By Daniel Bukszpan
CNBC.com

The value of the average home in the U.S. in April was $147,300, according to the real estate website Zillow.com. The home of the professional athlete, however, is likely to be anything but average.

The professional athlete is often a distinct type of home buyer who's different from the average American, in part because the contract and endorsement money makes possible the purchase of colossal, multimillion-dollar homes. However, these athletes can have serious problems selling off real estate.

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Slideshow: Coolest Athlete Homes

A multimillion-dollar mansion can have a hard time attracting a buyer, even under ideal circumstances, but the same mansion with a regulation-size basketball court attached to it can be next to impossible to sell, as basketball legend Julius Erving learned the hard way in 2010. As the great American poet Christopher Wallace (Notorious B.I.G.) once said, "The more money we come across, the more problems we see."

What follows is a gallery of athletes’ homes that are on the market. All of them are studies in fully loaded, tricked-out luxury, as only a few people could afford. The owners were identified by the real estate site Trulia.com.

Coolest Athlete Homes Slideshow

 

Jason Terry

Location: Atlanta Price: $1.9 million Bedrooms: 7 Bathrooms: n/a Square Footage: 6,325 Jason Terry is a shooting guard and sometime point guard for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He lives with his wife and four children in a seven-bedroom Atlanta home that’s selling for just under $2 million. The listing doesn't disclose the number of bathrooms. However, the property has enough amenities that prospective buyers might not notice that small detail at first. Among them are a pool with a waterfall, a fireplace and a three-car garage, as well as a beauty salon and a media room.

 

Babe Ruth

Location: Sudbury, Mass. Price: $1.7 million Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 half Square Footage: 5,124 There may be more glamorous places to live than Sudbury, Mass., but few offer sports fans the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of buying the home of a true legend. Sudbury is the site of 558 Dutton Road, the one-time home of Babe Ruth. The Bambino's former abode is a single-family home that's been renovated to include a "state-of-the-art cherry kitchen" and to exude "warmth and ambiance." The third floor includes what the listing calls a Babe Ruth memorabilia room, and the premises include a large barn zoned for both commercial and residential uses.

 

Ryan Madson

Location: Ladera Ranch, Calif. Price: $2.2 million Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 5 Square Footage: 5,980 Ryan "Mad Dog" Madson is a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, although he hasn’t done much actual pitching for the team. After signing a $6 million, one-year contract in January 2012, the pitcher tore a ligament in his right elbow during spring training, costing him the entire season. Madson recently listed his single-family home in Ladera Ranch, Calif., for $2.2 million. The custom home has a formal living room, formal dining room, and a billiards room with a bar and a wine cellar. The outdoor area features a living room with a fireplace and pool heated by solar power.

 

Derek Jeter

Location: New York Price: $18 million Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 5 full, 1 half Square Footage: 5,425 Derek Jeter has been playing for the New York Yankees since 1995, an eternity by professional baseball player standards. So it makes sense that in all that time, he would drop anchor in his team’s city and buy a piece of prime New York real estate. The property in question is a penthouse suite in Trump World Tower, which Jeter has put on the market for $18 million. The panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline from the 88th-floor apartment is a major selling point, to say nothing of the equally impressive views of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge and the Verrazano Bridge, along with the East River and the Hudson River. The apartment also features 16-foot-tall floor-to-ceiling windows, a wood-burning fireplace and wallpaper made of the finest ultra-suede.

 

Jamie Moyer

Location: Seattle Price: $5.4 million Bedrooms: 7 Bathrooms: 4 full, 1 half Square Footage: 7,000 Jamie Moyer is a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, and at age 49, he's the oldest player in Major League Baseball. His seven-bedroom home in Seattle is for sale for $5.4 million. Described in the listing as "a handsome portrait commanding your attention," the home was built in 1933, and great care has been taken to preserve its many authentic details. The listing describes its "high peak roof lines and copper channels, stone crests and shields," and its "exquisite stone casings" as just a few of the highlights of this very special property.

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