10 Sports Celebrities Who Went Wild on Lavish Shopping Sprees

By: Alec Donaldson | Published: Nov 22, 2023

Having new money is great, especially for those not born into wealth. However, suddenly incurring a huge sum of money can lead to many mistakes for the financially uneducated. 

Sports stars are notorious for spending ridiculous amounts of money on vehicles, jewelry, extravagant trips, and club nights, among other things. Here is a list of ten incredibly expensive items sports stars have splurged on.

Lewis Hamilton’s Gold Leaf Guitar

Lewis Hamilton, a famous Formula One driver, purchased a guitar for the whooping sum of $100,000 dollars. This gold-leaf Fender Stratocaster guitar formerly belonged to the late Prince, an American artist, famous for being one of the best of his era. 

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Source: Twitter

The guitar was purchased at a fundraiser and the proceeds were used to fund the Harlem Kids’ arts and education. Although the reason behind the purchase was noble, anyone would agree that is a lot to spend on an instrument.

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Shaquille O’Neal's Weekly Spending on Apps

Shaquille O’Neal is inarguably one of the best former NBA players in the world. The retired basketball star turned analyst recently gave a piece of mind-blowing information in an interview when he disclosed he spends $1,000 a week on mobile apps. 

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Source: Facebook

Mobile apps are quite addictive but it is safe to assume that many phone users do not spend that amount on applications weekly.

Chad Johnson and His Custom Super Truck

This former Cincinnati Bengals NFL star recently purchased a gift that blew the mind of many of his Twitter followers. The super monster truck Ford F650 was a gift to himself in celebration of his birthday. 

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Source: Twitter

The super truck was purchased at the whooping sum of $100,000. The truck is said to consume about $23,000 in gas. Thus, this was probably not the wisest financial decision.

Mike Tyson’s Expensive Pets

Mike Tyson was famous for expensive, rafinné purchases until he declared bankruptcy. The former heavyweight boxing champion revealed he purchased his two Bengal tigers for a total sum of $180,000. 

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Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Bengal tigers also required animal trainers, adequate nutrition, and visits to the vet, which definitely puts them in the bracket of high maintenance. The pets were eventually taken away after his financial crisis and an incident in which one ripped off someone’s arm. So, there goes good money down the drain.

Micheal Jordan’s Private Plane

A private aircraft is one of the peak status symbols of the rich and affluent, and Micheal Jordan fits the bill. The retired American basketball star-turned-business mogul is worth two billion dollars. 

Source: Robert Kunicki/Facebook

He is also famously considered the reason behind the Nike Air Jordans. His customized private plane was purchased for a whooping sum of $30,000,000. Evidently, even after retirement the billionaire ex-basketball star still moves in style.

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Floyd Mayweather's Engagement Ring Purchase

Floyd Mayweather is notorious for his flamboyant lifestyle on and off social media. The heavyweight boxing champion purchased a 25-carat engagement ring for his fiancée at the incredible price of $10,000,000. 

Source: Global Grind/Pinterest

Sadly, the couple split a few weeks after the engagement. No one knows if the ring was returned or not and although it is a ridiculous amount to spend on a ring, some may consider the jewelry an investment.

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Joe Johnson’s Closet Of Sneakers

Having a pair of sneakers is one thing everyone loves to have because of the comfort and appeal it provides. People often tend to go overboard when purchasing sneakers. And while some some inventory is understandable, others’ collections tend to raise eyebrows. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Joe Johnson falls under the category of raised eyebrows. The ex-basketball player owns about a thousand pairs of sneakers in his collection and they can be seen reaching the ceiling of his closet. 

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Evander Holyfield Splurges on a Mega Mansion

Evander Holyfield was a boxing champion who made quite a lot in earnings. He decided to purchase a house that cost a huge sum of $14,000,000. The home spanned over 43,000 square feet, with 109 rooms, including a dining room that could fit about a hundred people. 

Source: HipHopZilla/Facebook

A mega-mansion like that would have a lot of recurring costs, especially in terms of maintenance. The once-beautiful purchase quickly turned into regret for the sports star who could not keep up with the maintenance costs. He was eventually kicked out and all that money was lost!

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Micheal Vick's Little Pond

Former NFL quarterback Micheal Vick wanted a pond in his home. So, as someone who could afford such an expense, he ventured into the unknown. The customized pond cost him $85,000 to install but that was only the beginning. He failed to realize how much his decision would cost in financial damages. 

Source: The Aloe Farm/Pinterest

The pond also took another $48,000 to landscape. This ongoing expenditure came at a time when Vick was going through some financial crisis and at the end of six months, he had spent an estimated amount of $3,500,000 on the pond. 

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Michael Jordan’s Yacht

Another Micheal Jordan purchase ends the list of ridiculously pricey expenditures with his amazing yacht. The ex-sports star is famously known to live and travel in style. The billionaire, whose yacht is named CATCH-23, purchased it at a crazy sum of $80,000,000.

Source: Super Yacht Fan/Pinterest

The yacht accommodates 10 guests and a crew of 24. It also contains a basketball court among the various rooms and cabins. Just when you thought a $30,000,000 private plane was the peak, MJ took it up a notch.

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