How Rich is the Golden Bachelor?

Born on December 7, 1958, in Detroit, Michigan, in a tight-knit family, Mel Tyrae Owens has been athletic from an early age thanks to his father, Walter Owens, pushing him. The truth is, things may have started for him in a manner that asserts legacy, considering his father was a professional baseball athlete, but he himself also grew extremely passionate about sports. In fact, he played several sports before pursuing a career in the NFL, only to then move on to the legal industry and then the reality television world with ABC’s ‘The Golden Bachelor’ season 2.

How Did Mel Owens Earn His Money?

Although born and brought up in Michigan, Mel Owens spent the majority of his teenage years in Illinois after the family moved there when he was in the 9th grade for the patriarch’s job. He thus attended DeKalb High School, where he was a multi-sport star, winning a total of nine varsity letters across football, basketball, and baseball. He was undeniably talented in all these sports, but basketball was on a different level; in fact, he won unanimously voted all-conference basketball honors as a senior, yet things changed in the mid-1970s. Mel enrolled at the University of Michigan shortly after graduating from high school, where he ended up playing college football as a linebacker during his freshman year in 1976.

It gained him a lot of notoriety, and so did the fact that the ensuing year, he was again a part of the team as they won the 1997 Big Ten Conference championship and advanced to the Rose Bowl. The ensuing years only helped him hone his skills better, enabling him to be selected as a first-team All-Big Ten Conference player in 1980 and later conclude his collegiate career with 125 tackles, 79 assists, and three interceptions. Mel also won the 1978 Rose Bowl, 1979 Gator Bowl, and 1981 Rose Bowl, and then graduated with a degree in political science while maintaining his athleticism every step of the way. It was then that he tried out for the National Football League (NFL), only for the Los Angeles Rams to select him with the ninth overall pick, following which he signed a 3-year contract worth $175,000 per season.

He reportedly only played on special teams in 1981 and 1982, but 1983 saw a significant change as he became the core team’s full-time starter, resulting in his contract being extended and him continuing to shine. Mel was actually an honorable mention All-Pro by the Associated Press in 1986 as the team’s defense ranked in the NFL’s top 5 for the second consecutive season. Moreover, that same year, during week 3 of the season, he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week by the NFL. However, things changed in 1988, as he suffered a serious ankle injury, and he returned in 1989 as an inside linebacker despite having spent his entire career until that point as a strong outside linebacker. In the end, following nine incredible seasons, during which he accumulated 26.5 sacks and 4 interceptions, he retired.

Although a significant portion of Mel’s time throughout the 1980s was dedicated to the NFL, he was also involved in several businesses, such as investment opportunities and passion ventures. He had a clothing line called Evolution Wear, he owned and operated a nationwide restaurant reservation hotline called 1-800-LETS-EAT, and he evolved his personal brand through sponsorships. Then, following his NFL career, he decided to completely shift gears and get the necessary educational qualifications to evolve into a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch & Co., a now-defunct publicly traded investment banking operation.

It was through this that Mel developed an interest in the world of law, driving him to attend the University of California – Hastings College of the Law to earn his Juris Doctorate. He graduated without any issues before passing the bar exam in 2003 and garnering some significant experience at local firms to help him figure out his specialty before he could spread his wings. In 2006, he became a founding partner of Namanny, Byrne & Owens in Laguna Hills, California, where he specializes in disability benefits, sports law, and workers’ compensation. Therefore, it’s no surprise that he has represented not only over 250 football players throughout his career but also hockey players, gymnasts, and other athletes, no matter the sport.

Mel once served at the University of Baltimore School of Law as an Advisor and is a renowned public speaker. His lectures/speaking events usually cover Athlete Workers’ Compensation, Sports Management, Sports Law, Sports Injuries, and Disability Benefits. Furthermore, as per records, he continues to be involved in the world of football through various events and as a coach at the Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Moreover, over the past few years, Mel has even begun dabbling in the entertainment industry through his passion for photography, as a rising member of the Hollywood Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and his stint as a reality dating star – he is the lead in ABC’s ‘The Golden Bachelor’ season 2.

Mel Owens’ Net Worth

Since Mel Owens has been actively working for the past 4½ decades, it comes as absolutely no surprise that he has managed to accumulate significant wealth for himself. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to ascertain his exact income over the years since his salary or commission for his different ventures is not public knowledge, but we can make some estimates. Based on the market value, his reputation, and his initial NFL contract of $175,000 per season, we believe his sponsorships and businesses helped him bag an additional $25,000 per year in the early 1980s. Then, while it’s unclear how much he negotiated when his contract was renewed, we believe it must have been for over $200,000 per season.

In fact, as per our estimates, it’s likely he concluded his NFL career with a base salary of $250,000 per season, on top of which he likely earned $50,000 more. Coming to Mel’s career as a financial advisor in the early 1990s, his salary was probably close to $50,000 at first, which would have definitely increased over time with his experience. It could have been close to $65,000 to $70,000 per year when he eventually decided to enroll at law school, only to go back to a salary of $50,000 after he was initially admitted to the State Bar of California.

However, once his career as a lawyer took off and he managed to not only establish his own firm but also garner significant clients, his compensation likely skyrocketed to close to $500,000 per year in the 2010s. Furthermore, thanks to his public speaking engagements, lecturing/advisory roles, coaching career, and stint as a reality television star, he has probably bagged an additional six-figure sum, which we estimate to be a total of around $300,000. Therefore, taking into account these aspects, along with all his assets like his $2 million Orange County home, his investments, his returns, and his expenses, we believe his net worth to be $5 million. 

Read More: Mel Owens’ Ex-Wife and Kids: Where Are They Now?