Ryan Braun Biography, Stats, Wife, Salary and Other Facts You Should Know
Sarah Oconnor
Updated on January 06, 2026
Ryan Braun is arguably one of the greatest players Major League Baseball has ever seen and his numbers, along with the accolades he has garnered over the years are proof of that. Braun began to impress his rookie year in 2007 when he won the coveted National League rookie award. He received five Silver Slugger awards from 2008 to 2012.
He was named in 6 All-Star Games, five of which were consecutive. In 2011, he was the National League’s Most Valuable Player. Sporting News in 2012 ranked him 7th on its list of the 50 Greatest Players in Baseball Today. A failed drug test in 2011 nearly cost him his career, but he managed to get back on track in 2015.
Ryan Braun Biography
On November 17, 1983, in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California Ryan Joseph Braun was born. He is the son of Joe and Diane Braun. Braun has a younger brother named Steve. Athletics seems to run in his family. His father, Joe, was an athlete himself. He managed a tee-ball team where Braun played.
As a child, Braun’s athletic side was immediately apparent. He played basketball and football, but in high school he chose to focus on baseball. His performance on the college baseball team earned him recognition from the LA Times.
Braun received two baseball scholarships to Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. However, he ignored both and opted to go for the scholarship offered by the University of Miami. Braun performed exceptionally well in college, earning him a finalist for one of college’s most prestigious awards, the Golden Spikes Award.
Ryan Braun’s MLB career was going spectacularly Until 2011 when it was discovered he had failed a urine test and tested positive for high testosterone levels caused by the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Braun successfully appealed the drug test, becoming the first player to do so in MLB history.
However, in June 2013, Braun rubbed shoulders with several Biogenesis of America, a rejuvenation clinic that was found guilty of distributing PEDs to a number of athletes. Braun would later apologize for the use of PED. As a penalty for his actions, Braun was suspended for the final games of the 2013 season (65), including post-season games.
Braun struggled upon his return in the 2014 season, but quickly regained momentum for the 2015 season.
Salary
Playing in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers made Ryan Braun a millionaire. His first contract signed with the team after his jamming was worth $2.45 million. In 2008, he renewed his contract on an eight-year deal estimated at between $45 million and $51 million. At that time, the contract was the largest ever signed by a player who had just served a team for just one year.
In April 2011, with four years to go, the Brewers signed a 5-year, $105 million contract extension that would keep him on the side until 2020. The deal included a bonus at the signing of $10 million and allowed him to earn a salary of $19 million for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018. , $18 million in 2019 and $16 million in 2020. This brings his average annual salary to $21 million.
The contract provided for a $20 million mutual option and a $4 million buyout. Braun’s contract also comes with non-commercial protection that allows him to defer part of his salary.
women
Ryan Braun is married to lingerie model, LarisaFraser. After a long period of dating, they got engaged in November 2012. About a year later, in December 2013, Ryan and Larisa tied the knot in an intimate family ceremony held in Malibu, California.
Braun’s wife was born on February 1, 1989 in Toronto, Canada. In 1996, when he was 7 years old, his family moved to Alpine, Utah. She attended High School from where she graduated in 2007, after which she enrolled at the University of Utah. She had started modeling in college and during her freshman year, she was discovered by Pulse Management. In 2008, she signed with Elite Models. Her measurements are 32-23-35 inches.
Larisa has worked for several brands including Kohl, Nordstrom, Michael Kors, Kodak and Canon cameras, etc. She has also been featured in magazines such as Women’s Health, GQ and Glamour.
In addition to modeling, Larisa is a food and beauty enthusiast. She runs a blog where she writes about what she describes as healthy eating in a bikini. The nearly six-foot model showed off her acting skills. She guest-starred as Shelby Buress in a 2012 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Braun and his wife Larisa share two children, including daughter Celine Elysse Braun, born September 2014, and son Greyson Braun, born September 2017.
Statistics
From his college days through his minor league years and into his professional career, Ryan Braun has set many records. His versatility to play as a left fielder, first and third player is something to admire. As of June 2018, Ryan Braun’s career stats are as follows:
Batting average: .300
Results of 1,737
Number of strokes: 310
Lance hit: 1,018
Stolen bases: 199
Other facts to know
1. Many of his father’s family members were murdered during the Holocaust.
2. Her father is Jewish while her mother is Catholic. Braun himself publicly proclaimed that he was Jewish.
3. His nickname the Hebrew hammer is in reference to his Jewish heritage.
4. Braun was the only Jewish baseball player invited by President George W. Bush to the annual Hanukkah dinner in December 2007.
5. In January 2010, he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
6. Braun’s 10th inning grand slam clip against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 25, 2008 was used by Apple and Gatorade for commercials.
7. Ryan Braun developed his own t-shirts for California-based clothing manufacturer Affliction Clothing.
8. Braun derives its income from many sources other than baseball, including several restaurants, two of which are in Wisconsin.
9. He has endorsed a number of brands including: CytoSport, Nike, AirTran Airways, Muscle Milk, Kwik Trip.
10. After confessing to using drugs in 2013, Braun lost most of his sponsorship and licensing deals.
11. Braun never let his athletic side ruin his academics as he greatly excelled in both areas. Her lowest grade in high school was a B in Advanced Placement Chemistry.