NBA legend Allen Iverson had an illustrious career which saw him win MVP in 2001 while also leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals. While the former Georgetown star did his thing nightly on the hardwood, he was also known around the league as a guy who liked to party. That played a huge role in his divorce from his ex-wife Tawanna in 2013.
Allen Iverson Claims He Blew $155M
At the time of divorce Iverson was famous for saying “I don’t even have enough for a cheeseburger” during one courtroom appearance before the split was finalized. This after blowing through $155 million in NBA earnings, but that’s not the worst part for Iverson. Despite his money issues, Iverson’s lifeline has long been his lifetime deal with Reebok, which includes a $32 million lump sum payout when he turns 55.
The only issue with that is, in an attempt to keep Tawanna from divorcing him back in 2010, signed a postnuptial agreement stating that if he violated stipulations set forth like no cheating on his wife, no excessive drinking and other things the entire $32 million would go to her. It’s safe to say he failed, although his wife did not accuse him of infidelity in their split.
This oft-repeated postnuptial agreement claim stems from the 2015 Iverson biography “Not a Game: The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson,” by Washington Post sportswriter Kent Babb.
Tawanna Stands To Collect $16M In Five Years
Per reports, at the time of the divorce in 2013, Tawanna was awarded half of the $32 million in the settlement, which amounts to a $16 million payout. While that settlement with the mother of his five children was not the optimal outcome for Iverson, who’s made plenty of blunders with his fortune, it left him better off than the zero he supposedly could have gotten based on the alleged postnuptial he agreed to.
How else does someone blow through $155 million that they made in their career?
Players Say Allen Iverson Was Life Of The Party
Blowing $155 million doesn’t sound easy to do, but according to other players Iverson made it look easy. One of those players was former player turned media personality Matt Barnes of the hit “All The Smoke” podcast with Stephen Jackson. In 2015 Barnes described Iverson’s profligacy to a reporter:
”Allen Iverson was the guy who showed me how NBA players spend money in strip clubs. That guy went HARD. He’d throw so much money, and this was when I was first in the league, that I use to take my foot and scoop the s—t under my chair and either re-throw it or put some on my pocket.”
That’s probably not a good thing, and a huge reason why Iverson’s had so many money issues over the years.
Iverson Reebok VP
In 2023 as part of the shoe and apparel giant’s rebrand, Iverson was named vice president of basketball. Iverson’s good friend the former four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’ Neal was named president of Reebok Basketball. While their titles are different in name at the time of the announcement both were put in place as an attempt to revive the once-popping but slowly dying brand.
As he awaits his lump sum payment in five years, the 49-year-old Iverson currently collects $800K per year from Reebok and has for the past 27 years.
