As Major League Baseball reportedly prepares to penalize Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez for his connection to defunct clinic Biogenesis, the New York Yankees' third baseman, baseball's highest-paid player, stands to lose millions.
Rodriguez, 38, earned $30.3 million from June 2012 to June 2013, mostly from his salary, according to Forbes. He ranks 18th overall on Forbes' list of the highest paid athletes in the world. He also has stakes in businesses and real estate holdings.
Rodriguez, who has dated actresses Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson, is notorious for his high-flying lifestyle. His car collection includes a luxurious, black Maybach 57s, known to have a price tag of more than $400,000.
Though Rodriguez signed the two biggest contracts in baseball history -- $252 million with the Texas Rangers in 2000 and $275 million with the Yankees in 2007 -- he earns very little in endorsement deals.
Rodriguez did sign an endorsement deal with Vita Coco in 2011 even though he was in investor in that coconut water's biggest competitor, Zico.
Rodriguez could not be reached for comment. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He previously had endorsement deals with Nike and Rawlings, but those companies dropped him in recent years, said Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen.
Badenhausen said Rodriguez's assets are "small potatoes" compared to his baseball income.
Despite being sidelined for the start of the 2013 season following hip surgery, Badenhausen said Rodriguez now has more than $100 million in future salary obligations on the line with the Biogenesis case.
"His endorsements have completely dried up and are almost certainly never coming back," Badenhausen said.
ESPN's Darren Rovell said Rodriguez' earnings will be affected based on whether he is suspended and for how long. A lifetime suspension would cut off his major source of income, but not his only source. He also has real estate holdings, a construction company, Newport Property Construction, and a Mercedes-Benz dealership in League City, Texas, near Houston.
"But he has his name on these things, and any other negative damage to his name could affect them," Rovell said.
The slugger poured millions into custom renovations at his nine-bedroom, Miami Beach, Fla., home, which he sold for $30 million this year. He bought it for $7.4 million in 2010.
If the league imposes a major ban on Rodriguez, such as a lifetime suspension, Rovell said, there will bound to be a major legal battle with not only A-Rod's legal team, but the Major League Baseball Players Association.
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