The Most Expensive Divorces in Sports History

Image via Complex Original

It's the day after Valentine's Day and you know what that means: All those couples that were obnoxiously cute for a day can now get back to their usual bickering. However, as much as your wifey may get on your nerves, the old saying could never be more true: It is cheaper to keep her. No one knows this better than pro athletes and owners who've shelled out seven, eight, and in some cases nine figures to their ex-wives in divorce settlements.

The latest example being Kobe Bryant who was forced to give Vanessa Laine $75M in addition to three mansions. Seems like giving all that up just wasn't worth it to the Black Mamba who reportedly reconciled with Vanessa at last night's game (#youcantmakethisshitup)! What does that mean for their divorce and recent settlement? No one knows for sure but in the mean time check out the Most Expensive Divorces in Sports History.

15. Pilar Biggers

Ex-wife of: Deion Sanders
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2011 (12 years)
Settlement Amount: $10 million
Usually, the sports stars are the ones getting served with the divorce papers, not the other way around. However, in Deion Sanders' case, he filed for a separation from his wife at the time, Pilar Biggers, after 12 years together. If it couldn't be any worse, Pilar supposedly found out about her impending divorce after the news was first revealed on TMZ. Now that's cold-blooded. But before you go feeling bad for Ms. Biggers, think about the nice $10 million she received from the divorce. #problemswewishwehad

14. Linda Claridge

Ex-wife of: Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2007 (23 years)
Settlement Amount: $7.44 million in liquid assets, 40% ownership in Hogan's semi-retired companies and a $3 million "property settlement."
Throughout his professional wrestling career, Hulk Hogan grew accustomed to receiving and doling out a whole lot of fake punishment. But none of those shots were as painful or as real as when his own wife of 23 years filed for divorce. After a long, drawn out ordeal, Linda Claridge took him to the cleaners and nabbed everything from the multiple whips (Mercedes-Benz, a Cadillac Escalade, a Corvette, a Rolls-Royce and various off-road vehicles) to a little more than 70% of the couple's liquid assets. So Hulk, we only have one question: Whatcha gonna do when Linda takes practically everything from you?!

13. Robin Givens

Ex-wife of: Mike Tyson
Year Of Divorce (length Of Marriage): 1989 (Eight months)
Settlement Amount: $10 million
This marriage seemed questionable from jump. WTF was the somewhat bougie actress doing with the baddest man on the planet? Getting that loot, son! This extremely short partnership turned ugly in this classic interview. While we were all waiting on that Mike to wild out and throw a crazy one-two combo right then and there, it was actually Robin who delivered the knockout punch just months later when they divorced and she reportedly received $10M. Mo' money and mo' bitches have always meant mo' problems for Iron Mike.

12. Kristin Richard

Ex-wife of: Lance Armstrong
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2003 (Six years)
Settlement Amount: $14 million
Nearly one year after being diagnosed with cancer, Lance Armstrong met Kristen Richard and the two got married soon after. After six years together, Lance decided to hightail it out of his marriage and link up with singer Sheryl Crow. How could you possibly repay the woman that stuck by your side while you went through the latter stages of testicular cancer? Well, how does $14 million sound?

11. Brooke Sealey

Ex-wife of: Jeff Gordon
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2002 (Eight years)
Settlement Amount: $15.3 million
You think success would be great for a marriage but many athletes have found out that it can often be the other way around. During the latter years of this union, Jeff Gordon won his first two Winston Cup Championships. With those victories in '97 and '99, Gordon became one of the top names in NASCAR but the added fame and money seems like it put a strain on his relationship since he and Booke were divorced by 2002. The split didn't seem very amicable either as Brooke demanded alimony, two cars, and use of the couple's boats and airplane. Jeff has since moved on to (and onto) model Ingrid Vandebosch whom he married in 2006. How much you want to bet that prenup was on deck this time?

10. Jean Muggli

Ex-wife of: Michael Strahan
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2006 (Seven years)
Settlement Amount: $15 million and $180,000 per month in child support
Grimey divorce tactic No. 749: The kids are your greatest weapon. Michael Strahan found this out the hard way when settling his divorce with Jean Muggli. If forking over $15M weren't enough, Strahan also has to pay 180K per month in child support—including $27,000 on clothing—because Jean said their toddler daughters "love accessories." Ever had the urge to quit your job and get impregnated by an athlete? Ayo!

9. Cynthia Scurtis

Ex-wife of: Alex Rodriguez
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2008 (Six years)
Settlement Amount: N/A
Even with a prenup in place, trifling ways will come back to bite you in divorce proceedings. And by trifling ways we mean shit like hooking up with a stripper in Toronto and supposedly getting with Madonna while you're still married. All this caused Cynthia to demand alimony, child support, and possession of their $12M mansion in Coral Gables, Fla. The couple settled for an undisclosed amount in September 2008. Yeah, the specific amount wasn't disclosed but two of the largest contracts in baseball history x A-Rod's fuckery = a spot on this list.

8. Shaunie Nelson

Ex-wife of: Shaquille O'Neal
Year of Divorce (Length Of Marriage): 2009 (Seven years)
Settlement Amount: N/A
You should already know that the Shaq Daddy does everything big—including divorces. With rumors of cheating by both parties, things got messy but Shaunie and Shaq were able to privately reach a settlement. Considering his net worth was $130M back in the day, we guarantee his pockets took a big hit. Our advice to the Big Fella now that he seems to be serious with Hoopz: Take your time, do it right. *S.O.S band voice*

7. Vanessa Laine

Ex-wife of: Kobe Bryant
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2011 (10 years)
Settlement Amount: $75 million, 3 mansions
Though it was only lasted a decade, it seems like Kobe and Vanessa went through all the highs and lows of marriages lasting a quarter century or more. It all began when Kobe met Vanessa—who was a 17 at the time—on the set of Tha Eastsidaz music video "G'd Up" in 1999. By 2001 they were married despite disapproval from Kobe's parents. She was by his side during the five championships and had his back during the Eagle County Colorado scandal. Though that isn't too hard when someone puts a rock on your finger that's the size of a ring pop.

Anyway, considering the fact that several years passed since the scandal, Kobe had seemingly restored his public image, and they had two kids together, it came as a surprise when Vanessa filed for divorce in December 2011. No prenup and Kobe's history of infidelity meant the one-time video girl would cake up off of Kobe's estimated $150M in a major way. But with news of their recent reconciliation, was it true love that brought them back together or the fear of potentially losing all that dough? M.O.B., fam. M.O.B.

6. Veronica Lario

Ex-wife of: Silvio Berlusconi
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2010 (20 years)
Settlement Amount: $105 million
After accusing the A.C. Milan owner (and ex-prime minister of Italy) of "consorting with minors" when he attended the 18th birthday party of model Noemi Letizia, Veronica Lario thought it was finally time to break free and filed for divorce after 20 years together. What evidence did she have to prove of any extramarital affairs? Well, Noemi consistently referred to Silvio Berlusconi as "Daddy," so that should clue you into the type of relationship those two had. In an effort to avoid any messy divorce proceedings, Berlusconi was forced to give up the Villa Belvedere in Macherio near Milan, which was valued at €78 million, or $102 million. And if that wasn't enough, Veronica agreed to take a decreased amount per month to the tune of $394,000. Everything but the kitchen sink? Nah, that too son!

5. Laura Andrassy

Ex-wife of: Greg Norman
Year of Divorce (Length Of Marriage): 2006 (25 years)
Settlement Amount: $105 million
There are many excuses for why one person would stay with another individual for far too long. Greg Norman may have had the best reason of them all. He didn't want to lose $103 million. After simply falling out of love, Norman and Laura Andrassy got a divorce in 2006 that resulted in the Great White Shark forking over $105M. In November of 2009, it was reported that Laura was going to take the golfer to court when the golfer missed $66,500 in payments from the agreed upon settlement. 

4. Elin Nordegren

Ex-wife of: Tiger Woods
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2010 (Six years)
Settlement Amount: $110 million
Where were you when you heard about the "golf swing heard 'round the world?" On November 27, 2009 at 2:30 A.M., Tiger Woods attempted to flee his golf club wielding wife, Elin Nordegren, but ended up crashing his Cadillac Escalade into a nearby fire hydrant, tree, and several hedges. That incident spawned a ton of questions regarding Tiger's marriage and what caused such an outburst out of Elin. Eventually, we found out that Woods got around quite a bit. While the exact number is unknown, many reports say you would need two to three hands to count how many women the golfer cheated on his wife with. As expected, Ms. Nordegren officially divorced Woods on August 23, 2010. Since then, a part of Tiger has definitely been missing...and we're talking about that checkbook, which suffered mightily to the tune of $110 million. Funny thing is a friend of Elin's said to RadarOnline that she could've really taken him to the cleaners but didn't. Oh so heartless. 

3. Jamie Luskin

Ex-wife of: Frank McCourt
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2011 (20 years)
Settlement Amount: $130 million
What could be worse than a divorce? How about when the state of a Major League Baseball team hangs in the balance? When Frank McCourt and Jamie Luskin sought a separation from one another, one of the main issues was how they would determine custody of their other child, the Los Angeles Dodgers. After nearly a year of going back and forth, Jamie eventually relinquished control of the Dodgers in exchange for a cool $130 million. Dodger blues? Yup. Zing!

2. Juanita Vanoy

Ex-wife of: Michael Jordan
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2006 (17 years)
Settlement Amount: $168 million
MJ's held a lot of records over the years but we're sure having the most expensive athlete divorce settlement is one he's least proud of. The GOAT married Juanita in 1989, just as he was becoming one of the most famous people on the planet. They had three children together but called it quits in 2006. Wait, $168M? Is she still single? #dontjudge #sugarmamasftw

1. Irina Vyacheslavovna Malandina

Ex-wife of: Roman Abramovich
Year of Divorce (Length of Marriage): 2007 (16 years)
Settlement Amount: $300 million
Before becoming the 53rd richest person in the world, Chelsea F.C. owner Roman Abramovich married Irina Vyacheslavovna Malandina. After 16 years and five children together, Irina filed for divorce when news surfaced of a romance between Roman and 25-year-old Daria Zhukova. If Abramovich tried to cover up any wrongdoing, it didn't help when Daria gave birth to his sixth son, Aaron Alexander in 2009. In the end, Abramovich had to fork over $300 million to his now ex-wife. A steep price tag for most but when you're worth 13.4 billion, it ain't trickin' if you got it...