Sue Bird
- Net worth $12 million
- Birthday October 16, 1980
- Status -
- Country United States
- Source(-s) of wealth Basketball Player, Investor
How much is Sue Bird Worth? Sue Bird Net Worth in 2026
Sue Bird’s net worth is estimated at $12 million as of November 2026. The first pick of the 2002 WNBA draft made her real money in Russia, not Seattle: by her own account, the pay there is why she is a millionaire. Now her small slice of the team she played for is worth more than all her WNBA pay after tax, on our sums.
| Net worth | $12 million (rough estimate, range $8 million to $20 million) |
|---|---|
| Born | October 16, 1980, Syosset, New York (age 46) |
| Country | United States |
| Known for | Four WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm, five Olympic gold medals |
| Main income sources | Pay in Russia, WNBA salary, endorsements and media, stakes in the Storm and Gotham FC |
How Sue Bird built it
- Went abroad for the pay. CBS reported she earned 10 times her WNBA salary at Spartak Moscow, and she said it made her a millionaire.
- Stayed with one WNBA team. She played all 19 WNBA seasons in Seattle and won four titles with the Storm.
- Bought in after retiring. She joined the Storm's ownership group in April 2024, less than two years after her last game.
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Get the Alux appHow much is Sue Bird worth in 2026?
Our figure is $12 million, in a range of $8 million to $20 million. This one is a rough estimate: little of the money is documented. Her stake in the Storm has never been disclosed, and neither has her Russian pay in dollars.
Public estimates disagree because they rest on her WNBA salary history, which misses most of what she earned. Tax often goes missing too, and WNBA team values have moved fast since 2024.
How we got to $12 million
| Source | Our estimate | What it rests on |
|---|---|---|
| WNBA pay, after tax | $1.14 million | A 19-season career, all in Seattle. She earned under $60,000 a year early on, and we assume a career average of $100,000, or $1.9 million. We keep 60 percent. |
| Pay in Russia, after tax | $3.6 million | CBS reported she was paid 10 times her WNBA salary. We apply that to the $60,000 figure for 10 seasons: $6 million, keeping 60 percent. The later years may have paid more. |
| Endorsements and media, after tax | $4.32 million | Our assumption, with no contract public: $300,000 a year for 24 years from the 2002 draft, or $7.2 million, keeping 60 percent. |
| Seattle Storm stake | $3 million | Stake and price undisclosed. We assume she matches the average investor in the 2023 round, as worked out below. |
| What the stake cost | minus $1.4 million | Assumption: she paid that same average check, about $1.4 million, out of the earnings above. No price is public. |
| Gotham FC and TOGETHXR | $1 million | She holds a minority investment in Gotham FC and co-founded TOGETHXR. No value is public, so the number is our assumption. |
| Total | $12 million | Rows sum to about $11.7 million, which we round to $12 million. We assume investment returns and living costs cancel out. |
Moscow paid for Seattle
She was the first pick in the 2002 draft and still made less than $60,000 a year, according to Business Insider. Then a Russian billionaire, Shabtai Kalmanovich, recruited her to Spartak Moscow and, per CBS, paid 10 times her WNBA money. She told CBS plainly that the Russian money made her a millionaire. Kalmanovich was assassinated while she played for the club.
Her club list runs from Dynamo Moscow in 2004 to UMMC Ekaterinburg in 2014. By our math, $600,000 times 10 seasons is $6 million, against $1.9 million for 19 WNBA seasons. Roughly three of every four basketball dollars came from abroad, for a player whose jersey Seattle retired in 2023. We should repeat that both inputs are assumptions built on a single pay comparison.
The Storm stake, worked out
Nobody has published what she owns. ESPN reported she joined the Force 10 Hoops ownership group in April 2024 and gave no terms. But there is a useful yardstick. Field Level Media reported the Storm raised $21 million from 15 new investors at a $151 million valuation. That report dates the round to 2024, but Front Office Sports covered the same 15 investors and valuation in February 2023, before she joined.
Here is our calculation. $21 million split across 15 investors averages $1.4 million each, and $1.4 million of $151 million is 0.93 percent. In June 2025, about 1.5 percent of the team changed hands at a $325 million valuation, and the Storm itself confirmed that value when Bobby Wagner invested in July 2025. So 0.93 percent is about $3 million at that price, more than double the average check. That is the latest valuation we could open, and it is more than a year old.
If she got a larger stake, or paid less for it because she is who she is, this row is too low. That is the single most likely error on the page.
What she has been doing lately
The trophies kept coming after she stopped playing in 2022: the Naismith Hall of Fame’s class of 2025 and the FIBA Hall of Fame’s class of 2026. Pollstar named her a VenuesNow All-Star honoree in September 2026 and lists her as a Storm co-owner.
The next Storm stake sale is what would move this figure most. Every $100 million added to the team’s value adds $930,000 to our row. A priced funding round at TOGETHXR would help too, since that row is mostly a placeholder.
Sue Bird net worth FAQ
How much did Sue Bird make playing in Russia?
No dollar figure has been published. CBS reported 10 times her WNBA pay, and on an early salary of about $60,000 we estimate $6 million before tax over 10 seasons.
How much did Sue Bird make in the WNBA?
We estimate about $1.9 million before tax across 19 seasons. She earned under $60,000 a year early in her career.
Does Sue Bird own part of the Seattle Storm?
Yes. She joined the Force 10 Hoops ownership group in April 2024, but her stake and price were not disclosed.
How old is Sue Bird?
She was born on October 16, 1980, so she is 46.
What else has Sue Bird invested in?
She invested in NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2022, while still playing, and co-founded the media company TOGETHXR with Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim and Simone Manuel.
How accurate is the $12 million figure?
It is a rough estimate with a range of $8 million to $20 million. Almost every row is an assumption, and the Storm stake is the largest unknown.
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How we estimate net worth
Our estimates are based on public reporting, company valuations, and deal and earnings figures all compiled in an internal valuation model. They are approximate, and figures change over time as new information emerges.
Last updated: November 2026.
Photo: SusanLesch / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped