Rob Pelinka is a basketball executive, lawyer, and sports agent from the United States. Rob Pelinka was a point guard for the Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team during his school career.
He is currently the NBA’s Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Table of Contents
Childhood, Family, and Education.
Rob Pelinka was born on December 23, 1969, in Chicago, Illinois.
Pelinka Sr. used to be a high school basketball coach.
His father taught him the fundamentals of the game.
He later transferred to Lake Forest High School, where he was a member of the basketball team.
Later, he joined the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
He studied business administration and graduated with a 3.9/4.0-grade point average.
He also enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School in 1993.
Rob was the school’s highest graduate, receiving his Juris Doctor cum laude in 1996.
He was also an intern at Winston & Strawn LLP throughout his collegiate years.
Pelinka has had a long and successful career as a player.
Facts of Rob Pelinka
Full Name | Robert Todd Pelinka, Jr. |
Birth Date | December 23, 1969 |
Birth Place | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Nickname | Rob Pelinka |
Religion | Christianity |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | Black |
Education | Lake Forest High School, Illinois University of Michigan |
Academic Qualifications | Juris Doctor cum Laude Bachelor of Business Administration |
Horoscope | Capricorn |
Father’s Name | Robert Todd Pelinka, Sr. |
Age | 52 Years Old |
Height | 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm) |
Weight | 91 kg (200 lbs) |
Shoe Size | 16 |
Build | Slim |
Favorite Food | Lasagna |
Eye color | Dark Brown |
Hair Color | Black |
Profession | Vice President of Basketball Operations General Manager Sports Agent (former) |
Playing Position | Point guard |
Active Years | 1988 – 1993 (Collegiate player) 2003 – 2016 (Sports Agent) 2017 – present (NBA Executive) |
Teams | Michigan Wolverines (Player) Los Angeles Lakers (Executive) |
Sexual Orientation | Straight |
Marital Status | Married |
Wife | Kristin Brett Schwarz |
Children | One son & One daughter |
Son | Durham Pelinka |
Daughter | Emery Pelinka |
Favorite Player | Kobe Bryant |
Net Worth | $25 million |
Salary | $5 million |
Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
Merch | Football Cards |
Last Update | April 2022 |
Net Worth and Salary
Rob Pelinka has a net worth of $25 million as of 2022.
Rob has served as a representative for many top players in NBA. Generally, agents earn 4 percent of the salary and deal money of the players they arrange.
Accordingly, Pelinka can be speculated to have earned a pretty significant fortune in his career.
Currently, he is the General Manager of one of the top teams in the NBA, the LA Lakers. As a result, he makes around $5 million annually only as a salary there.
Accordingly, he can be expected to increase his fortunes a lot in the coming years.
Career in Senior High School
Rob Pelinka began his career as a shooting guard in high school. He later moved to the point guard position.
His high school’s finest shooter led them to their first conference championship.
Rob used to play in pro-amateur leagues in Chicago with Tim Hardaway, Kevin Duckworth, and Kendall Gill.
Rob later joined the Wisconsin Badgers as a point guard to play in the Big Ten. Rob, meantime, won the MVP award at a tournament in Elgin in 1987 after scoring 139 points.
He was ranked in the top ten Class AA basketball players by Illinois High School Basketball Magazine.
He averaged 30 points and 10 rebounds per game, according to scouts from several institutions.
The Chicago Sun-Times named him one of the best 20 players in the Chicago area.
Career in College
He had attracted the attention of numerous universities due to his outstanding performance, which was recognized throughout the Chicago area.
Rob ultimately chose Michigan University for its outstanding law school and business school.
He was a four-year member of the Michigan Wolverines. He reached the 1988-89 national finals with teammates Mark Huges, Glen Rice, and Terry Milles.
The Wolverines defeated Seton Hall University in the 1989 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament.
When Steve Fisher was a member of the team, he was the head coach.
However, the Wolverines lost in the final game of the 1992 NCAA Tournament after Robert was redshirted for two consecutive seasons.
Pelinka scored 16 points in a 72-62 win over the Ohio States the following season.
In his senior season, Pelinka had the most charges on the team, indicating that he was the squad’s most important player.
Pelinka also appeared as a substitute in the 81-78 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats in the national semifinal.
He received offers from European basketball organizations during his attendance at an NBA Summer Camp in California.
He had other intentions, though, than to improve as a player on the court.
His interest in an off-court career evolved after meeting Arn Tellem, the vice-chairman of the Detroit Pistons.
Career as a Sports Agent
Pelinka currently represents 24 NBA draft picks. After getting his law license, he joined Mayer Brown.
He became an agent four years later, thanks to Tellem’s influence.
NBA agents, according to sources, earn about 4% of the salary and bonus that they may negotiate for their clients. He has also established his own Landmark Sports Agency.
Agent for Kobe Bryant
Pelinka is most known in the NBA for his work as a representative for late superstar Kobe Bryant.
Pelinka had earned Kobe’s trust by uniting and supporting him amid the sexual assault accusation against Bryant in 2003.
In 2004, Pelinka arranged a seven-year, $136.4 million contract for Kobe with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rob was the godfather of Kobe Bryant’s daughter, Gianna Bryant.
Rob later arranged for Kobe’s three-year contract extension in 2009-10, which lasted until the 2013-14 season.
Similarly, Pelinka extended the contract for another two years in 2013 with a $48.5 million deal.
Agent for Sasha Vujacic
In July 2008, Pelinka became the agent for NBA player Sasha Vujacic, a Slovenian-American.
Bill Duffy, Sasha’s former agent, had let him go, and he was now a free agent.
Sasha’s return to the LA Lakers was secured by Rob with a three-year, $15 million contract.
In 2011, Vujacic signed a one-year contract with the Anadolu Efes to play in the Turkish Basketball League.
Pelinka knew Corey Maggette, a Chicago-based player. As a result, he was Corey’s lawyer throughout his $50 million contract with the Golden State Warriors.
Since July 2008, Corey has been required to play for the Warriors for five years under the terms of the contract.
Keyon Dooling, a client of Rob Pelinka
Rob assisted Keyon Dooling’s signing to the New Jersey Nets on unknown deal terms in the same year, 2008.
Keyon had previously been a member of the Orlando Magic.
In addition, Keyon was given a $7.2 million salary cap as part of the arrangement. At the end of the 2011-12 NBA season, though, no team had signed Dooling.
Andre Iguodala’s agent and Derrick Williams’ agent
Derrick Williams was the second overall pick in the NBA draft in 2011.
Williams was managed by Rob while he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves in December of 2011.
Williams joined the New York Knicks in July 2015.
Andre Iguodala was a high school basketball player in Illinois who had heard of Rob because of his celebrity. Iguodala signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in August 2008, with Rob as his agent.
Rob might reach an agreement with the 76ers for a six-year deal worth $80 million after rejecting contract extensions costing $3.8 million per year and $57 million.
Eric Gordon was selected seventh overall in the NBA draft in 2008.
Gordon signed a three-year, $8.4 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers in July 2008, with Pelinka as his agent.
However, due to an injury, he had to withdraw from the NBA Summer League.
In 2012, Rob agreed to a four-year, $58 million contract with Gordon’s New Orleans Hornets.
Derek Fisher was on the verge of becoming a free agent in 2010. Eventually, Pelinka arranged a 3-year $10.5 million contract extension arrangement with the Lakers.
Rob Pelinka: NBA Executive
Several hypes surrounded the sports media back in February 2017 that Los Angeles Lakers were about to hire Pelinka as general manager.
They had dismissed Mitch Kupchak, who was previously in the position.
Accordingly, the news was official, and Pelinka was handed the duty in March 2017.
Pelinka was to serve for the Lakers on a five-year contract.
His colleague was the vice executive president of the basketball operations at the club, Magic Johnson.
Johnson stated that Pelinka had eyed the Presidency of the club at the time.
Awards
Rob received fair success in his playing career in high school and college. He was honored with the inclusion in High School All-American.
Besides, he received the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1993 from NCAA.
Subsequently, he earned the year’s Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship.
Similarly, in his career as an agent, he is regarded as one of the greatest sports.
Business Insider ranked him 5th in the list of best active sports agents in 2010.
Relationship and Children
Rob Pelinka is a married guy. He tied the knot with Kristin Brett Schwarz in August 2005.
On September 22, 1976, the lovely lady was born in California.
Duke University awarded the Corona del Mar High School alumnus a bachelor’s degree in biology.
She also holds a medical degree from UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
Kristin is a doctor who has worked for Coastal Kids and Pacific Ocean Pediatrics.
As of now, the couple has two children, a daughter, and a son.
Their son is Durham, and their daughter is Emery.
So yet, nothing has been heard concerning their exterior affairs.
As a result, we can presume that the two are having a wonderful marriage.
Rob Lowe and Rob Pelinka
Rob Pelinka has a doppelganger who is a legend in his own right.
Most NBA fans are aware that Rob is merely an actor, Rob Lowe.
After signing LeBron James, there was a lot of confusion among fans who couldn’t tell the difference between Pelinka and Lowe.
Furthermore, we are unable to deny it. Take a look at him and tell me if he doesn’t remind you of Chris Traeger from Parks and Recreation or Sodapop Curtis from The Outsiders.
Indeed, the two appear to be identical, and their similar names add to the intrigue.
Pelinka had already spoken about his striking similarity to the star.
Furthermore, he urged that fans view both of them at the same time, and only then will they notice any similarities.
Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka
Pelinka and Johnson have gotten along swimmingly.
They used to work together with the Los Angeles Lakers back in the day; nevertheless, they did suffer a low point in 2019.
During his time as president of the Lakers, Magic Johnson claimed that general manager Pelinka had deceived him.
In fact, he mentioned this in an episode of ‘First Take,’ when he said they experienced problems in the first season.
He used the example of Pelinka smearing his name behind the scenes for not spending enough time at Lakers facilities.
As a result, Johnson had considered resigning from his position.
Today, though, their mysterious air is clean.
Internal disagreements have been resolved thanks to Johnson’s acquisition of LeBron James to the squad.
Overall, they weren’t sure what the internal fight was about or what had sparked it.
But for the time being, their unity is all that matters.
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Social Media Presence
Rob, it appears, has a substantially lower social media presence.
He is a low-key individual who keeps his life in a small group.
He might not have any social media accounts.