David Stern net worth
What is David Stern’s Net Worth?
David Stern is an attorney and business executive who served as NBA Commissioner from 1984 to 2014. At the time of his death, David Stern had a net worth of $135 million. Among other accomplishments, he is credited with developing and expanding the NBA’s audience through training camps, international recruiting, and increasing broadcast and digital presence. Stern is retiring after 30 years as the longest-serving commissioner in the history of a major North American sports league.
During his 30 years as president, Stern transformed the National Basketball Association into a sought-after global sensation and profit engine. In the 1982-83 season, the NBA’s total revenue was a paltry $118 million. In 2013, league revenue exceeded $5 billion. In 2016, league revenue exceeded $8 billion. Back in 1983, the Sacramento Kings sold for $10.5 million, and in May 2013, the same team sold for $534 million. When Stern took over, the NBA playoffs were just on tape (and of course there was no internet to spoil the results). Today, nearly every game is televised live in 215 countries. Stern is also known for handling several NBA lockouts when the league and its players couldn’t agree on a salary compromise.
Stern announced his retirement from the NBA on February 1, 2014. His protégé Adam Silver succeeded.
david stern salary
What was David Stern’s annual salary as NBA commissioner? $20 million.
Early Life and NBA Career Beginnings
David Stern was born in New York City in 1942, one of three children of a Jewish family. His parents, Anna and William, raised him in Teaneck, New Jersey. As a child, Stern was a fan of the New York Knicks, often attending games at Madison Square Garden with his father. He went to Teaneck High School, then Rutgers University, where he graduated in 1963 with a BA in History. Thereafter, Stern attended Columbia University School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 1966.
After graduating from Columbia Law School, Stern joined the law firm of Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn, known for representing the NBA. At the firm, Stern was lead attorney in the Robertson v. National Basketball Association case, a landmark lawsuit initiated by star player Oscar Robertson. In 1978, Stern left the company to become general counsel to NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien. Two years later, he was promoted to the NBA’s vice president of business and legal affairs, responsible for public relations and marketing. It was during this time that Stern helped reach two landmark agreements with the NBA Players Association: a team salary cap and mandatory drug testing. In the latter case, the NBA became the first major North American sports league to implement drug testing.
NBA President
Stern became NBA commissioner in February 1984. Rather than focus on marketing league teams, he decided to emphasize the power of star players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Stern’s business acumen worked wonders for the league as he was able to translate declining ratings into considerable global growth. One of the ways he does this is by creating an international presence for the league, such as giving Argentina’s Channel 9 the rights to broadcast weekly NBA highlights and shipping VHS tapes to state television in China. Stern has also significantly expanded the league’s audience by establishing international training camps and exhibition games, as well as recruiting more players from around the world. During his tenure, the NBA opened 12 offices outside the United States and broadcast to more than 200 territories in more than 40 languages. Additionally, seven new teams joined the league during Stern’s tenure, including the first Canadian team, the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies.
Getty
Among his other influential endeavors as NBA commissioner, Stern played an integral role in advancing professional athletes to the Olympics and contributed to the famous 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team. Additionally, since Magic Johnson was recently diagnosed with HIV, Stern helped educate the public about the nature of the virus and had the NBA implement infection control procedures. Also in the ’90s, he helped found the Women’s National Basketball Association and the NBA G League. Later, in 2006, Stern assisted the NBA in establishing a minimum age policy whereby players could no longer be drafted directly out of high school. On the media side, Stern helped the NBA launch its digital business through NBA TV, NBA.com and NBA League Pass. He also created NBA Cares, a social responsibility program. Stern retired in 2014, when he was the longest-serving commissioner in the history of a major North American sports league.
other efforts
In addition to the NBA, Stern has professional collaborations with two of his college alma maters. At Rutgers University, he served on an oversight committee. Meanwhile, at Columbia University, he was Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees. In addition to these positions, Stern is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-profit think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and global affairs.
honor
In recognition of his career, Stern received the Olympic Medal in 2012. Two years later, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Later, in 2016, Stern was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.
personal life
In 1963, Stern married Diane Bock; together they had two sons, named Eric and Andrew, who lived in Scarsdale, New York.
In late 2019, Stern underwent emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage. Soon after, on New Year’s Day 2020, he passed away at the age of 77. For the remainder of the basketball season, all NBA teams wear black straps on their jerseys in honor of Stern.
