A list of the highest earning athletes has been released and those earning the mega-mega-bucks might surprise you.
Forbes have revealed who’s earning the most in their latest run-down and the amount that these stars are on, may just blow your mind…
From the bottom to the top… Manny Pacquiao
The boxer from the Philippines- and arguably one of the best boxers ever- makes a crazy $490 million.
Oscar De La Hoya
The 10-time-world champion, reportedly made $510 million from his boxing career and his promotion company, ‘Golden Boy Promotions.’
Jeff Gordon
The NASCAR driver who has claimed an insane 93 wins, is taking home $515 million as well as his many, many cups.
Lionel Messi
At just 29-years-old, the Argentine football player- and perhaps one of the greatest players on earth- takes home a nice $520 million.
Alex Rodriguez
The 14-times-All Star winner has signed some huge contracts and now takes home $600 million.
Roger Federer
After being endorsed by Nike and Wilson and winning 17 amazing titles, one of the biggest names in Tennis history is making $600 million.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo is an international wonder, a household name and gets involved with all sorts of activities outside of the pitch, making him a tidy $620 million.
Lebron James
‘King James,’ as he is better known as, brings in $30 million a year from his current contract, making him somewhere around the $640 million. His lifetime link with Nike will certainly help too…
Greg Norman
With a successful career and plenty of other ventures, means Norman Junior is on $680 million.
Mike Tyson
‘Iron Mike’ is near the middle of the list and has made a shit-ton-$685 million to be precise- from knocking people out and appearing on WWE.
Shaquille O’Neal
Dr Shaq hits right in the middle of the list with a $556 million made from shooting those hoops and his other side-projects.
David Beckham
Over half of the way through the list is Beckham, although due to the amount of pies he has his fingers in, I would’ve thought he might’ve hit higher, but still, $730 million isn’t bad…
Phil Mickelson
The successful golfer has won five championships and with endorsements from Barclays and Rolex, he takes home $760 million.
Floyd Mayweather Jr
The unbeatable boxer is no stranger to money and having made $765 million, it sounds like he never will be either….
Kobe Bryant
After 20 years with the LA Lakers, the retired basketballer’s earnings are around $770 million.
Michael Schumacher
The phenomenal F1 driver who is currently still recovering from a terrible skiing accident, is no stranger to the Forbes list, having made it to number one two years in a row previously, but he’s still pretty high up there with $1 billion under his belt.
Jack Nicklaus
The 18-time golfing champion, who also has designed 298 golf courses, is on $1.15 billion dollars. Not bad at all.
Arnold Palmer
The golfing legend has an unbelievable 62 PGA tour title wins and has ventures into clothing and footwear, making him third on the list, with $1.35 billion.
Tiger Woods
Another golfer and this time the highest paid one-of all time-hits number two on the list, raking in $1.65 million.
And number one… Michael Jordan
The legend that is Jordan, is the highest paid athlete in the world complete, with his own brand of Nike trainers, bringing him $100 billion from Nike alone, on a yearly basis. This brings his total earnings to a staggering $1.7 billion. Well deserved.
