Larry Bird’s net worth is $75 million, accumulated through a Hall of Fame NBA playing career with the Boston Celtics, head coaching and executive roles with the Indiana Pacers, and business investments in his home region of French Lick, Indiana. Bird is the only person in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.
Updated March 2026: According to Spotrac, Bird’s total career playing earnings with the Boston Celtics were $24,070,000 across 13 NBA seasons (1979–1992). In the 1991–92 season, Bird became the first player in team sports history to earn more than $6 million annually, drawing $7.07 million in his final playing year—a salary milestone that ESPN and NBA historians have cited as a turning point in athlete salary expectations across professional sports.
Larry Joe Bird was born on December 7, 1956, in West Baden Springs, Indiana, and raised in French Lick, Indiana—a small rural community where his father, Claude Joseph Bird, worked as a laborer. Bird was one of six children; his childhood was marked by financial hardship, and his father died by suicide when Bird was 18. He attended Springs Valley High School, where he averaged 31 points and 21 rebounds per game as a senior and was recruited by more than 40 universities. Bird initially accepted a scholarship to Indiana University Bloomington under coach Bob Knight in 1974, but dropped out after just 24 days, overwhelmed by the campus size, and returned to French Lick, where he worked for the city’s sanitation department and briefly attended Northwood Institute.
In 1975, Bird enrolled at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, where he played for three seasons under coaches Bob King and Bill Hodges. At Indiana State, he averaged 30.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game over his college career, finishing as the fifth all-time leading scorer in NCAA history at the time. He won the John Wooden Award and Naismith Award as national player of the year in 1979 and led the Sycamores to a 33-1 record and a berth in the 1979 NCAA championship game, where they lost to Michigan State and Magic Johnson in a matchup that launched one of sports’ most celebrated rivalries.
The Boston Celtics selected Bird sixth overall in the 1978 NBA Draft after his junior year, but Bird chose to remain at Indiana State for his senior season. The Celtics retained his rights and signed him to a five-year, $3.25 million contract on June 8, 1979—the most valuable rookie contract in sports history at the time.
Bird entered the NBA for the 1979–80 season and immediately transformed the Celtics, contributing to a 32-win improvement over the prior season. He was named Rookie of the Year after averaging 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. Over his 13-season career with Boston, Bird won three NBA championships (1981, 1984, 1986), three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player awards (1984, 1985, 1986)—making him the only forward in league history to accomplish the feat—and two Finals MVP awards (1984, 1986). He was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a member of the gold medal-winning 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team.
Persistent back injuries, stemming from a bone spur surgery in his heels from laying his mother’s porch during the 1985 offseason, limited Bird’s later seasons. He retired in August 1992 at age 35. His career statistics: 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998 and named to both the NBA 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams.
After five years as a special assistant with the Celtics’ front office, Bird was named head coach of the Indiana Pacers in 1997. He went 147-67 in the regular season over three seasons, earning NBA Coach of the Year honors in 1997–98 and leading the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in all three seasons and to the NBA Finals in 1999–2000, per Legends of Basketball. He retired from coaching in 2000 before returning to the Pacers as president of basketball operations in 2003, a role he held until 2012. He was named NBA Executive of the Year in 2011–12. Bird served as a consultant to the Pacers through July 2022, and was re-hired as a consultant in June 2023 per Wikipedia.
Bird was briefly married to Janet Condra in 1975; the marriage lasted less than a year and produced a daughter, Corrie Bird. He married Dinah Mattingly in 1989, and they have two adopted children together, Connor and Mariah Bird. The family lives in Naples, Florida, and maintains connections to French Lick, Indiana, where Bird’s investments and community ties remain strong. Bird has been open about the chronic back pain that ended his playing career and continues to affect him; he underwent multiple back surgeries during and after his playing days. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and is a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team selected in 2021.
Larry Bird’s net worth is estimated at $75 million, derived from $24 million in NBA career earnings, multi-year head coaching and executive compensation with the Indiana Pacers, endorsement deals during his peak playing years, and business investments including a hotel and restaurant in French Lick, Indiana.
In 1991–92, Bird became the first player in team sports history to earn more than $6 million in a single season, drawing $7.07 million per Spotrac. His leverage came from being the three-time reigning MVP and a cornerstone of Boston’s dynasty, giving him unprecedented negotiating power in the pre-salary-cap era. His contract set a precedent that elevated compensation standards across the league.
After retiring as a player in 1992, Bird spent five years as a Celtics special assistant before becoming head coach of the Indiana Pacers (1997–2000), winning NBA Coach of the Year in 1998. He later served as the Pacers’ president of basketball operations (2003–2012), earning NBA Executive of the Year in 2012. He remains the only person in NBA history to win MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.
As of March 2026, Larry Bird is 69 years old. Larry Bird was born on December 7, 1956 in West Baden Springs, Indiana, U.S.
Larry Bird stands 6 ft 9 in tall (206 cm).
Larry Bird has been married to Dinah Mattingly since 1989. He was previously briefly married to Janet Condra in 1975. Bird and Mattingly have two adopted children, Connor and Mariah, in addition to his daughter Corrie from his first marriage.
Yes, Larry Bird has three children. His daughter Corrie (49) is from his brief first marriage to Janet Condra. He and his wife Dinah Mattingly adopted two children, Connor (33) and Mariah (34).
Larry Bird lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. His home was listed at $2.35 million in 2019. Bird has remained in the Indianapolis area since his playing days with the Celtics and his front-office career with the Pacers.
Larry Bird signed with the Boston Celtics in 1979 for $3.25 million over five years, making him the highest-paid rookie in NBA history at the time. His career earnings from basketball, combined with his front-office work with the Indiana Pacers, have solidified his financial legacy.