Wayne Gretzky Net Worth and Biography

Wayne Gretzky is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, with an estimated net worth of $250 Million. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999 and is generally considered by many the greatest hockey player of all time.

Bio Data

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Biography

Wayne Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario,  to Phyllis Leone and Walter Gretzky. His father taught him alongside his siblings and his friends how to play hockey on a rink he (the Father) made in the backyard of the family home.

Wayne was a classic prodigy, and he began to play on a team composed of 10-year-olds at the age of 6. His first coach, Dick Martin, remarked that he handled the puck better than the 10-year-olds.

By age 10, Gretzky had scored an astonishing 378 goals and 139 assists in just one season with the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers. By age 13, he had scored over 1,000 goals. His play attracted media attention beyond his hometown and negative attention from other players’ parents, including those of his teammates.

Wayne’s family arranged for him to move to and play hockey in Toronto at age of 14. He played Junior B hockey with the Toronto Nationals, in a league that included 20-year-olds. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Metro Junior B Hockey League in 1975–76, with 60 points in 28 games. The following year, as a 15–16-year-old, he had 72 points in 32 games with the same team.

The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds selected Gretzky as the third pick in the 1977 Ontario Major Junior Hockey League draft of 16-year-olds. It was with the Greyhounds that Gretzky first wore the number 99 on his jersey.

Career

Wayne Gretzky began his professional career, signing with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) at the age of 17. He played briefly for the team, before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers.

When the World Hockey Association (WHA) folded, the Edmonton Oilers joined the National Hockey League (NHL), where he established many scoring records and led his team to four Stanley Cup championships.

Wayne was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988. He had an immediate impact on the team’s performance, ultimately leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals. He played briefly for the St. Louis Blues before finishing his career with the New York Rangers.

Wayne is the leading goal scorer, assist producer, and point scorer in NHL history. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive.

At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records. After his retirement, Wayne became executive director for the Canadian national men’s hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics, in which the team won a gold medal.

In 2000, he became part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, and following the 2004–05 NHL lock-out, he became the team’s head coach. Following the Phoenix Coyotes’ bankruptcy, Gretzky resigned as head coach and relinquished his ownership share.

In October 2016, he returned to the Oilers as a minority partner and vice-chairman of their parent company, Oilers Entertainment Group. He left in 2021 to become an analyst on Turner Sports’ NHL coverage.

Honors and Accolades

Gretzky captured nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, 10 Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP, and five Lester B. Pearson Awards for the most outstanding player as judged by his peers.

He led the league in goal-scoring five times and assists 16 times. He also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and performance five times. After his retirement in 1999, Gretzky was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, making him the most recent player to have the waiting period waived.

The NHL retired Wayne’s jersey number 99 league-wide, making him the only hockey player in professional sports history to receive such an honor. In 2004, Gretzky was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. He was one of six players voted to the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team.

Wayne Gretzky Net Worth

Wayne Gretzky is not just the greatest hockey player of all time, but also the richest, with an estimated net worth of $250 Million. During his NHL career, Wayne earned a total of $46 million in NHL salary. He earned an additional $50 million from endorsements during his playing days.

Gretzky’s appeal as a product endorser far surpassed that of other hockey players of his era. By 1995, he was among the five highest-paid athlete endorsers in North America, with deals from The Coca-Cola Company, Domino’s Pizza, Sharp Corporation, and Upper Deck Company among others

In addition to being a professional athlete, Wayne has invested heavily in the ownership of sports teams. He bought the Hull Olympiques team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 1985 for $175,000 CAD and sold them in 1992 for $550,000 CAD.

Wayne was also a minority owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He is also in partnership with  First Team Sports, a maker of sports equipment, and Worldwide Roller Hockey, Inc. an operator of roller hockey rinks.