Antoine Bethea went from Howard University to the starting secondary of a Super Bowl champion. He played 14 NFL seasons with Indianapolis, San Francisco, Arizona and the New York Giants, earning three Pro Bowl selections. His long run at safety explains the interest in Antoine Bethea net worth and the contracts that accompanied his moves between teams.
Antoine Bethea Net Worth and NFL Pay
Bethea’s exact net worth is private. His football career gives readers a clear timeline for understanding his income. He entered the league on a sixth-round rookie deal, built his reputation with Indianapolis and later negotiated agreements with three other clubs. An annual average describes a contract’s value divided by its term. The amount paid in a particular year depends on the base salary, bonus schedule, guarantees and roster decisions.
Any estimate of Antoine Bethea net worth would also depend on assets and liabilities outside football. A signing bonus represents one part of a deal, and a team may spread its cap charge across several seasons. Career cash earnings would need to be assembled from actual payments on each agreement. The team timeline below shows where those stages fall in his playing career.
Antoine Bethea’s Biography
Birthplace and family
Antoine Akeem Bethea was born on July 27, 1984, in Savannah, Georgia. He is 42 as of November 9, 2026. His parents are Larry and Verina Bethea, and his brother is Alexon. He attended Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia, before moving to Washington, D.C., for college.
School and college
At Howard University, Bethea played for the Howard Bison. The program gave him the chance to develop in the secondary before the 2006 draft. His route from a historically Black university to a long NFL career is an important part of his biography. A sixth-round selection left him with a roster opportunity, and he turned it into a starting role in Indianapolis.
Draft and playing teams
The Indianapolis Colts picked Bethea 207th overall in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent eight seasons there, followed by three in San Francisco, two in Arizona and one with the Giants. In San Francisco he shared a roster with 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, another player selected in the 2006 draft.
| Seasons | Team | Career milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 2006–2013 | Indianapolis Colts | Super Bowl XLI champion and two Pro Bowl seasons |
| 2014–2016 | San Francisco 49ers | Third Pro Bowl selection in his first year with the club |
| 2017–2018 | Arizona Cardinals | Two seasons in the Arizona secondary |
| 2019 | New York Giants | Fourteenth and final playing season |
At safety, Bethea had to react to the run, tackle in the open field and cover deeper routes. The tackle total reflects his role in stopping plays. Interceptions and passes defended show how often he disrupted throws. His sacks came from bringing down opposing passers behind the line of scrimmage.
NFL statistics
| Games | 209 |
|---|---|
| Combined tackles | 1,334 |
| Sacks | 9.5 |
| Interceptions | 25 |
| Interception return yards | 312 |
| Passes defended | 80 |
| Forced fumbles | 9 |
| Defensive touchdowns | 1 |
| Career Approximate Value | 85 in Pro Football Reference’s career summary |
The 312 yards came on interception returns. Approximate Value, often abbreviated AV, is a football statistic used to summarize a player’s contribution over time.
Awards
Bethea won Super Bowl XLI as a rookie when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears at the end of the 2006 season. The 2007 and 2009 Pro Bowl selections came with Indianapolis. His third came in 2014 with the 49ers. He also received the Black College Football Hall of Fame’s Pro Player of the Year recognition in 2017.
Wife and children
Bethea and Samantha Romantini met as student-athletes at Howard. Their daughter Siani was born in 2013. The couple married in 2014 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Their two sons were born in 2016 and 2019. Howard thus figures in both the family story and the beginning of his football career.
Height, weight and jersey number
His listed playing height was 5 feet 11 inches and his listed weight was 201 pounds. He wore No. 41 at safety. His final NFL season came in 2019, and he announced his retirement in January 2021.
