5 million contract with the Cowboys for the 1986 season after the USFL went under in 1985. Teammate Tony Dorsett, who was signed to a five-year, $4.5 million deal, was upset by Herschel’s contract.
Herschel received a three-year, $4.8 million contract from the New York Giants when he joined the team in 1995.
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Personal Financial Disclosure
As a candidate for the United States Senate in Georgia, Herschel disclosed his personal financial situation in April 2022. The report states that Herschel has a wealth of $29 million to $65 million. Additionally, Herschel reportedly made $4 million in the year ending in December 2021, according to the report.
H. Walker Enterprises LLC, the largest asset listed in his financial report, is estimated to be worth between $25 and $50 million, and to have generated $3 million in income in 2020 and 2021.
H. Walker Enterprises LLC is a “Business consulting and professional services” according to the disclosure form.
Even though he claimed his business made $3.195 million last year and was worth $25 million to $50 million, he failed to list a single client who paid him at least $5,000 for his services.
Assume for a second that the $25-50 million estimate for his company’s worth is way off. Once you take those numbers out of his net worth range of $29-60 million, you can reasonably assume that a more accurate estimate of Herschel Walker’s net worth would be somewhere between $5 million and $10 million.
According to the form, Herschel made around $415,000 from public speaking.
Other Athletic Pursuits
As a current NFL player, Walker competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. He competed for the United States on the men’s bobsleigh team. The two of them took part in the two-man bobsleigh competition, where they placed seventh overall.
Walker joined the MMA promotion Strikeforce in 2009 to compete in the heavyweight division. Walker made his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut in January 2010 against Greg Nagy after only twelve weeks of training at the American Kickboxing Academy.
Walker came out on top during the fight. Walker defeated Scott Carson of the WEC in his second mixed martial arts bout, which took place in January 2011. Walker has a fifth-degree black belt in taw Kwon do in addition to his mixed martial arts background.
Renaissance Man Food Services
Herschel started a poultry distribution firm called Renaissance Man Food Services in 1999. He established his own chicken processing plant, which, by 2008, was said to be responsible for the employment of over a hundred people and the generation of over $70 million in gross revenue. Herschel testified in a later court case that the company made an average of $1.5 million per year in profits between 2008 and 2017.
As the company sought assistance from the Payment Protection Program in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, Herschel reported a 50% drop in revenue. According to the data he provided in his PPP application, eight people were employed by the business. Two PPP loans gave Renaissance a total of $182,000; roughly half of that was forgiven.
Other Projects
Walker’s television appearances have expanded beyond sports to include guest spots on reality shows. He competed on the third season of “Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off,” on which he ultimately prevailed as a contestant. One other program on which he has been featured in “Celebrity Apprentice” (2009). During the eighth episode, he was the one to go home.
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Personal Life
Walker wed Cindy DeAngelis Grossman in 1983. They had a son together after falling in love in college. After being married for 19 years, they decided to separate in 2002. It was around 2010 when he first started seeing Julie M. Blanchard (2010 is when they were first romantically linked). They recently got engaged and now live in Westlake, Texas. Blanchard used to work at ESPN in high positions.
Walker has been an active Republican for quite some time. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce paid for his appearance in a commercial for Jack Kingston’s 2014 U.S. Senate campaign.
In addition to U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler and Secretary of State Brian Kemp, he has also voiced his support for President Donald Trump. Earlier this year, President Trump appointed Walked to serve as the Council’s Co-Chair for Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.