10 Lavish Athlete Birthday Bashes Slideshow
1. Dennis Rodman’s 50th Birthday Party
In July, former NBA rebounding legend and flamboyant personality, Dennis Rodman, held his 50th birthday bash at the Chateau nightclub in Las Vegas. Except his birth date is in May. But who's counting?
According to the Las Vegas Sun, he arrived at Chateau dressed in a psychedelic, floral-patterned Loudmouth Golf blazer over a lacy black camisole with jeans, white-and-orange Nike Air Force Ones, and an Ed Hardy baseball cap. Then, he proceeded to rain down bills on his fellow revelers before signing the establishment's plates and giving them to fans.
2. John Wall’s 21st birthday
Since Washington Wizard guard John Wall left for the NBA after his freshman year at Kentucky, he celebrated his 21st birthday as a millionaire. Proving that the rich just get richer, his sponsor, Reebok, made him 21 "Grown A** Man" pairs of his signature shoe, according to Dime. Loyal fans could later buy them for $210.
3. Gilbert Arenas’s 25th Birthday Party
The talented and troubled NBA star spent as much on his 25th birthday party at Love nightclub in Las Vegas as he did on his Orlando homes shark grotto: between $1 and $2 million, says The Washington Post. The party boasted Diddy as a guest, but the grotto has a couch in it so Arenas can chill in the water. You decide which is the better investment.
4. Dwyane Wade’s 28th Birthday Party
This past January, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade hosted his 28th birthday at LIV in Miami's Fontainebleau. Since 28 is clearly a milestone year, he had his $4,000-cake decorated with Swarovski crystals, according to FanNation.com. Fortunately, no one choked on the sparkly pieces.
5. LeBron James’s 26th Birthday Party
Because "birthday party" is code for "marketing opportunity," James' people sent out a 12-page PowerPoint presentation to interested companies, advertising ways the brands could be incorporated into the evening (see it for yourself here). "Event is royal-themed, fitting for a birthday celebration of a king," it said. Guests like Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, and Kelly Rowland were invited to the "Full Court Birthday Celebration." Even the five-tier cake evoked the royal air of a king, decorated in red, white, and silver — with a gold and silver crown, of course.
Sponsors could buy in for $10,000 per party, or $500,000 for the 11-stop "LeBron James Dinner Party Tour," for a chance to hang with those who "reinvent and set the tone for a chic lifestyle." Plus, the sponsors were asked to donate some free swag for the gift bags. Unfortunately, James didn't get the gift he really wanted last season — a championship ring. There is always this year...
6. Chad Ochocinco’s 33rd birthday party
The Twitter sensation that also plays wide receiver for the New England Patriots turned 33 in January. The party crew, which included LeBron and D-Wade, dined at Prime 112 in Miami before moving onto the club Mansion. The event did have a surprise gate-crasher in Bill Clinton, says Fox Sports. "Does it mean I'm finally famous when Bill Clinton comes to my birthday party?" Ochocinco tweeted later that night.
7. Mike Tyson’s $410,000-Birthday Party
Boxer Mike Tyson earned hundreds of millions during his career, yet he squandered his money on such purchases as pet tigers and a $2 million-bathtub for his first wife. After spending upwards of $400,000 per month on his lifestyle, he filed for bankruptcy in 2003. Among the expenses listed in his filing was a $410,000-birthday party, though the details of the event were sadly left out.
8. Eli Manning’s 28th Birthday Party
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning took a bunch of his teammates and his wife, Abby, to the club Tenjune in Manhattan's Meatpacking District for his 28th birthday. According to the NY Post, it was there that they ordered a few rounds of tequila shots and Abby gave him his present, a lap dance to "Single Ladies." Despite the pair trying to hide, everyone on the dance floor could see Manning go slack-jawed.
9. Caron Butler’s 28th Birthday Party
When NBA All-Star Caron Butler spent his 28th birthday at The Park in Washington D.C., he showed up late not because he was trying to be fashionable, but because his Wizards team had a game that night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. (They won.) According toThe Washington Examiner, Butler spent $250,000 on the evening, which is pocket change for a man whose salary that year was $9 million.
10. Mike Vick’s 30th Birthday Party
Last June, while on federal probation stemming from his dog-fighting prison term, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick toasted his 30th birthday with its all-white dress code at Guadalajara's in Virginia Beach, Va. All was going well until a shooting broke out in the wee hours and one person got hit, thanks to an argument over birthday cake.
As a joke, Vicks buddy Quanis Phillips had pushed the birthday cake into Vick's face. "It was just cake," an upset Vick later told Sports Illustrated. "But still, it was embarrassing for me.