RHOBH: Who Is Annemarie Wiley's Husband And How Rich Is He?
The following article includes allegations of sexual assault.
Wife, mother, nurse anesthetist, and now reality star Annemarie Wiley burst onto the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" scene during Season 13 of the popular reality franchise. She quickly made a name for herself when she dared to go toe-to-toe with Sutton "Spousal Support" Stracke over Sutton's purported esophagus disorder. Never forget.
But it was Annemarie's comments about her husband, retired NFL player Marcellus Wiley, and what prompted him to put a ring on it that really got people talking — and not in a good way. "He's like, 'You're an eight-and-a-half in everything,'" she boasted in her confessional. "'You're not a ten in looks. You're not a ten as an athlete. You're not ten in brains. But you're a solid eight-and-a-half at everything you do.'" How ... romantic? Of course she said yes. But aside from being a numbers guy in the sense of rating his wife on a scale of one to ten, he also has plenty of money at his disposal these days.
Was Marcellus Wiley born rich?
Some might believe that Los Angeles native Marcellus Wiley was born into money, but nothing could be further from the truth. During an interview with Marketplace, Wiley told host Kai Ryssdal that he was born and raised in Compton, a city in South Central Los Angeles. According to Wiley, the area was "in the heart of a lot of gang activity, the drugs, the poverty." But Wiley was bound and determined to carve a way out for himself by utilizing his strengths and natural talents for school and sports.
In another interview with Fanatics View, Wiley explained just how dire things were for him and his parents, who worked as postal workers and struggled to make ends meet. "I grew up on welfare, poor." Still, he was adamant that he was blessed in other ways, including the priceless gift of two present parents. "I was rich inside. I was rich in happiness. I was rich in stability."
When did Marcellus Wiley become rich?
As the old saying goes, tough times don't last; tough people do. Fortunately for Marcellus Wiley, his tough times didn't last forever. Due to his stellar academics, Wiley received a four-year scholarship to the prestigious Columbia University. He attended the Ivy League school from 1992 until 1997. Ultimately, his time at Columbia paved the way for a professional football career in the NFL ... and a very hefty payday.
The story goes that the NFL found him while looking for someone else. Still, Wiley was well aware of just how unconventional it was to be scouted while playing football for an Ivy League school. "To get there was a unique experience coming from Columbia University, not the yellow brick road to the NFL," he told Marketplace in 2018.
In 1997, Wiley was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the NFL draft. "I think the biggest thing on draft day is you're going to know location. You know that you're already going to have the money — especially me, coming from a poor background. I knew that I was going to be richer the day after this than I was the day before," he publicly revealed about the pivotal moment in his life (via the Buffalo Bills website).
How much money does Marcellus Wiley make?
Marcellus Wiley's time in the NFL proved to be very lucrative. Following his time with the Buffalo Bills, he went on to play for the San Diego Chargers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. But it was his time with the Chargers that offered him the biggest payday. Wiley inked an astronomical deal of $40 million for six years with the team in 2001, solidifying his position as the second-highest-paid defensive end at the time. "That's just incredible," Wiley told Sports Illustrated about the feat. "Just to be in the NFL is enough, but that kind of cheese is for the poster boys. I mean, damn — me? Wow!"
All these years later, professional football players stand to make a lot more dough, but don't just take our word for it. "When I got my deal in San Diego Chargers, the cap was like $29 million. And now it's what, $200 million? ... He has grown the game," Wiley said on his YouTube show, "Never Shut Up," about how he believes NFL Commissioner and millionaire Roger Goodell has positively affected the NFL as a whole.
How Marcellus Wiley ensured he would make money after football
Marcellus Wiley retired from the NFL in 2006, but he was nowhere near done making money. Sadly, according to Wiley, this isn't the case for most retired NFL players who suddenly find themselves floundering off the football field without any game plan. "These players get sold and told, and next thing you know, they're in these football factories with a worthless degree to the real world," Wiley lamented about the predicament during an interview with Marketplace.
Wiley, however, had a plan to combat the post-NFL blues and subsequent lack of green: he would go to an esteemed university first. He wanted to ensure he had something to fall back on if sports didn't work out for him, and his decision to prioritize his education alongside his athletic ability served him well. While Columbia University wasn't exactly the yellow brick road to the NFL, it certainly made navigating his NFL retirement journey much smoother.
How Marcellus Wiley made money as a sports commentator
Following his professional football career, Marcellus Wiley quickly and seamlessly transitioned into the world of sports commentating. He started at ESPN in 2007, then took his talents to Fox in 2018. "My gratitude runs deep for every executive, co-host, co-worker & fan on this journey. Going to miss it all, but I am so excited to create many more media memories!" he wrote in a nostalgic tweet in July 2018.
Later, during an interview with The Los Angeles Times in September 2018, he explained the network switch was strictly business. "Pretty standard operations with an expired contract," he explained. He was adamant he was not in the business of burning bridges — even going as far as to sit with his former ESPN colleagues during a game between the Chargers and Rams. "Nothing but love and respect," he declared.
How Marcellus Wiley makes money with his YouTube show
In 2023, Marcellus Wiley opted to leave Fox and strike out on his own with the creation of his YouTube show, "Never Shut Up." According to Wiley, he decided to go independent so that he could speak freely. "We're going to have conversations that are going to start where your conversations generally end. We're going to go deep. We're going to go layered — just like we did in the locker room," he explained during the inaugural episode in January 2023.
But in a later interview with Fubo Sports, Wiley offered a more candid explanation for the move. According to Wiley, during his more than 20 years of commentating, he had noticed a "shift" within the industry, namely by way of podcasts and vlogs and the "authenticity" it afforded the hosts. Ultimately, he started craving that same level of unbridled authenticity for himself. "I'm watching the cat that I'm a fan of on the internet who's like, 'Man, that mofo sucks!' and I'm like, 'That's a good point,'" he recalled.
How Marcellus Wiley makes money as an author
On October 23, 2018, Marcellus Wiley published his first book, "Never Shut Up: The Life, Opinions, and Unexpected Adventures of an NFL Outlier." When Buffalo Bills Contributing Correspondent Kelly Baker asked for the team's site why he opted to pen the autobiography, he explained it was simply because he wanted to inspire others. He added, "'Never Shut Up...' is about your essence, your training, and [you] wanting to be something in this world and not letting others tell you who you have to be or try and tell you who you can and can't be."
Perhaps, however, timing also had a little something to do with it. Wiley told The Los Angeles Times, "I finally came to a place where I can tell this story — not some glorified memoir based on riding off on a horse after some Super Bowl win cliché." He added, "I was just a fork-in-the-road kid who planned and plotted to do my best with my athletic talents and academic success, and it gave me and my family a way to leave South Central."
What is Marcellus Wiley's net worth?
All of this is to say, Marcellus Wiley is a wealthy man. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he has an estimated net worth of $5 million. Wiley credits saving and smart spending for his healthy finances, though he hasn't always been so savvy. He has admitted that as a young athlete, he was reckless with his money and spent plenty of it on things he didn't really need.
"Phil Hansen told my teammates and I as rookies that, 'A dollar saved today is 10 dollars tomorrow,'" Wiley recalled to ESPN in 2012. "Since none of us knew the true value of money, we ignored his advice. And after a career where I've purchased extravagant things, seen guys with seven cars, a car wash purchased in the winter of Buffalo, $32,000 dinners, buying cars for girlfriends that you break up with, past child support payments north of $200K. After all of this, all I can say is, 'I feel you, Phil!'"
However, Wiley's fortunes currently hang in the balance following a sexual assault allegation dating back to 1994, during his time at Columbia University. On November 21, 2023, the alleged victim filed a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court accusing Wiley of "intentional sexual assault and rape," per documents obtained by Deadline. Wiley, however, has denied all allegations. "We did not engage in intercourse," he maintained in a video on his YouTube channel. He also noted he would be countersuing for defamation.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).