Chris Kluwe Is No Stranger to Speaking His Mind — Has That Ever Affected His Net Worth?

Since parting ways with the NFL in 2013, former Minnesota Vikings player Chris Kluwe has doubled down on his advocacy work, which played a part in his career. In February 2025, the placekicker brought grievances he had to a city council meeting in Huntington Beach, Calif. He was there to speak about a plaque that was displayed in the public library.

The words engraved on the plaque read, "Magical," "Alluring," "Galvanizing," and "Adventurous," which appears to be an acronym for MAGA. Chris said he knew that changing the minds of the pro-Trump city council was impossible, so according to The Hill, he shared his feelings about the ultra-conservative party. Could this decision affect him financially? Let's look at his net worth.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Chris is worth $3 million. In his first year playing football, in 2005, Chris was given a two-year contract for a total of $542,000, per Spotrac. That's a pretty standard rookie contract for an NFL kicker, as they usually make less than other players.

Things changed drastically for Chris in 2007 when he began his tenure with the Minnesota Vikings. During his first season, Chris made $435,000 and got a huge bump for the next six. His six-year contract was for $8,272,000 but Chris also received a $1,700,000 signing bonus. When he became a free agent, he popped over to the Oakland Raiders for a single season worth $840,000.

After his football career came to an end, Chris shifted his focus to writing. In June 2013 he published Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies: On Myths, Morons, Free Speech, Football, and Assorted Absurdities. The title of the book basically covers what it's about but according to Chris, it includes time travel, gay marriage, sportsballing, and futuristic goggles that do nothing, to name a few.

In a January 2014 interview with USA TODAY Sports, Chris said he decided to retire from the NFL because it was "time to move on." Chris detailed his reasons for leaving in an essay he wrote for Deadspin. After he was released from the Vikings, Chris was asked if he believed it had anything to do with the fact that he was an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage. Chris said he couldn't be sure because he wasn't in those rooms, but was confident that had something to do with it.

He traced the beginning of the end back to his 2012 season when he was asked by Minnesotans for Marriage Equality to help defeat a bill that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. The answer was yes, but he said it had to go through the team first. "After talking to the Vikings legal department, I was given the go-ahead to speak on the issue as long as I made it clear I was acting as a private citizen, not as a spokesman for the Vikings," he explained.

Chris included a detailed timeline of how he was both encouraged by the team owner to speak out, and discouraged by its head coach. Things came to a head when special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer began making homophobic and inflammatory statements during meetings, something he had not done before Chris began advocating for same-sex marriage. He was informed of his release in May 2012, despite being an exceptional kicker.