Many people love sports betting because it offers so many fun and profitable ways to gamble. You’ll be surprised to learn that a lot of people, regardless of status or celebrity, participate in sports betting.
Even some of the most famous athletes take chances by placing wagers on online sportsbooks or sports betting apps to make some money from their predictions. You may think these people are already so wealthy that they don’t need to gamble, but that’s not true. There is a thrill that comes with betting on your favorite sports star, team, or event that is unmatched, whether money is involved or not.
Athletes carve out special times to place bets on their preferred teams, and in this article, we are going to highlight five prominent figures who are also avid sports bettors. So keep reading to find out if you share anything in common with these famous faces when it comes to sports and gambling.
- Michael Jordan
Considered one of the greatest athletes of our time, it’s no wonder Jordan enjoys sports betting. After all, you don’t become the best by playing it safe, and there is always some risk you take when placing a wager on anything, even if that team is favored to win. But Michael doesn’t stick to what he knows (basketball); rather, he loves to place a bet or two on another sport: golf.
In fact, he is considered a professional golf gambler, as he has been doing it for years. He started off making bets with his golf buddies on the green when they would play, and soon his bets got bigger and bolder.
Jordan has had a very erratic past that has complicated his gambling journey. The legendary Bulls player once suffered a catastrophic loss of $5 million in a single night at a casino. This would make most men weep (not to mention declare bankruptcy and give up gambling altogether), but this is where superstar athletes differ from mere mortals. It didn’t deter him, nor did it make a dent in his bank account. He has continued to place bets on golf events as his passion for the sport has grown.
- Floyd Mayweather
This is an athlete who has never been shy about his pursuit of money, and you can tell that as much as he loves money, it loves him right back. He topped the Forbes list as the highest-paid athlete when he was in his prime, and he has been a huge sports bettor from the time he entered the sports scene. Whether it’s boxing or American football, he has lost and made enough money to make most people’s heads spin.
A character that could never be described as shy and unassuming, Mayweather publicly shares not only his wins, assets, and belongings but also his losses. The Seattle Seahawks are thought to have caused Floyd Mayweather’s biggest sports betting loss when they thrashed the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. According to rumors, he was said to have lost over $150,000.
Don’t be fooled, though; he has won hundreds of millions of dollars by betting on the one thing he is absolutely sure of himself. With the money he got from Top Rank to get out of his contract, Mayweather started his own business, Mayweather Promotions, and made hundreds of millions of dollars. To date, he has amassed almost a billion dollars for a small wager of only $750,000.
- Wayne Rooney
Not much is known about Wayne Rooney’s sports betting preferences, as he is an example of an athlete who developed an unhealthy gambling addiction. It also happened when he was quite young and the internet did not dig as deeply into the habits of soccer stars and other athletes.
His career as a football player for England, Manchester United, and Everton was so successful that it is safe to assume he had a lot of money to play around with from the beginning. In fact, Rooney has been quoted as saying that it was very easy to place bets at online sportsbooks because all he had to do was pick up a telephone back then. Also, because he was making enormous amounts of cash, spending thousands at a time didn’t feel like real money was being spent.
It was only when rumors started circulating about a €500,000 loss at a casino overnight, that his addiction to gambling started to come to light. Since then, he has managed to stay far away from anything associated with bookies and sports betting. However, there was once a time when he clearly enjoyed it a lot.
