Tim Donaghy is an American basketball referee who has a net worth of $3 million. He worked as a referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 13 seasons from 1994 to 2007. In 2007, he resigned after being caught up in a gambling scandal.
Donaghy officiated in 772 regular season games and 20 playoff games throughout his NBA tenure. Donaghy is perhaps best known for the 2007 NBA gambling scandal.
He gambled on professional basketball games using his knowledge of relationships between players, owners, coaches, and referees. In 2008, he was sentenced to 15 months in jail and 3 years of supervised release.
Donaghy wrote a book, Private Foul: A First-Individual Account of the Scandal That Rocked the NBA, after his release from prison in 2009, and in 2021, he made his debut as a professional wrestling referee for MLW.
In 2022, the Netflix documentary series “Untold” revisits the historic scandal that rocked the sports world in the late 2000s with an episode. He has also worked as an analyst for various sports betting websites.
Tim Donaghy’s Net Worth (2024)
| Net Worth: | $3 Million |
| Profession: | Referee |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Born: | 7 January 1967 |
| Salary (Annual): | $400 Thousand |
| Last Updated | 2024 |
Tim Donaghy’s Net Worth Growth
| Net Worth in 2024 | $3 Million |
| Net Worth in 2023 | $2.5 Million |
| Net Worth in 2022 | $2 Million |
| Net Worth in 2021 | $1.5 Million |
| Net Worth in 2020 | $1 Million |
How Much Does Donaghy Earn as a Referee?
Donaghy has a net worth of $3 milllion and probably made between $180,000 to $550,000 annually. Obviously, that’s more than enough to make a living, but the minimum NBA player’s salary is far higher i.e. $1-$1.5 million in accordance with the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Early Life
Timothy Francis Donaghy was born on 7th January 1967 in Havertown, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb. Donaghy has always enjoyed basketball. His father Gerry Donaghy who had refereed high school and collegiate games for almost thirty years.
He helped him develop in him a love of the game and he automatically became a 76ers fan living in Philadelphia.Donaghy went to Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania for four years, where he played competitively.
Donaghy then studied at Villanova University with a liberal arts degree and graduated in 1989. After college, Donaghy worked as a salesman before pursuing a career in professional basketball officiating.
Referee Career
Donaghy had a degree, but he was unsatisfied with the path his career was taking. One night, while sitting at the kitchen table with his parents, his mother advised him to consider a career in the NBA.
It was all the inspiration he needed to start working on his new dream job. Later, when Donaghy improved his talents as a referee through training camps, the NBA’s supervisor of officials, Darell Garretson noticed him.
Donaghy was given his career start in the CBA, the NBA’s official minor league. He worked as a CBA official for three years and later was called to officiate in the NBA before his fourth year. From 1994 to 2007, Donaghy worked with the NBA officiating in 772 regular and 20 post games.
He took part in the NBA’s Read to Achieve initiative, which included an event at Universal Charter School during the 2002 NBA Finals. He took part in the NBA’s Read to Achieve initiative, which included an event at Universal Charter School during the 2002 NBA Finals.
NBA Betting Scandal
Donaghy joined a country club and formed a golfing circle during his tenure as a referee. Their activities, however, swiftly expanded beyond the course and into the casinos. NBA officials were not permitted to wager, but Donaghy reasoned that there was no harm in choosing a few NFL winners.
Donaghy and his friend Jack Concannon soon took things a step further. They began betting not only on NBA games but also on games that Donaghy was refereeing. What began as a few bets quickly became a considerable source of revenue. Donaghy even fought to keep all of the money hidden he won from his wife.
Concannon’s former classmate James Battista decided to enter the betting game himself in 2006. Battista would pay $2,000 if his pick won. With that insider information, he began betting large sums and profiting greatly.
Former FBI agent Phil Scala eventually learned that someone was supplying insider NBA information. His crew began making phone calls and followed leads, eventually contacting Battista in April 2007. A grand jury was formed, and Donaghy began cooperating with the inquiry in June.
Murray Weiss, a journalist for the New York Post broke the story on July 20, 2007. Despite the fact that investigators were unable to determine if Donaghy manipulated the games, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and distributing gambling information and received a 15-month prison sentence.
In addition to serving time in federal prison, he was compelled to pay a $500,000 fine and $30,000 in restitution to the federal government. If that wasn’t enough, a judge also ordered him to pay $233,317 in compensation (together with the two other co-conspirators); but, this time, it was the NBA for allegedly defrauding them.
Donaghy Income through NBA Betting
Donaghy admitted in the Netflix documentary ‘Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul,’ “with stock investments, playoff bonuses, and my earnings were over $400,000 per year.” He got around $1.4 million off of his scheme to fix matches, which he called “The Marriage.”
According to some stories, he was first paid $2000 but his predictions were so accurate that his reward was increased to $5,000. Donaghy never had to pay money for incorrect contract selections.
According to the now-famous NBA referee’s own estimates in his FBI, with his average 70-80% win record, he earned roughly $30k overall by giving information to bookies. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the NBA and to the victims of his gambling activities.
The NBA Change
Following the NBA betting incident in 2007, the league implemented different changes to its officiating regulations to guarantee that referees followed the rules.The NBA revised its policies on sports betting and gambling to make them more strict and to provide clearer guidance.
The league also promised to do more thorough background checks on officials and to provide additional counselling during the season. They also began disclosing which officials will work particular games in advance, in the hopes of reducing the power of insider information.
Post-Release Career
After his prison release in 2009, his book, Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the NBA Scandal, was released the same year. Triumph Books, the book’s publisher, changed the title from “Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA” to “The Culture of Fraud in the NBA.”
According to Pat Berdan, Donaghy’s Triumph representative, the book was thrown out because the NBA threatened to sue, something the NBA rejected. Finally, Donaghy discovered VTi-Group, a new publisher eager to publish his work.
Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the NBA Scandal, published in December 2009, is the title of the new book. He was also granted $1.3 million after suing his book’s publisher for failing to compensate him in 2012.
Donaghy has been the focus of several documentaries, including “Tim Donaghy” and “Under His Own Name,” both produced by Vice News. Donaghy made his professional wrestling refereeing debut in 2021 for Major League Wrestling (MLW).
Tim Donaghy officiated an IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Championship match. Aditionally. Tim Donaghy was featured in the Netflix documentary Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul which was released in 2022.
Personal Life
Donaghy married Kimberly in 1995 and the couple has four daughters. Kim filed for divorce after 12 years of marriage in September of 2007, shortly after the scandal emerged. Donaghy has struggled with alcoholism and depression, and has spoken publicly about seeking treatment.
Tim Donaghy Favorite Things
| Favorite Actor | Robert Downey Jr. |
| Favorite Actress | Jennifer Lawrence |
| Favorite Singer | Justin Bieber |
| Favorite App | |
| Favorite Game | N/A |
| Favorite Food | Not Know |
| Favorite Song | Not Know |
| Favorite Sportsman | Jayson Tatum |
| Favorite Movie | Spider-Man™: Far From Home |
| Favorite Footballer | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| Favorite TV Show | Not Know |
| Hobbies | Driving, Traveling |
About Tim Donaghy
| Net Worth | $3 Million |
| Name | Tim Donaghy |
| Age | 56 Years Old |
| Height | (1.8 M) |
| Weight | 80 KG (Approx) |
| Profession | Referee |
| Date Of Birth | 7 January 1967 |
| Birthplace | United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Income | $400 Thousand per year |
| Spouse | Kimberly Donaghy |
“I feel like we all make mistakes in life. Maybe mine was a little more public than others. Any time that you have a sporting event with a Vegas line to it, there’s always going to be somebody involved in organized crime trying to make a dollar off of it. Obviously I bet on games I officiated.”
– Tim Donaghy
Tim Donaghy Social Media Profiles
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Tim Donaghy’s Net Worth
As of 2024, Tim Donaghy’s Net Worth is estimated to be around $3 million. He apparently amassed his fortune through his career as a referee in the NBA. His annual income is reported to be $400 thousand. When the betting scandal sparked, his net worth probably declined.
Following the imprisonment, legal bills, and fines, he has managed to get back on his feet in the aftermath of the scandal by accepting the past, and it appears that he is doing well for himself in the present. Donaghy also later began investing in real estate and basically being a landlord.
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