What is Sean Avery's Net Worth and Salary?
Sean Avery is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who has a net worth of $8 million. He played for four different NHL teams between 2001 and 2012, and became notorious for his frequently uncouth behavior both on and off the ice. Since retiring from ice hockey, Avery has worked as a model, actor, and restaurateur.
Contracts & Career Earnings
Sean Avery earned approximately $20.2 million during his NHL career, which adjusts to about $29.9 million in today's dollars . His most lucrative contract was a four-year, $15.5 million deal signed with the Dallas Stars in 2008, averaging $3.875 million annually.
Early Life and Education
Sean Avery was born on April 10, 1980 in North York, Ontario, Canada to teachers Marlene and Al. Raised with his younger brother Scott in Pickering, he attended Dunbarton High School.
Career Beginnings, 1996-2001
After playing some seasons of junior ice hockey with the Ontario Hockey League's Owen Sound Platers and Kingston Frontenacs, Avery signed with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings as a free agent in 1999. However, he played one more season in the OHL before he turned professional with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League in 2000. Avery continued playing with the Mighty Ducks for the first half of the 2001-02 season.
Detroit Red Wings
Avery made his NHL debut with the Red Wings midway through the 2001-02 season. He played in 36 games as the team went on to win the Stanley Cup. However, Avery did not appear in the playoffs, nor did he play enough games during the season to get his name engraved on the Cup. He remained with the Red Wings for the first half of the 2002-03 season before he was traded.
Los Angeles Kings and NHL Lockout
Avery was traded to the Los Angeles Kings midway through the 2002-03 season. He had his first full season with the team in 2003-04, when he recorded nine goals and 19 assists in 76 games. Avery also led the league in penalty minutes, with 261. While the NHL was on lockout in 2004-05, Avery played with the Lahti Pelicans of the Finnish Elite League and the Motor City Mechanics of the United Hockey League. With the Mechanics, he became the first player in team history to score two hat tricks in a single season.
The NHL returned for the 2005-06 season, and Avery once again led the league in penalty minutes, this time with 257. He got into trouble late in the season when he refused to participate in a practice drill, causing the Kings to suspend him for the final three games of the season. However, the team still re-signed him for another season, only part of which he played before he was traded.
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New York Rangers, 2007-08
In early February in 2007, Avery was traded to the New York Rangers. He helped the team finish the season strong, as he scored 20 points in 29 games to secure the Rangers a playoff berth. The team ultimately fell to the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Avery helped the Rangers make it back to the playoffs in 2008, where they once again lost in the Conference Semifinals.
Dallas Stars
In the summer of 2008, Avery signed a four-year contract with the Dallas Stars. His tenure with the team was short-lived, however, as he was placed on waivers in early 2009 after serving a six-game suspension due to lewd comments he made about other players dating his ex-girlfriends.
New York Rangers, 2009-2012
After being taken off waivers, Avery returned to his former team the Rangers and played eight games with the team's AHL affiliate the Hartford Wolf Pack. He finished the 2008-09 season with the Rangers as the team reached the Conference Quarterfinals in the playoffs. Although Avery was waived by the team in late 2011, he was eventually cleared and re-joined the team a month later. However, at the end of the year, he was again placed on waivers, and subsequently joined the AHL's Connecticut Whale. Avery officially retired from professional ice hockey in March of 2012.
Other Work
In 2008, Avery spent the summer as an intern at Vogue magazine. The following year, he collaborated with the men's fashion label Commonwealth Utilities on a clothing line for New York Fashion Week. In 2012, after his retirement from the NHL, Avery joined the creative agency Lipman in New York City. He also did modeling during this time, serving as the face of Hickey Freeman's spring/summer ad campaign. In 2013, Avery modeled for the denim brand 7 for All Mankind.
Avery has also acted on film and television. In 2005, he portrayed Rangers defenseman Bob Dill in the Maurice Richard biopic "The Rocket." Avery later had brief parts in the films "Patriots Day," "Mile 22," "Spree," "Tenet," "Amsterdam," and "Oppenheimer." On television, he appeared in episodes of "MADtv," "Kevin Can F**k Himself," "Special Ops: Lioness," and "Shoresy." Avery also competed on the 18th season of "Dancing with the Stars," where he and his professional dance partner Karina Smirnoff were eliminated second.
Controversies
Both on and off the ice, Avery established a reputation for unsportsmanlike and inappropriate behavior that often got him in trouble. He was known for bullying fellow players, yelling at fans, and making lewd comments, resulting in various fines, suspensions, and even a mandatory anger management course. Later, years after he left the NHL, Avery was charged with criminal mischief after deliberately crashing his scooter into a minivan that was obstructing a bike lane in New York City's West Village. Offered a plea deal by prosecutors, he dismissed his lawyer and demanded a jury trial. On the second day of his trial, Avery was convicted of attempted criminal mischief and was ordered to pay a $205 fine.
Personal Life
In 2015, Avery married model Hilary Rhoda at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York. The couple had a son named Nash in 2020, and divorced in 2022. Rhoda later claimed that Avery had been abusive to both her and their son.