Yes, even world-class athletes sometimes struggle to sell their homes. That’s not to say their residences aren’t suitably spectacular. On top of ample square footage and a long list of amenities, some also include indoor basketball courts for shooting hoops or gyms for getting a quick workout in before a big game. Many players still continue to snap up glossy new residences despite their already expansive property portfolio, like David Beckham, whose purchase of a Miami penthouse in a Zaha Hadid-designed tower was one of the biggest real estate headlines of last year. But what athlete-owned homes can you buy right now? Quite a few, as it turns out. Some have been sitting on the market for nearly a decade. Here’s Robb Report‘s buyer’s guide to nine of these digs that, well, really knock it out of the park.
Photo : David Offer Fine Homes
LeBron James’s Brentwood Park Mansion — $20.5 Million
Did the LA Lakers basketball megastar forget that he owned this stately, 9,440-square-foot mansion in the City of Angels’ tony Brentwood Park neighborhood? After reportedly not spending a night in the six-bed, two-story home in years, he’s now decided to offload it for $20.5 million, taking a half-million dollar hit from the $21 million he paid back in 2015. Set behind tall gates and towering hedges on Brentwood’s South Rockingham Avenue, this traditional, clapboard-fronted pile features a grand master suite, paneled library, gym, pool and lovely, manicured grounds. King James certainly doesn’t need the home; last year he paid $36.7 million for Katherine Hepburn’s old Beverly Hills compound, and three years before that, he snapped-up another Brentwood mansion for $23 million.
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Photo : Sotheby’s International Realty
Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando Mansion — $16.5 Million
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal didn’t get the slam-dunk sale he was hoping for when he found a buyer for his 31,000-square-foot Florida mega-mansion earlier this year. The sale fell through. Now the 12-bedroom, lake-front compound in Orlando’s tony Isleworth gated golfing community, is back on the market with a $3 million price shave and a clear-out of some of the more Shaq-centric furnishings. Yes, the 6,000-square-foot NBA-certified indoor basketball court, along with the 17-car garage are still there. As is the 1,400-square-foot cigar and wine bar, and movie theater. And don’t forget the panic room, the recording studio, and 95-foot-long, 15-foot-deep swimming pool. Shaq bought the home back in 1993 and as recently as 2018 had it listed for $28 million.
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Photo : JS Eckert
Michael Jordan’s Highland Park, Illinois Estate — $14.9 Million
Nine years. That’s how long basketball legend Michael Jordan has been trying to find a buyer for his seven-acre Highland Park estate, 25 miles north of Chicago. Jordan took four years to complete the massive 56,000-square-foot property, moving in during 1995 at the height of his storied career with the Chicago Bulls. After retirement and a move to North Carolina where His Airness owns the Charlotte Hornets basketball team, he listed the property for $29 million in 2012. By 2015, the price had been sliced to $14.8 million, where it has stayed. With the home’s wrought-iron gates still featuring his famous “23” jersey number, a full-sized indoor basketball court, 14-car garage and, naturally, a cigar room, this nine-bedroom, 15-bathroom is still very much MJ’s manor. These days, Jordan calls Jupiter Island, Florida home.
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Photo : Compass
Formula One World Champ Jenson Button’s Bel-Air Home — $9.9 Million
Back in 2019, retired British F1 race car driver Jenson Button splurged $8.7 million on a nearly-completed, tin-roofed mansion on Verano Road, a canyon cul-de-sac just north of the fabled Bel-Air Country Club. Last summer, after he and former Playboy model and fiancée Brittny Ward added the finishing touches, they thrust it back on the market with a $10.5 million asking. With no takers, the price has just been shaved to $9.9 million. The home boasts 8,000-square-feet of interior space, decorated with the help of LA’s high-profile Black Lacquer Design. The home includes six ensuite bedrooms, a screening room, and wine “wall.” And, as you might expect of the fast-car-loving Button, there are twin garages with space for a quartet of supercars. These days, the 41-year-old still has his peddle to the metal, competing in the new Extreme E race series for electric SUVs, with his own team, JBXE Racing.
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Photo : Chestnut Hill Realty
Tristan Thompson’s Encino, California Farmhouse — $8.5 Million
Boston Celtics baller Tristan Thompson, 30, bought this modern, farmhouse-style gated compound in celeb-rich Encino, north of Los Angeles in 2019, after his split with TV mega-star Khloe Kardashian. While the power couple got back together, Thompson decided last year the nearly 10,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom spread was surplus to requirements and listed it for $8.5 million. Eye-candy features include a 1,500-square-foot guest house, movie theater, well-stocked kitchen and resort-style backyard. Thompson will likely be in no rush to cut the price after just off-loading his lakeside mansion in Bratenahl, Ohio, just north of Cleveland, for $2.5 million. The 6’9″ Canadian switched to the Celtics last November after nine years with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Photo : Alexis Flores
Serena Williams’s Spanish-Style Beverly Hills Villa — $7.49 Million
Tennis great Serena Williams is hoping to “net” a tasty profit on her 6,000-square-foot mansion in the guard-gated, celeb-rich Summit Estates enclave of swanky Beverly Hills Post Office. The 23-time Grand Slam winner reportedly paid $6.68 million for the three-story Spanish-style villa back in 2017 when it had just been completed. Standout features include Fleetwood pocket doors that open on to a pool, with a Wolf barbecue and covered patio for outdoor entertaining. Close by there’s a wine cellar and bar, yoga room and gym. In total there are five bedrooms, including a spacious master, and seven bathrooms. These days, Williams, 39, and husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, spend most of their time at their 14,500-square-foot compound in Jupiter, Florida that’s just had a multi-million-dollar makeover.
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Photo : Mark Keslow
Baseball Legend Mariano Rivera’s Rye, New York Mansion — $3.99 Million
The former Yankees pitcher and five-time World Series champ Mariano Rivera maybe should think twice before considering a new career in property flipping. Last year he listed his lakefront home in Tampa, Florida for $9 million and sold it in December for $3.2 million. Back in 2006, he bought this newly built, turreted mansion in Rye, Westchester County just north of New York City for $5.7 million. Now he’s trying to unload it for $3.995 million. Seems that with his kids grown and gone, this sprawling, 13,000-square-footer on just over an acre, has become too big for Rivera, 51, and wife Clara. Inside there are nine bedrooms and eight bathrooms, a wood-paneled screening room, games room, gym and huge basement. Seems the couple has recently moved into a new house they built in White Plains, NY.
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Photo : Arbor Real Estate
LA Lakers GM Rob Pelinka’s Newport Beach, California Home — $3.9 Million
LA Lakers’ general manager, VP of Basketball Operations and former NBA master dealmaker Rob Pelinka maybe looking for a deal on his custom Newport Beach residence. The close friend and rep for the late Kobe Bryant, reportedly paid $2 million for the Santa Barbara-style home back in 2009. While the address might say Newport Beach, the property is actually a couple of miles inland from the ocean, in the densely packed Harbor View community. And no, there’s no view of the harbor, either. But with five bedrooms, four and a half baths and 3,528 square feet of space, it’s family-friendly, and there’s a community pool close by. Before signing on with the Lakers in 2017, Pelinka, 51, owned the Landmark Sports Agency with A-list clients like Bryant, Brooklyn Nets star James Harden and Sacramento Kings’ Buddy Hield.
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Photo : Prominent Properties
NFL Vet Eric Reid’s New Jersey English Manor — $1.85 Million
Eric Reid is perhaps best known as the San Francisco 49ers NFL star who “took a knee” alongside friend and teammate Colin Kaepernick during the national anthem back in 2016. These days he’s a free agent after two seasons with the Carolina Panthers and, it seems, is ready to let go of his classically styled manor outside Montclair, New Jersey. It sits on 2.6 wooded acres in the gated 425-acre West Orange community of Llewellyn Park, America’s oldest planned community. Notable residents have included Thomas Edison, whose home, Glenmont, is a national historic site. Reid’s home was built back in 1927 and offers 8,440 square feet of space over three floors, with six bedrooms and eight baths. Boasting an “activity” wing with a gym, library and playroom, Reid bought the estate back in 2018, paying $1.5 million.
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