Highest-Paid Athletes - World's Richest Athletes

Publish date: 2024-06-07

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The World's Top-Earning Athletes

Who are the highest paid athletes? According to Forbes, Floyd Mayweather tops the list of 100 highest-paid athletes in the world between 2011-2012,  losing out Tiger Woods who has been hailed by Forbes as the highest earning athlete from 2001-2011. Woods landed in the third rank with total earnings of $59.4 million. Mayweather got a huge payday amounting to a total of $85 million for his fights against Victor Ortiz with $40 million and Miguel Cotto with $45 million. He is part of the 4 biggest non-heavyweight pay-per-view events throughout the boxing history. He owns the Mayweather Promotions which he uses to promote his fight thereby increasing his earnings substantially.

The total earnings of the athletes are derived from their bonuses, salaries, appearance fees, prize money, endorsement and licensing from June 2011 to June 2012. According to Forbes, the 100 highest-paid athletes made a combined $2.6 billion in the past 12 months. The athlete’s agent’s fees and taxes were not deducted from their earnings.

#1. Floyd Mayweather

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $85 million

Salary/winnings: $85 million

Endorsements: $0

Sport: Boxing , Age: 35

#2. Manny Pacquaio

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $62 million

Salary/winnings: $56 million

Endorsements: $6 million (Monster Energy, Hennessy, Nike, Hewlett-Packard)

Sport: Boxing , Age: 33

#3. Tiger Woods

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $59.4 million

Salary/winnings: $4.4 million

Endorsements: $55 million (Nike)

Sport: Golf, Age: 36

Net Worth: $500 million - As of September 2010, according to Forbes

#4. LeBron James

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $53 million

Salary/winnings: $13 million

Endorsements: $40 million ( Nike, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, State Farm and others)

Sport: Basketball, Age: 27

#5. Roger Federer

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $52.7 million

Salary/winnings: $7.7 million

Endorsements: $45 million (Nike, Rolex, Wilson, Credit Suisse)

Sport: Tennis, Age: 30

#6. Kobe Bryant

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $52.3 million

Salary/winnings: $20.3 million

Endorsements: $32 million

Sport: Basketball, Age: 33

#7. Phil Mickelson

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $47.8 million

Salary/winnings: $4.8 million

Endorsements: $43 million (Callaway, Barclay's, KPMG, Exxon, Rolex, Amgen/Pfizer)

Sport: Golf, Age: 41

#8. David Beckham

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $46 million

Salary/winnings: $9 million

Endorsements: $37 million (Burger King, Sainsbury's, Samsung)

Net Worth: £160 million ($260m) - As of April 2012, according to the Sunday Times Rich List

Sport: Football, Age:37

#9 Cristiano Ronaldo

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $42.5 million

Salary/winnings: $20.5 million

Endorsements: $22 million (Nike, Castrol, Konami and others)

Sport: Football, Age: 27

#10 Peyton Manning

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $42.4 million

Salary/winnings: $32.4 million

Endorsements: $10 million (Reebok, Sony, Wheaties, DirecTV, Gatorade, Papa John's)

Sport: Football (NFL)  , Age: 36

#11. Lionel Messi

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $39 million

Salary/winnings: $20 million

Endorsements: $19 million (PepsiCo, Herbalife, EA Sports, Cherry, Audemars Piguet, Dolce & Gabanna and others)

Sport: Football, Age: 24

#12 Haloti Ngata

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $37.3 million

Salary/winnings: $37.1 million

Endorsements: $200,000

Sport: Football (NFL)

#13 Larry Fitzgerald

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $36.8 million

Salary/winnings: $35.3 million

Endorsements: $1.5 million (Nike, EAS, University of Phoenix, AT&T and others)

Sport: Football (NFL)

#14 Ndamukong Suh

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $36 million

Salary/winnings: $35.5 million

Endorsements: $500,000

Sport: Football (NFL)

#15 Charles Johnson

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $34.4 million

Salary/winnings: $34.3 million

Endorsements: $100,000

Sport: Football (NFL)

#16= Rafael Nadal

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $33.2 million

Salary/winnings: $8.2 million

Endorsements: $25 million ( Nike, Babolat, Kia Motors, Richard Mille and Bacardi)

Sport: Tennis, Age: 26

#16= Mario Williams

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $33.2 million

Salary/winnings: $32.9 million

Endorsements: $250,000

Sport: Football (NFL)

#18. Alex Rodriguez

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $33 million

Salary/winnings: $31 million

Endorsements: $2 million (Nike, Rawlings, Topps and Vita Coco)

Sport: Baseball, Age: 36

#19 Fernando Alonso

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $32 million

Salary/winnings: $29 million

Endorsements: $3 million

Sport: Race Car (Formula One)

#20= Valentino Rossi

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $30 million

Salary/winnings: $17 million

Endorsements: $13 million

Sport: Motorcycle racing

#20= Michael Schumacher

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $30 million

Salary/winnings: $20 million

Endorsements: $10 million

Sport: Race Car (Formula One)

#22 Darrelle Revis

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $28.3 million

Salary/winnings: $27 million

Endorsements: $1.3 million (Nike and Range Rover)

Sport: Football (NFL)

#23 Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $28.2 million

Salary/winnings: $13.2 million

Endorsements: $15 million

Sport: Race Car

#24= Wladimir Klitschko

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $28 million

Salary/winnings: $24 million

Endorsements: $4 million

Sport: Boxing

#24= Lewis Hamilton

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $28 million

Salary/winnings: $25 million

Endorsements: $3 million (Reebok)

Sport: Race Car (Formula One)

#26 Maria Sharapova

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $27.9 million

Salary/winnings: $5.9 million

Endorsements: $22 million

Sport: Tennis, Age: 25

#27 Sam Bradford

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $27.8 million

Salary/winnings: $26.8 million

Endorsements: $1 million

Sport: Football (NFL)

#28. Tom Brady

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $27.1 million

Salary/winnings: $23.1 million

Endorsements: $4 million

Sport: Football (NFL), Age: 34

#29 Joe Mauer

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $27 million

Salary/winnings: $23 million

Endorsements: $4 million

Sport: Baseball

#30 Eli Manning

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $26.6 million

Salary/winnings: $18.6 million

Endorsements: $8 million

Sport: Football (NFL)

#31 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $26.5 million

Salary/winnings: $3.5 million

Endorsements: $23 million

Sport: Cricket

#31 LaMarr Woodley

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $26.5 million

Salary/winnings: $26.3 million

Endorsements: $150,000

Sport: Football (NFL)

#33 Dwight Howard

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $25.6 million

Salary/winnings: $14.6 million

Endorsements: $11 million

Sport:  Basketball (NBA)

#34 Kevin Durant

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $25.5 million

Salary/winnings: $12.5 million

Endorsements: $13 million

Sport:  Basketball (NBA)

#35 Dwyane Wade

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $24.7 million

Salary/winnings: $12.7 million

Endorsements: $12 million

Sport:  Basketball (NBA)

#36 Derek Jeter

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $24.5 million

Salary/winnings: $15.5 million

Endorsements: $9 million

Sport:  Baseball (MLB)

#37 Wayne Rooney

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $24.3 million

Salary/winnings: $17.8 million

Endorsements: $6.5 million

Sport:  Football

#38 Mark Sanchez

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $24.2 million

Salary/winnings: $23.2 million

Endorsements: $1 million

Sport: Football (NFL)

#39 Ichiro Suzuki

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $24 million

Salary/winnings: $17 million

Endorsements: $7 million

Sport:  Baseball (MLB)

#40= CC Sabathia

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $23.8 million

Salary/winnings: $23 million

Endorsements: $800,000

Sport:  Baseball (MLB)

#40= Johan Santana

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $23.8 million

Salary/winnings: $23.3 million

Endorsements: $500,000

Sport:  Baseball (MLB)

#42 Jeff Gordon

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $23.6 million

Salary/winnings: $13.6 million

Endorsements: $10 million

Sport:  Race Car

#43 Ben Roethlisberger

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $23.3 million

Salary/winnings: $22.3 million

Endorsements: $1 million

Sport: Football (NFL)

#44 Carmelo Anthony

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $22.9 million

Salary/winnings: $14.9 million

Endorsements: $8 million

Sport:  Basketball (NBA)

#45 Mark Teixeira

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $22.8 million

Salary/winnings: $22.5 million

Endorsements: $250,000

Sports:  Baseball (MLB)

#46 Amar'e Stoudemire

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $22.7 million

Salary/winnings: $14.7 million

Endorsements: $8 million

Sport:  Basketball (NBA)

#47 Tony Stewart

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $22.3 million

Salary/winnings: $15.3 million

Endorsements: $7 million

Sport:  Race Car

#48 Luke Donald

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $22.2 million

Salary/winnings: $13.2 million

Endorsements: $9 million

Sport:  Golf

#49 Vernon Wells

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $22.1 million

Salary/winnings: $22 million

Endorsements: $100,000 million

Sport:  Baseball (MLB)

#50 Michael Vick

Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $22 million

Salary/winnings: $20 million

Endorsements: $2 million

Sport: Football (NFL)

<<< How Tall Are These Athletes? >>>

[See full list on Forbes.com]

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