Justin Brooks Verlander was born on 20 February 1983, in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia USA, and is a professional baseball player, best known as a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) now playing for the Houston Astros, and previously for the Detroit Tigers. He’s been active in the sport professionally since 2005, and all of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Justin Verlander? As of early-2018, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $28.8 million, mostly earned through success in professional baseball. He’s received numerous accolades throughout his career, and as he continues in the sport, it is expected that his wealth will also continue to increase.
Justin Verlander (Baseball pitcher) Net Worth $28.8 million
Justin attended The Richmond Baseball Academy while being educated at Goochland High School and would soon improve his pitching skills, reaching 86 mph on his fastball. After matriculating, he attended Old Dominion University and played baseball for the school’s team, in the next three years setting a school single season record of 138 strikeouts, then breaking his own record and establishing a new Colonial Athletic Association record at 151 striekouts. He became the all-time strikeout leader in Old Dominion, and would also become a part of the USA national baseball team, helping the team to silver at the Pan American Games. Eventually, he would join the 2004 MLB Draft, and was selected as the second overall pick by the Detroit Tigers.
Verlander played for two minor league affiliates before making his professional debut in 2005. He would lose both of his major league starts, and he was soon placed on the disabled list due to tightness in his right shoulder. He returned for a full major league season, the team recording a record of 17-9. He became the first rookie pitcher in the history of the game to win games before the end of June, leading him to become the “AL Rookie of the Year”. The team would reach the 2006 World Series but would lose against the Cardinals. He continued to improve, but would struggle during the 2008 season. In the 2009 season, he finished with a 19-9 record and got third in the AL Cy Young Award voting. He would gain a five year $80 million contract extension with the Tigers, and so his net worth increased significantly.
In 2011, Verlander made his 1,000th career strikeout, and became the 30th pitcher in the history of baseball to throw multiple no hitters. At the end of the season he won the Triple Crown of pitching in the AL, meantime he had his best career strikeouts/9 innings in Tigers history during that time. He won numerous awards during this year, including the AL Cy Young Award and the AL MVP Award. He continued to play well the following year and would help his team reach the World Series, which they would lose against the San Francisco Giants. In 2013, his net worth skyrocketed further with a new seven year $180 million contract making him the highest paid pitcher in MLB history. He continued to play well, but the Tigers were eliminated in the postseason against the eventual World Series champions, the Red Sox.
In 2014, Justin would undergo surgery but was able to return; he struggled during the first half of the season but would recover. The following year, he started on the disabled list due to a right triceps strain. He subsequently played for the Tigers until the 2017, season when he was sent to the Houston Astros. He lost a lot of his velocity due to injuries, but was still able to help the Astros during the postseason, and won the Babe Ruth Award as the co-MVP of the season, as the Astros would win a World Series championship making it Justin’s first.
For his personal life, it is known that Verlander married model and actress Kate Upton in 2017, surviving personal issues during 2014 as Verlander’s personal pictures were being leaked online.
