Terry Crews Made Less Than Minimum Wage In the NFL
Terry Crews' net worth is almost exclusively from his work after playing in the NFL.
The former linebacker explained that his wealth today is from pursuing his love of the arts, especially acting, and giving it his all.
"I have more money now than I ever had in my entire life ... because people understand equity and honor," Crews told CNBC. "People make money, but if they don’t have any equity or honor, it all falls away—and that sounds real existential or spiritual, but it’s for real."
That's deep—and so are his pockets. Find out Terry Crews' net worth in 2023 and how he earned it.
Related: Alicia Keys' Net Worth Hits a High Note
How did Terry Crews become famous?
Terry Crews began his career as a linebacker, but football wasn't even his first pursuit—he played flute for eight years and loved visual art. He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy for a year and enrolled in Western Michigan University on an art scholarship. He tried out for the university's football team between his freshman and sophomore years of college and ended up getting a full athletic scholarship.
After college, Crews was drafted to the Los Angeles Rams in 1991. While that would seem like a big break for most, Crews said he actually didn't earn much money in the NFL at all, and his experience was unfortunately typical of most professional football players. He played for six different teams (including one in Germany!) over the course of five years, and in one particular stint with the Green Bay Packers, Crews was only making $150 per week.
Related: Aaron Rodgers' Net Worth and His Pay Cut Since Leaving the Packers
"I would have made more money at McDonald's," Crews said on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast. "That's the reality."
He wasn't exaggerating, either: At the time in 1993, $4.25 was the federal minimum wage, as well as Wisconsin's statewide minimum wage, and a full-time minimum wage employee would have made $170 per week, according to CNBC.
When Crews wasn't an active team member on the NFL, he'd paint his fellow players and sell them the artwork for a cool $5,000 a piece.
Crews said that he was basically broke when he retired from the NFL in 1997 and turned to hourly wage jobs to make ends meet, first by sweeping floors, then as a security guard for stars, as well as film and TV studios, which gave him his first taste of show business. He nabbed his first role as a character in the game show Battledome in 1999, followed by Old Spice commercials and other ad work. His big break came in 2002 with Friday After Next: Crews previously worked as a security guard for writer and star Ice Cube, who cast him as the gay ex-con Damon in the hit sequel to the comedy classic Friday.
Related: Nick Cannon's Net Worth Since Leaving America's Got Talent
What is Terry Crews' net worth in 2023?
Terry Crews' net worth in 2023 is estimated to be around $25 million.
Related: Jamie Foxx's Net Worth
How much did Terry Crews make in the NFL?
Crews' NFL earnings in total aren't publicly known, but he's made it clear that whatever little money he did make didn't last him long. He played in a total of 32 games in his NFL career for the then-Los Angeles Rams (now St. Louis Rams), then-San Diego Chargers (now L.A. Chargers) and Washington Redskins (now, thankfully, called the Washington Commanders).
Related: How Much Is Tom Brady Worth After Retiring From Football?
How much does Terry Crews make on AGT?
Crews' salary for America's Got Talent is frequently estimated at $1.5 million, though that sum hasn't been substantiated. Crews previously told Parade he's humbled by the talented contestants who've graced the stage.
"Our job is to put through who we think are the best of the best of the best, and then America, week to week, once we get to the live show, it's out of our hands," he said. "That's the beautiful part of it. Half of it is us and then the rest is America which, to me, is how it should be."
Related: Simon Cowell's Most Memorable America's Got Talent Auditions
How much does Terry Crews make per episode?
Going by the $1.5 million salary per season of AGT, Crews likely makes about $68,000 per episode for a 22-episode season.
Related: Sofía Vergara's Net Worth and How Much She Makes on AGT
How much does Terry Crews make on Brooklyn 99?
Crews' specific salary for his role of Terry Jeffords in Brooklyn Nine-Nine hasn't been made public. Some reports speculate that he made $80,000 per episode, though that hasn't been substantiated anywhere particularly credible.
Related: Which Shark Tank Star Makes the Least Amount of Money?
How much did Terry Crews make in Everybody Hates Chris?
Crews' salary for Everybody Hates Chris isn't publicly known. However, Ms. Mojo reports that the show's lead, Tyler James Williams, made $250,000 per episode, so we can guess that Crews made significantly less than that, likely somewhere in the five-figure range per episode as a supporting player.
Related: How Much Tiger Woods Really Makes From Golf
How much did Terry Crews make in White Chicks?
Crews' salary for White Chicks hasn't been reported, but the film was a cult classic and a box office success, making $113 million at the box office. Crews told Entertainment Weekly he'd love to do a sequel and thoroughly enjoyed the experience playing a would-be love interest for Tiffany (the alter-ego of Marlon Wayans' character).
"We were a family. To this day, that's probably the best filming experience I've ever had, next to my cast on Brooklyn Nine-Nine," he said. "It was just beautiful from start to finish. I didn't want it to end. I would go home and get depressed. I literally missed everybody, all the ladies, Shawn [Wayans], Marlon, Keenen [Ivory Wayans], the crew. We knew we were making something super-special. My life changed forever."
