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NHL Fortune: $58,512,791

Description

Mario Lemieux’s net worth / earnings / salary history: Earned US $58,512,791 (US $123,280,832 in today's dollars), ranking #209 in NHL / hockey career earnings.

Birthdate: October 5, 1965
Country of birth: Canada
Position: C
NHL Draft:
Salary History - Mario Lemieux
All amounts in US$ unless otherwise noted.
Season   Earnings
(US$)
In today's
US$
Rank
1981-82 $1,301 $4,612
Amount in Canadian currency: $1,560.
Earned a stipend of CDN $ 65/week with the Laval Voisins of the Quebec Junior Major Hockey League. (It was a $45 weekly stipend, according to La Presse.)
Source(s): Book: Mario Lemieux - Overcoming Adversity
1982-83 $1,265 $4,226
Amount in Canadian currency: $1,560.
Earned a stipend of CDN $ 65/week with the Laval Voisins of the Quebec Junior Major Hockey League. (It was a $45 weekly stipend, according to La Presse.)
Source(s): Book: Mario Lemieux - Overcoming Adversity
1983-84 $1,265 $4,094
Amount in Canadian currency: $1,560.
Earned a stipend of CDN $ 65/week with the Laval Voisins of the Quebec Junior Major Hockey League
Source(s): Book: Mario Lemieux - Overcoming Adversity
1984-85 $450,000 $1,396,178
On June 20, 1984, as a rookie, signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins for a total of $600,000 plus a one-year option and a $150,000 bonus. (According to another edition of The Hockey News, it was a two-year plus one option year contract at annual salaries of $125,000, $150,000 and $150,000 plus a signing bonus of $150,000. / According to the book A Season in Time, he signed a two-year contract for $350,000 per season plus bonus clauses that, if achieved, would add up to $1M / According to the books Mario Lemieux - Overcoming Adversity and Brian McFarlane's History of Hockey, it was a two-year contract for $700,000 / According to The Sporting News, signed a two-year plus one option year contract for $700,000: Signing bonus of $175,000 plus salary of $150,000, $175,000, $200,000. / according to the book Hockey - A People's History, he earned $1M in his rookie year with a creative bonus deal. / According to the book Breakaway, it was a three-year contract worth $700,000.)
Source(s): The Hockey News 1985 Yearbook / The Hockey News
1985-86 $425,000 $1,273,380
Prior to the season, renegotiated his contract for a four-year contract worth $1.85M: $425,000 / $450,000 / $475,000 / $500,0000. (Earned $300,000 according to The Hockey News 1985 Yearbook / In December 1985, was rumored by La Presse to be on the verge of signing a five-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins for $2.5M plus bonuses. / In early 1986, according to the book Brian McFarlane's History of Hockey, signed a five-year contract, starting in 1986-87, for $3.25M.)
Source(s): The Hockey News
1986-87 $450,000 $1,323,191
(Earned $550,000 according to Sport Magazine)
Source(s): The Hockey News
1987-88 $867,000 $2,459,374
Also earned C $175,000 for french commercials for Diet Coke and Snickers. (Earned a salary of $567,000, $600,000 or $700,000 according to different editions of La Presse.)
Source(s): The Sporting News
1988-89 $2,000,000 $5,450,702
On November 29, 1988, signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins for a base salary of $1.6M plus bonuses increasing total earnings to nearly $2M. (Earned $1.5M according to La Presse.)
Source(s): The Sporting News / La Presse
1989-90 $2,500,000 $6,499,556 1
On August 22, 1989, signed a five-year contract worth $12M: yearly salary of $2M, a signing bonus of $500,000 and $1.5M in deferred payments. (or $3M in bonuses per another edition of The Sporting News.)
Source(s): The Sporting News / The Hockey News / Canadian Press / Book: Brian McFarlane's History of Hockey / La Presse / Book: Avantage numerique: l'argent et la LNH
1990-91 $2,500,000 $6,166,769 2
One-way contract. Also got a team bonus of $500,000 for winning the Stanley Cup. (Earned $2,177,000 according to the Canadian Press and $2.33M according to another edition of The Hockey News.)
Source(s): The Hockey News
1991-92 $2,338,000 $5,532,986 4
Source(s): .
1992-93 $3,600,000 $8,268,814 1
Amount includes salary and any signing bonus paid in 1992-93. On October 5, 1992, signed a seven-year guaranteed contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins for $42M weighted to the back end with the largest annual salaries in the final 3 years. There were some deferrals of salary payments that would come due after the actual playing life of the contract. According to the book Breakaway, there was also an escalation clause requiring the team to pay him at least $1M more than any other NHL player.
Source(s): The Hockey News / Book: Slim and None / Book: A Season in Time / Book: Brian McFarlane's History of Hockey / Book: Mario Lemieux - Overcoming Adversity / Book: The Instigator / Book: Breakaway
1993-94 $5,000,000 $11,155,337 1
Includes base salary and any signing bonus and deferred payments allocated to the 1993-94 season.
Source(s): The Hockey News
1994-95 $2,326,531 $5,058,972 6
Because of the lockout, his NHL salary of $4,071,429 was prorated for the 48-game season.
Source(s): Guide Hockey 1995-1996
1995-96 $4,571,429 $9,669,061 4
Source(s): La Presse
1996-97 $11,321,000 $23,262,724 1
Scheduled to make $15M, including bonuses.
Source(s): La Presse / Maclean's
1997-98 $0 $0 836
Did not play. By then, the Pittsburg Penguins owed him $32,587,629 in unpaid salary, bonuses and fees and on October 13, 1998, it declared itself insolvent.
Source(s): Book: Breakaway
1998-99 $0 $0 840
Did not play.
1999-00 $0 $0 784
Did not play. In September 1999, he acquired about 35% of the bankrupt Pittsburgh Penguins for $5M cash and the $20M he was owed in deferred money. The investment was worth hundreds of millions twenty years later.
Source(s): Sports Illustrated / The Hockey News
2000-01 $1,410,000 $2,639,042 222
Came out of retirement. As he was now a team owner and technically not a member of the NHL Players Association, it was agreed in negotiations with the players association that he would be paid the league's average salary of $1.41M.
Source(s): ABC News
2001-02 $5,250,000 $9,555,967 37
2002-03 $5,250,000 $9,406,688 41
Does not include signing bonuses, performance bonuses and deferred payments.
Source(s): La Presse
2003-04 $5,250,000 $9,198,059 46
2004-05 NHL lockout year: Season cancelled - no NHL salary paid.
2005-06 $3,000,000 $4,951,098 84
Retired from pro-hockey after the season.
Source(s): La Presse
Career Total: US $58,512,791
(In today's dollars: US $123,280,832)

NHL Rank: 209
(In today's dollars: 62)