Earning a fortune! Bachelor Nation alum Colton Underwood has amassed an impressive net worth thanks to his time playing football, appearing in the Bachelor franchise and more. Keep reading for details about how he makes money!

What Is Colton Underwood’s Net Worth?

The Indiana native has an estimated net worth of $1 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. While he found some success in the NFL, he garnered widespread fame after appearing as a contestant on season 14 of The Bachelorette starring Becca Kufrin.

Colton made it all the way to the leading lady’s top four contestants, but he was eliminated after hometown dates. After a brief stint on season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise, where he sparked a romance with Tia Booth, he became the star of season 23 of The Bachelor, which premiered in January 2019.

How Much Did Colton Underwood Make From ‘The Bachelor’ and Reality TV?

Contestants on The Bachelorette don’t typically get paid. However, Colton’s emotional speech on the Men Tell All special ended up changing that. After a fan charged him $2 on Venmo for “emotional distress,” and he shared it on Twitter, dozens of women began making requests. After he said he “couldn’t afford” to pay all of them, they began sending him money instead. Overall, he made over $1200, but at the time, he promised to give it all to charity.

Most BiP contestants are offered a rate per day, according to Reality Steve. This means every day they survive on the beach in Mexico and make love connections, the higher their paycheck rises. This also could deter contestants from self-eliminating because they would be losing out on more cash. Dean Unglert once said on Jason Tartick‘s “Trading Secrets” podcast that he was paid $600 per day during season 6 of Paradise.

However, fan-favorite contestants or those with higher profiles could negotiate more money for their time on the beach. For example, Jason, who was also a contestant on Becca’s season, revealed on his podcast that he negotiated a $5,000 guarantee in case he got eliminated during the first rose ceremony. However, the Buffalo native never appeared on BiP because he began dating his fiancée, Kaitlyn Bristowe.

As for the paycheck that’s given to the actual Bachelor, the exact amount is not known, but it’s believed to be around $100,000 for a full season of filming. Basically, it’s safe to say Colton earned a nice chunk of change after just a couple of years in the franchise.

Colton may not be done with reality TV quite yet, as it’s rumored he will compete on season 31 of Dancing With the Stars.

How Much Did Colton Underwood Make Playing Football?

If there’s one thing fans learned about Colton on The Bachelorette, it’s that he was a football player before quitting to maintain his health. However, that career wasn’t as lucrative as you might think.

Colton wasn’t technically drafted after playing football at Illinois State University, but he was able to advance his career with the Los Angeles Chargers. He signed on with their practice squad in May of 2014. “Teams use practice squads to keep players who have potential but need development,” SB Nation explained. Colton was released from the squad that following August.

He reportedly earned $88,200 in 2014 while playing for the Chargers, according to Time, and got himself a huge contract with the Raiders in 2016 for $450,000. However, he only actually earned $33,000 from football that year. After he was cut from the Raiders’ practice squad, the reality star retired from the game.

How Else Does Colton Underwood Make Money?

In 2016, Colton opened a sports bar in Washington, IL, named 4th & Goal Grill. That venture didn’t last too long. While it was successful and had very good ratings on Yelp, less than two years later Colton began his run in Bachelor Nation. His aunt and uncle had been running the bar for him, but he sold them the place.

“He’s been busy with his foundation and couldn’t get back much,” aunt Sherrie Lucas told the Journal Star at the time. “So we talked him into selling it to us.” The couple renamed the place Brickhouse BBQ, and it’s no longer a sports bar. It’s unclear how much Colton made off of the sale, but we’re guessing it was a healthy amount.

Colton’s cystic fibrosis charity, the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation, is very successful. They claim to have handed out over $100,000 to people in need and research over the last three years and have made tens of thousands in income. Despite being the president, Colton has not taken a salary for himself.

In 2020, Colton wrote and released his first book, For the First Time, about his life and time in the franchise. In addition, he has a Cameo account, where fans can get a personalized message from the reality star for a starting price of $200, and he also shares sponsored posts via Instagram.