Dennis Rodman has never been shy about letting the world know how unique he was during his playing days, and now the five-time champion thinks that he would have been one of the richest athletes in the world if social media had existed during the peak of his career.
Speaking on the Above The Rim podcast at Fanatics Fest, Rodman opened up about his larger-than-life personality and the impact he had during the 1990s, saying today’s digital platforms would have turned him into a billionaire.
“I’ve said this in interviews all over the world. If we had social media back in the ’90s—’95, ’96, ’97, ’98—I’d be a f***ing billionaire. Serious. I really would. That s**t was happening back then.”
His comments went viral on social media, as many agreed that few athletes in history would be more suited for the social media era.
Long before Instagram, TikTok, and X, Rodman had built a brand unlike anyone in basketball. While playing next to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on the Chicago Bulls, Rodman dominated the headlines for reasons far beyond basketball.
His ever-changing hair color, tattoos, and piercings made him famous all around the world. Off the court, he dated celebrities, played roles in Hollywood films, and even participated in pro wrestling with WCW. That made him one of the most talked-about athletes of the decade.
Today, those crazy antics would generate millions of views within minutes.
Rodman also understood the value of entertainment long before athletes started their own media companies. Whether it was showing up to games in crazy outfits or creating magic on the court, he found himself always in the spotlight. And in today’s social media world, he would have for sure generated far more than his NBA earnings of $27.4 million and his rather modest net worth of $500,000.
Many players of his era tried to stay out of the headlines, but Rodman loved the attention.
His basketball accomplishments often became overshadowed by his personality, but his résumé is quite spectacular.
Rodman won five titles, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, and led the league in rebounding for seven straight years. Despite standing at just 6-foot-7, he routinely took on opposing centers and power forwards who were bigger than him and earned the reputation of being one of the greatest defenders in NBA history.
In today’s NBA, players have nearly unlimited chances to build their personal brands through endorsements, partnerships, podcasts, and social media.
Stars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant have already built massive business empires with hundreds of millions of followers across various platforms.
Rodman thinks he would have been a massive beneficiary if he had those opportunities during his playing days.
Considering his global fame and reach, it’s not difficult to imagine that he would have had viral clips, fashion videos, and off-court mishaps that would have dominated social media on a daily basis.
Whether he could have become a billionaire would be impossible to guess, but Rodman would surely have enormous commercial success in today’s digital age.
His outspoken comments are another reason why Rodman remains one of the most unique personalities decades after retiring. At the same Fanatics Fest weekend, Rodman also said that he would have no trouble defending LeBron James in his prime.
The Hall of Famer stated that LeBron would have been the easiest guy he ever guarded. But Rodman also praised LeBron’s achievements throughout his legendary career, again showing another side of his personality.
