Ian Wright Net Worth - How Much Is The Arsenal Legend Worth?

• Ian Wright is a former professional footballer

• Wright is the second highest goalscorer in Arsenal’s history and is a popular pundit

• A celebrity beyond football, Wright is a regular on British television screens

Former footballers who turn their hand to punditry are supposed to be divisive, not universally loved. Ian Edward Wright MBE is the exception to that rule.

Making a seamless transition from scoring a ton of goals for Arsenal to excelling amidst the landscape of celebrity, ‘Wrighty’ has a rare ability to appeal to many different demographics. This makes him a highly desirable figure for advertisers and television executives alike.  

What this also means is that despite playing most of his football before the avalanche of money came into the game, Ian Wright is an extremely wealthy individual.  

Football Career

Born in Woolwich, South-East London on November 3rd, 1963, Wright was famously a slow starter to professional football, playing non-league until the age of 21.

There was even a three-week stint in Chelmsford Prison for repeated failures to pay driving-related fines as his life increasingly looked like it was heading down the wrong path.

It was football that saved him, or more accurately a determination to make something of himself, doing what he was best at, and with a first child imminent there was little time to lose.

A semi-pro deal with Greenwich Borough was secured, earning him £30 per week and then just a few weeks later a successful trial with Crystal Palace led to a contract being signed worth five times that amount. 

More importantly, the explosive striker was on his way.

It’s not often our football tips for today predicts success for the Eagles and the same was true in the mid-Eighties. Yet Palace’s perennial underdog status chimed with Wright’s desperation to prove himself, against all odds.

They were made for each other and in due course the club was promoted to the top-flight, fired to such heights by Wright’s goals.

There were 117 all told, from 253 starts over six seasons. It was enough to have him forever considered a club legend. Indeed, in 2005 he was voted their ‘Player of the Century’.     

A move to Arsenal followed in 1991, signed for a club record fee of £2.5m, and to say he got off to a flying start would be an understatement. He scored on his debut, got a hat-trick in his first league appearance, and finished his first season with a hefty tally of 31 goals.

The former Sunday League striker had immediately installed himself as Arsenal’s main man. 

The goals kept on coming too, only this time it was accompanied by team success as Arsenal won a domestic cup double in 1993. 

And then, in the twilight of his career, Arsene Wenger arrived, bringing about a renaissance in the forward who went on to enjoy a couple more vintage seasons. September 1997 saw Wright become Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer, a feat which was later surpassed by Thierry Henry.

In his final campaign in North Londo the Gunners won a league title and what a phenomenal side that was. They were nailed on in the Premier League betting from August on. 

Brief spells at West Ham, Nottingham Forest (on loan), Celtic and Burnley followed before Wright drew the curtains on a career that began on muddy communal fields and ended with him hailed a legend at two London clubs. 

Thirty-three England caps and 333 career goals is proof enough of his greatness.

How Much Is Ian Wright Worth?

According to numerous sources Ian Wright has a net worth in excess of £20 million, a figure largely accrued from his second career, appearing on our screens in various guises. 

That is not to say that his playing career merely earned him pocket money. In fact, we’re on very safe ground in assuming that his first few million in the bank derived from contract extensions and bonuses, that all came on top of a generous weekly wage, especially at Arsenal. 

There were also endorsements that flooded in once he became a household name and England star, not least a lucrative boot deal with Nike.

Post-retirement, however, saw his earning power rocket.

For his punditry work with the BBC, Wright was paid – until 2020 when he took a pay cut – between £205,000 and £209,999 a year.

He has hosted his own chat show called Friday Night’s All Wright that would have garnered him a contract in the high six figures. He has additionally hosted a game show (‘I’d Do Anything’) and presented a prime-time Saturday evening show entitled The National Lottery Wright Ticket.

Fronting such programmes is where the money is. It will have garnered him a fortune. Moreover, his broad popularity has made him a go-to star for huge companies.

In recent years, among many more, he has appeared in TV advertisements for Nescafe, Chicken Tonight, the phone network One-to-One, Nike and M&S. 

Putting his name and reputation to each will have brought in a substantial sum. 

Ian Wright Wife

Ian Wright has been married on two occasions. He is currently married to Nancy Hallam and has been since 2011. Wright’s first wedding was in 1993 in Mauritius, but it ended in 2004.

The former Arsenal striker later admitted in his autobiography that he was unfaithful in his first marriage.

He wrote, "I got caught up in all of that and cheated on my first wife, Debbie, which destroyed my marriage. That was a really horrible period. If there’s ever been a time in my life I wish I could change, that would be it."

Ian Wright Children

Ian Wright has eight children. The first of which, Shaun, went on to become a winger for Manchester City, Chelsea and England.

Shaun was adopted by Ian in 1984 while he was in a relationship with Sharon Phillips – the couple had another child, Bradley who also became a professional footballer. He had another son, Brett, in 1987, before two children with his first wife Debbie.

Nancy Hallam and Wright have two children. The first was Lola, born in 2009, and Roxanne is Wright’s eighth child, born in 2012.

How Old Is Ian Wright?

Ian Wright is 60 years old and to give some historical context to that age, he was born 19 days before President John F Kennedy was assassinated.

Since retiring from football in 2000, Wright briefly dabbled in coaching with Milton Keynes Dons and purchasing a stake in Ashton United.

He has featured on BBC’s Top Gear and presented several shows, including a guest stint on Top of the Pops. He has also mastered the art of radio, hosting his own show on Talksport and regularly appearing on Five Live. 

Ian Wright I’m A Celebrity

Ian Wright was a contestant on the 2019 edition of I’m A Celebrity. He was the fifth celebrity to be voted off after being in the bottom two with Caitlyn Jenner.

During his time in the jungle, Wright was criticised for his treatment of Andrew Maxwell.

Ian Wright Teacher

Working on an ITV4 programme being filmed at Highbury several years ago, Ian Wright was reunited with his primary school teacher, Sydney Pidgen.

Pidgen played a major role in getting Wright into football, and the former Arsenal striker had clearly assumed he had passed away.

Having not seen each other for almost a quarter of a century, Wright is surprised on camera by the reunion with Mr Pidgen – he emotionally says, "You're alive!" and in the following interview describes Pidgen as "kind of like his special guy".

Wright dedicated his autobiography to Mr Pidgen and has since spoken emotionally about their relationship on Desert Island Discs.

Wright said, “Being able to unveil his plaque at Turnham junior school was the greatest thing I've ever done in my life. He was the greatest man in the world.”

Ian Wright Pundit

Wright’s jovial personality can sometimes overshadow the depth and quality of his analysis which is often superb. 

Known and appreciated for his fairness, he is also not afraid to say it how he sees it, such as previously being a strong critic of VAR and more recently coming to the defence of an Arsenal side facing flak for supposedly over-celebrating their victories.

If the Gunners defy the football betting and win their first league title for two decades we can expect Wright to be front and centre among the revellers at the Emirates. 

Moreover, revealing himself to be a man of integrity, Wright was widely praised early last year when he was the first pundit to announce he would not appear on Match of the Day in light of Gary Lineker’s temporary removal from presenting duties.

Lineker had become a national talking point after tweeting about the government’s immigration policy. 

Standing shoulder to shoulder with his colleague, Wright tweeted, “Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.”

Thousands spoke out in support of the ex-Arsenal striker with a comment made by Gary Neville that was particularly pertinent. “I had no doubt Ian Wright would do that.”

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*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*