Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s net worth is $191 million, based on salary, race winnings, endorsements, merchandise sales and investments. The NASCAR superstar has actually earned a grand total of $352 million from racing, but taxes and investments take a $199 million chunk from that figure. Estimated investments add back $39 million after tax to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth total.

Earnhardt hit the racing scene in 1994 and became a full-time driver in 2000. In that year, he won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award. Since then, his base salary has grown to an estimated $8 million a year, plus winnings of $6 million annually, endorsement pay of over $10 million and merchandise royalties of $1 million. That amounted to a max of $33 million in earnings for 2008, down to a still respectable $24 million in 2015. For detailed Dale Earnhardt net worth data, see the charts below.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth Facts

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth Facts
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth$190,775,195
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth vs Jeff Gordon net worth22% bigger
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth vs Kyle Busch net worth4 times bigger
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth vs Kevin Harvick net worth3 times bigger
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth vs Carl Edwards net worth4 times bigger
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth vs Jimmie Johnson net worth40% bigger
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth vs LeBron James net worth16% smaller
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth vs Barack Obama net worth56 times bigger
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth vs Tom Brady net worth10% bigger
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth vs typical American family net worth2,816 times bigger

The top line info above shows the Dale Earnhardt jr. net worth sum of $191 million compared to other top NASCAR drivers and celebrities. Versus Jeff Gordon’s net worth of $150 million, Dale Earnhardt’s is 22% bigger. Earnhardt’s wealth is four times bigger than Kyle Busch’s $50 million and three times the size of Kevin Harvick’s $70 million. Compared to Carl Edwards’ $50 million, the Dale Earnhardt net worth total is four times bigger. Outside the NASCAR world, the Dale Earnhardt Jr. fortune is only 16% smaller than LeBron James’ net worth of $223 million. Stacked up against the U.S. President, America seems to value its NASCAR drivers more, since Earnhardt has an estimated 56 times more money than Barack Obama’s $3.4 million. Finally, the typical American family has $68,000 saved. That’s 1/2,816 the size of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s total wealth.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth in the News

On 5/15/16 at Dover International Speedway, Earnhardt got tangled up in a crash. His performance in the last four Sprint Cup races has been less than exemplary. How badly will the decreased performance hurt the Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth numbers? Not much, at least in the near future. Earnhardt’s salary is likely to stay at or above the $8 million mark for the foreseeable future. As far as endorsements go, compare Earnhardt to Tiger Woods. The failing golf star hasn’t been a course phenom in years, yet he pulled an estimated $50 million in endorsement pay as recently as 2015.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Net Worth Time

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth Timeline

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth by Year
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2000$2,170,000
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2001$5,277,527
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2002$8,918,619
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2003$12,676,371
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2004$18,724,522
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2005$30,174,456
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2006$43,915,846
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2007$58,392,453
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2008$74,798,773
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2009$90,255,737
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2010$103,808,753
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2011$117,550,786
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2012$133,106,833
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2013$149,481,666
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2014$165,585,287
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2015$181,348,134
Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth 2016$190,775,195

Dale Earnhardt Jr Net WorthThe Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth story really got into gear back in 2000. Until that year, he was winning races, but he wasn’t yet full time on the NASCAR circuit. There isn’t good data on his salary and other earnings in the years from 2000-2004. That said, estimates place the driver’s salary at $1 million in 2000, rising to $8 million by 2016. Solid winnings data place his race payoffs at $3 million in the early years, climbing to $6.1 million for the 2015 season. The biggest part of Earnhardt’s earnings timeline, though, is his endorsement pay. The star’s endorsements started at about a million a year back in 2000, then climbed to a peak of $23 million in 2008. Since then, endorsements have tailed off for the star, finishing up at a still respectable $9 million by 2015. The drop in endorsement pay probably owes more to NASCAR’s general decline than to anything Earnhardt is doing wrong. For the 2015 season, the sport’s TV ratings averaged 5 million viewers per event, down from 10 million plus in its heyday in the early 2000’s. Earnhardt seems to have caught the NASCAR money wave just fine, riding it high and building a huge net worth pile from his talents.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth Sources: Salary, Endorsements, Winnings, Merchandise

Where does the Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth machine get its power? Mostly from endorsements, though salary comes in a respectable second place and winnings aren’t too far behind with third. Merchandise sales bring up the rear. As the chart below shows, more than half of Earnhardt’s earnings come directly from endorsement deals. Earnhardt’s sponsors include Chevy, eBay, Wrangler, Mountain Dew and Goodyear. Only 23% of the star’s earnings come from salary, totaling $79.7 million for his entire career. Meanwhile, actual race winnings provide only 20% of the Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth total with a confirmed $71 million since 2000.

Dale Earnhardt Jr net worth sources

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth Sources
Salary$78,666,667
Winnings$71,096,261
Endorsements$184,502,979
Merchandise$17,000,000
Total Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnings$351,265,906
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Salary (Average)$25,855,492
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Salary (2016)$8,333,333
Taxes (39.6% of Dale Earnhardt Jr. earnings)$163,689,912
Expenses$35,126,591
Investments (Adds 6% to net worth per year)$38,325,792
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth Total$190,775,195

Race Winnings and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth: $71 Million

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth from WinningsWe have solid data for Earnhardt’s race winnings from 2006 through 2016. The driver earned $5.4 million in 2006. His winnings fluctuated some from year to year, ending at a peak of $6.1 million in 2015. Data from 2000 through 2005 is not as solid. However, estimating based on his wins in those years, total income from winnings has added $71 million pre-tax dollars to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth numbers.

For an example of how that breaks down, let’s look at the 2015 NASCAR season. Earnhardt’s biggest single payday in that year came from a 3rd place finish in the Daytona 500. For that day’s work, he earned a respectable $855,720. His smallest payoff was a $30,950 purse for a 9th place finish in the Sprint Unlimited. All in all, Earnhardt placed in 39 Sprint Cup races that season, earning a total of 1,198 total points. That collected work brought him a grand total of $6,095,610 from race winnings alone. For a complete list of the star’s race winnings, see the table below. Note that his pay in the years from 2000 through 2005 are estimates based on reports of his successes in those seasons.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth from Winnings
YearDale Earnhardt Jr. Winnings
2000$3,000,000
2001$3,000,000
2002$3,000,000
2003$3,000,000
2004$3,000,000
2005$3,000,000
2006$5,434,563
2007$5,114,155
2008$4,491,765
2009$4,093,114
2010$4,565,028
2011$4,163,688
2012$5,165,255
2013$5,903,433
2014$6,069,650
2015$6,095,610
2016$2,000,000
Total Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth from Winnings$71,096,261

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Salary and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth: $80 Million

Salary and Dale Earnhardt Jr net worthAn estimated $79.7 million in pre-tax dollars from salary payouts add to the Dale Earnhardt net worth figures since 2000. There’s no solid data available to the public on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s exact salary. There are a lot of estimates everywhere from Forbes to every sports blog on the web. Most of those estimates place Earnhardt’s salary around $8 million a year as top driver on the Hendrick Motorsports racing team. A MoneyNation analysis of salaries from other pro sports organizations like the NBA, NFL and MLB show that number likely started out a lot lower. Working backwards to an estimated salary of $1 million in 2000 gives us the data in the Dale Earnhardt Jr. salary table below. Earnhardt’s base salary likely rose gradually to its current estimated $8 million a year. The 2016 salary value shows the portion earned by the driver to date.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth from Salary
YearDale Earnhardt Jr. Salary
2000-=
2001$2,000,000
2002$3,000,000
2003$3,000,000
2004$4,000,000
2005$4,000,000
2006$4,000,000
2007$4,000,000
2008$5,000,000
2009$5,000,000
2010$5,000,000
2011$5,000,000
2012$8,000,000
2013$8,000,000
2014$8,000,000
2015$8,000,000
2016$2,666,667
Total Dale Earnhardt Net Worth from Salary$78,666,667

Endorsements and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth: $185 Million

Endorsements and Dale Earnhardt Jr net worthBy far the biggest contributor to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth figure is endorsements. The $185 million in the table below comes from an analysis of media reports and studies of reported endorsement earnings in other pro sports leagues. The rise of Earnhardt’s endorsement pay coincides with the rise of his career. The fall mirrors the fall in NASCAR’s TV ratings and popularity since its high point in the early 2000s. To date, Earnhardt has had high profile deals with Chevy, eBay, the Army National Guard, Budweiser, Goody’s, Wrangler and Taxslayer. He has also signed contracts with Mountain Dew, NAPA and Goodyear. Many of those deals are sponsor deals for ad space on his cars. That money gets split with the other drivers on the Hendricks team. Other deals are one-on-one deals for appearing in commercials and otherwise promoting brands. The ad below the table is one of those. It’s a genuinely hilarious fantasy about a Dale Earnhardt Jr. call that takes the place of a duck call, for those who are “on a diet of taking it up a notch.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth from Endorsements
YearDale Earnhardt Jr. Endorsement Earnings
2000$1,000,000
2001$1,000,000
2002$1,000,000
2003$1,000,000
2004$5,000,000
2005$17,000,000
2006$19,000,000
2007$20,000,000
2008$23,000,000
2009$20,000,000
2010$14,000,000
2011$13,836,312
2012$13,000,000
2013$13,000,000
2014$11,000,000
2015$9,000,000
2016$2,666,667
Total Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth from Endorsements$184,502,979

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Merchandise Royalties and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth: $17 Million

Earnhardt earns royalties on merchandise like hats, shirts, jackets and other apparel with his name on it. An analysis of media reports indicates his percentage of royalties kicks in about a million a year to the Dale Earnhardt net worth total, though in truth it could be a lot more than that. By our estimates, the star has earned a total of $17 million from his percentage of merchandise sales over the course of his career. The Lionel Dale Earnhardt Jr. die cast car pictured below is an Amazon best seller. It retails for $10.49 and comes with replica Goodyear tires and a metal chassis.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Merchandise and Net Worth

How Much Money Did Dale Earnhardt Jr. Inherit?

Dale Earnhardt died tragically in a crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001. His net worth at the time was estimated at about $70 million. That money was willed in its entirety to his wife Teresa. Had the money passed to his five children instead, the Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth total would be in the neighborhood of $220 million today.

Earnhardt is doing just fine without a penny of his father’s money. His North Carolina mansion has been described as “the ultimate man cave,” complete with bison and its own saloon. It also has a chapel, barber shop, gigantic treehouse and even a jail.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth Calculations: Taxes and Expenses

Earnings of $352 million are only part of the Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth story. The rest is taxes, expenses and investments. Earnhardt has cost of living to contend with, but also a portion of his earnings kick back to his racing team, Hendricks Motorsports. We estimate the star driver’s costs at 10% of his total earnings from all sources. Taxes are a bit easier to figure, with a 39.6% federal tax bracket plus North Carolina’s max rate of 7%. Finally, investments add back approximately 6% per year to Earnhardt’s wealth. The table below has all the Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth calculations.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth Calculations
YearTotal Dale Earnhardt Jr. EarningsAdjustments (Taxes, Expenses, Investments)Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth
2005$25,000,000-$2,830,000$30,174,456
2006$29,434,563-$3,892,473$43,915,846
2007$30,114,155-$4,358,908$58,392,453
2008$33,491,765-$4,242,247$74,798,773
2009$30,093,114-$6,951,849$90,255,737
2010$24,565,028-$13,550,066$103,808,753
2011$24,000,000-$15,693,173$117,550,786
2012$27,165,255-$15,637,548$133,106,833
2013$27,903,433-$17,085,445$149,481,666
2014$26,069,650-$14,636,150$165,585,287
2015$24,095,610-$11,012,012$181,348,134
2016$8,333,333-$10,257,968$190,775,195
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Net Worth Totals$351,265,906-$160,490,711$190,775,195

All Dale Earnhardt Jr. net worth numbers in this article are based on an analysis of media reports and estimates and are provided here for entertainment purposes only. Like reading about how much money key sports figures make? Check out our articles on the net worth and earnings of stars in the How Much Money Does an NBA Player Make?, MLB and NFL.

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