“I make millions of dollars so what’s with giving away $250?”: When Dennis Rodman admitted to giving away an enormous chunk of his wealth to homeless people

Dennis Rodman scoffed at the idea that he needed more money than he already had as he gave away thousands to the homeless in need. 

Dennis Rodman made his way to the NBA through pure grit and grind. He wasn’t a lauded talent coming into the 1986 draft as he was picked 27th overall by the Detroit Pistons. Prior to making it to the league, he proved his worth as a basketball player at Southeastern Oklahoma State, a college that barely put him on the radar. 

Rodman wasn’t from an affluent background and so he understood the value of money when growing up. His first season in the NBA saw him earn $75,000, an amount that is laughable in today’s league and is also not possible to earn either.

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However, for the times, this was plenty. Rodman soon proved to Chuck Daly and company that he was exactly the kind of player they needed and his emergence as a defensive and rebounding specialist coincided with the birth of the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons. 

Dennis Rodman would win two championships back-to-back as a member of the Detroit Pistons in merely his 3rd and 4th years in the league. 

Dennis Rodman was quite the generous man. 

Dennis Rodman would slowly move up the financial ladder as he began to establish himself as one of the league’s foremost perimeter defenders along with being a generational rebounder. His first million dollars were earned during the 1991-92 season and he would earn the highest per year salary of his career in 1996-97 where he got himself $9 million.

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Amidst all of this however, ‘The Worm’ made it clear that he wasn’t letting it the money and fame get to his head. While the latter part of his NBA career saw him make some questionable choices, his time with the Pistons showed fans that he cared about being a part of the community in Detroit. 

“I had $250 in my pocket and I gave it all to her [a homeless lady]. If I had $1000, I would give her that too. There are a lot of people out there what are more worthy of this money. People without houses, people living on the street. I was lucky to come upon this, what I have now.” 

“I gave a lot of money to the homeless this year. I go to downtown Detroit and give out $50 bills or $100 bills. You can’t help everybody but you can help some people. I make millions now. What’s $250.”