Francis Newton Gifford was born on the 16th August 1930, in Santa Monica, California USA, and died on the 9th August 2015. He is best known to the world as a former NFL player, and sports commentator after his retirement from football. His professional football career lasted from 1952 to 1964, but his complete retirement from the media was in 1988.
Have you ever wondered how rich Frank Gifford was before he died? According to sources, it is estimated that Frank Gifford’s total net worth was $18 million, an amount earned both through his successful football career, and as a sports commentator who earned numerous prestigious awards, such as Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award and Grammy Award for the Outstanding Sports Personality.
Frank Gifford Net Worth $18 Million
Frank spent his childhood days constantly on the move, as it is reported that he and his family lived in 29 different places before Frank even started high school. This was all due to the poverty they were living in, and inability for his father to find a job. However, Frank eventually graduated from “Bakersfield High School”, following which he spent a year at the community college where his football skills first came to light, such that he earned a full athletic scholarship and was named to the Junior College All-American team; he enrolled the University of Southern California.
Following graduation from the USC in 1952, he entered the NFL Draft, and was selected in the first round, as the 11th pick, by the New York Giants., with whom he played for his entire career that lasted for 12 years. Over those years he carved his name into the history of the NFL, by winning the NFL Championship in 1956 with the team in the match against the Chicago Bears, and in addition he was named the Most Valuable Player of the league that year. With his rising career, his fame became nationwide, which affected his net worth, as it also rose with his popularity.
Further during his career, he made eight Pro Bowl appearances and he was a contestant for five Championship titles, but did not manage to increase the number of the titles. In a game, in the 1960 season, against the Philadelphia Eagles, Gifford was tackled by Chuck Bednarik, and suffered the severe head injury which kept him sidelined for the entire 1961 season. However, he returned in 1962, and played until 1964, when he eventually retired. To conclude his career as a football player, Gifford was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
After his retirement, he entered the TV world, as he became a sports commentator, which also benefited his net worth. He started working on for CBS, however, he transferred his talents to the ABC in 1971, when he began hosting the shows “Monday Night Football” and “Wide World Sports”. His career as a commentator was as well a successful one, as he has earned an Emmy Award in 1977.
Adding to his career on TV and net worth, he appeared in a number of acting roles, mostly as a guest star in the NBC`s television series “Hazel”, in the ABC`s sitcom “The San Pedro Beach Bums” and in the TV series “Coach”, in an episode entitle “The Day I Met Frank Gifford”.
Regarding his personal life, Gifford married three times; his first marriage was to Maxine Avis Ewart(1952-76), his college sweetheart, with whom he has three children. His second marriage was to Astrid Lindley, from 1978 to 1986, and his last marriage was to Kathie Lee, a television presenter, with whom he had two children. They married in 1986.
Gifford left the world in his 84th year, as he died in his home in Greenwich from natural causes.
