What Was Ryne Sandberg’s Net Worth Before His Death? Inside His Fortune
Ryne Sandberg began his Major League Baseball career in 1981 when he made his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Published July 29 2025, 4:44 p.m. ET
Baseball fans are mourning the death of Ryne Sandberg, the legendary MLB second baseman for the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. As the tributes about his life continue to roll in, many fans are longing for a peek into other aspects of his life, such as the net worth he amassed throughout his career.
Ryne Sandberg began his Major League Baseball career in 1981 when he made his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies which only lasted one season. His defining success in baseball was the 16 years he spent as a member of the Chicago Cubs, beginning in 1982.
What is Ryne Sandberg’s net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ryne Sandberg was worth an estimated $16 million at the time of his death in July 2025 — the bulk of which was due to his lucrative professional baseball career and later stints as a coach in the minor leagues and a manager for the Phillies.
Per the outlet, at the peak of his career in the 1990s, Ryne was once the highest-paid baseball player in the world. In 1992, he earned $7 million annually, and he earned $25 million in total throughout his time in the league.
Ryne Sandberg
Professional baseball player, coach, manager
Net worth: $16 million
Ryne Sandberg was a professional baseball player with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs.
Birth date: September 18, 1959
Birth place: Spokane, Washington
Birth name: Ryne Dee Sandberg
Father: Derwent Sandberg, mortician
Mother: Elizabeth Sandberg, nurse
Marriages: Cindy White (married 1979, divorced 1995,) Margaret Koehnemann (married 1995 - until death)
Children: 2 children from first marriage, 3 stepchildren
Education: North Central High School
What was Ryne’s cause of death?
On Monday, July 28, Ryne died surrounded by loved ones at his home due to complications from prostate cancer, according to Associated Press. In January 2024, the MLB Hall of Famer announced that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, but due to chemotherapy and radiation treatments, he was declared cancer-free in August 2024.
Sadly, in an update in December 2024, Ryne shared that his cancer had returned and spread to other organs in his body. As recently as this month, he shared that he was still committed to fighting the disease and “looking forward to making the most of every day with my loving family and friends.”
What have his former colleagues said about him following his death?
"Just ungodly consistent," former Cubs lead-off hitter Bobby Dernier said of Ryne’s talent on the field, per ESPN. "And the style of game back then demanded a little bit of baserunning prowess and being capable of stealing bases and scoring a lot of runs. And so that was our style. He was tremendous.”
"Pitchers were always paying a little more attention to me on the bases than him at the plate, and that was a big mistake and he'd take full advantage,” he continued. “He'd almost giggle about it, is what I remember in the dugout."
"I gave up two home runs to him in a game and I had a [autograph] card show after the game and everyone in the world knew I gave up two home runs to Ryne Sandberg," former Atlanta Braves star and fellow Hall of Famer John Smoltz said. "One was an inside-the-park home run. Those fans at the card show reminded me of that.”
"He had a perfect swing for his home ballpark,” he added. “He had a flatter swing that worked great for the angles at Wrigley Field, especially when the wind was blowing in."