Eric Wynalda has a net worth of $3 million as a soccer coach, television pundit, and retired player. He serves as the managing director of The Wynalda Group LLC.
Formerly, he was the head coach and technical director of the USL Championship’s Las Vegas Lights FC and hosted WTF: Wynalda Talks Football on SiriusXM FC.
Wynalda was also one of the Americans to play professionally in Europe before returning to his own nation in 1996 to play in Major League Soccer and score the league’s inaugural goal.
Eric held the record for most goals ever scored by a member of the US national team until 2008.
After his playing career, he transitioned to commentary and was spotted on ESPN as an analyst, covering everything from in-studio work at the 2006 World Cup and previous Champions Leagues to MLS game analysis.
Eric Wynalda Net Worth 2022
Eric Wynalda has a net worth of $3 million in 2022. He earned it via his career as a television host and soccer coach.
Additionally, his role as managing director of FletcherWynalda LLC from September 2020 has helped him make a certain amount of revenue, which has aided him in boosting his net worth.
His Career As A Soccer Coach In 2005
In 2005, Wynalda was signed by the Bakersfield Brigade of the USL Premier Development League as its technical director. In 2007, he also agreed to a brief playing deal with the team for the final few games of their season.
He formally agreed to play the entire 2008 season with the Brigade by signing a season-long contract on May 1.
On July 2, 2012, it was revealed that Wynalda would take over as the Atlanta Silverbacks’ temporary head coach and team advisor in the brand-new North American Soccer League.
Besides, he was named the team’s inaugural head coach on July 30, 2020, by New Amsterdam FC of the National Independent Soccer League.
Retired Soccer Player Eric Wynalda Signed A Contract With USSF
Wynalda signed a deal with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) before the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Following the World Cup, Wynalda inked a loan deal with the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks of the American Professional Soccer Association.
Moreover, he only appeared in a handful of games for the Blackhawks throughout his nearly three seasons with the franchise, spending the majority of his time with the national team.
Wynalda was loaned to Bundesliga team FC Saarbrücken for $45,000 in August 1992. He had an early impact, scoring eight goals in the first half of the season while appearing in all 17 games.
This prompted Saarbrücken to pay USSF $405,000 to acquire Wynalda’s contract.
Further, he was transferred for $850,000 from second-division champions VfL Bochum after the season ended, and as a result, the team was elevated to the Bundesliga.
Eric Wynalda Career Earnings As A Broadcaster
After retirement, Wynalda started working as an ESPN soccer commentator. He and Alexi Lalas were the channel’s in-studio analysts for the English-language coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Throughout the 2007 Major League Soccer season, Wynalda served as one of the primary analysts for ESPN and ABC.
He started writing columns for Major League Soccer Magazine in 2008; it is a Los Angeles-based independent soccer publication with an MLS license.
Wynalda was a video blog analyst for Yahoo! Sports during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in June and July. He presently covers the FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, and Bundesliga as a Fox Sports 1 analyst.
Similarly, in October 2015, Wynalda merged SiriusXM FC 85 as the anchor of the new program WTF: Wynalda Talks Football.
Eric Wynalda Filled For Personal Bankruptcy In 2009
According to The New York Times, Wynalda declared personal bankruptcy in 2009 and had major liens on his assets. He claimed the liens were filed in the wrong and were dismissed without him having to pay further taxes or fines.
In interviews, Wynalda stated that his financial issues began in 2003 when he divorced his wife. Wynalda left and said he expected her to cover the mortgage and taxes on their Southern California property.
In 2009, Wynalda declared bankruptcy on account of unpaid taxes and mortgage debt totaling about $90,000. Wynalda sold the property the following year to pay off his mortgage and unpaid taxes.
He cited annual company income ranging from $14,000 to $135,000, per bankruptcy documents.
As per his bankruptcy documents, Wynalda also had an eponymous soccer academy, which “never earned any profit.” He served as an independent fruit drink sales agent for the now-defunct distribution business MonaVie. He ceased distributing the product in 2010.
Wynalda Home Burned Down In California Wildfires
According to NY Post, Eric stated in 2018 about his Westlake Village, California, house, which had been destroyed by fire. His house was destroyed by a significant fire in the surrounding Ventura County.
At around 12:30 a.m., Wynalda claimed he received a notification on his phone concerning a voluntary evacuation. The news source claims that his wife put their children, four bags of clothing, and vital personal possessions in a vehicle.
At approximately three in the morning, the former athlete claimed, he walked upstairs to his house, where he stores decades’ worth of soccer memorabilia, but then heard beating on his door.
When a friend texted Wynalda, he found out his house was on fire. He then turned on the television and saw it all unfold live. Likewise, he stated that his home was the only one that burnt down in the Westlake Village subdivision, which contains 162 properties.