Who are the richest athletes in the World?
Posted by Belushi on June 3, 2007
We already talked about which athletes are the Most Marketable. So now let’s focus on which have the most cash. Below is a list of the richest sports stars in the World. It’s the combination of what they earned in salary and endorsements during 2006. The data was collected by Sports Illustrated. The list has stars from America, Europe and around the globe. The list includes NBA stars, NFL stars, EPL stars, F1 racing stars, golf stars and more.
Shocker…Tiger Woods owns another record. This time it’s for the most annual endorsement dollars for an athlete. According to SI Tiger Woods became the first $100 Million Man in 2006. That is, he was the first athlete to earn $100M in endorsements dollars in a given year.
Give that a second to soak in….Tiger earned $100M in endorsements last year. That doesn’t even include the other $11 Million he earned in salary. Oh, and did I mention his blonde bombshell wife, Elin Nordgren. Yes, life is good for Eldrick Tiger Woods.
But Tiger wasn’t the only athlete to make major bank in 2006. Here are some of the other sports stars who earned some big bucks last year.
What athletes earned the most money in 2006?
1. Tigers Woods (estimated $111 Million)
* That kind of money will buy a lot of diapers. Tiger’s child is due this Summer.
2. Oscar De La Hoya ($55 Million)
* He’s been knocking out a few more big paydays before he rides off into the sunset.
3. Phil Mickelson ($51 Million)
* $47M of it came from endorsements. It obviously pays to be a golfer.
4. Shaq O’Neal ($35 Million)
* The Diesel won another NBA Title in 2006 and put $35 Mil in his bank account. Not a bad year.
5. Fernando Alonso ($35 Million)
* He’s a Spanish formula one driver. Yeah, I didn’t know that before now either.
6. Kobe Bryant ($33 Million)
* That kind of money will buy a lot of big, pink diamonds for you wife….when you cheat on her.
7. Ronaldinho ($32.7 Million)
* Brazilian soccer star plays for FC Barcelona in Spain.
8. Roger Federer ($31.3 Million)
* The best tennis player on the planet earns every penny of salary. He’s nearly unbeatable.
9. LeBron James ($30.8 Million)
* Just imagine when his salary ($5M) catches up to his endorsements ($25M). He’ll be 2nd behind Tiger.
10. Valentino Rossi ($30 Million)
* Another guy that drives race cars in Spain. Sure, it’s risky – but it obviously pays really well.
11. David Beckham ($29.7 Million)
* He should move up in the next few years, as he’s slated to earn $500M from his package to play in the MLS.
12. Kevin Garnett ($29 Million)
* This is a lot of money for a guy who’s never going to win a Championship.
13. Derek Jeter ($29 Million)
* Look who’s one spot below him on the list. Oh, the irony.
14. Alex Rodriguez ($28 Million)
* Once again, Jeter is just slightly better than him. Oh, the humanity.
15. Yao Ming ($27.4 Million)
* Yao earns more than $27 Million…of course, most of that gets “shared” with the Communist government of China.
16. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ($27.1 Million)
* Just left the company his father started for him, DEI Racing, to strike out on his own. The rich getter richer.
17. Allen Iverson ($24.1 Million)
* If it were possible to measure an athlete’s heart. It would prove that Iverson earns every penny of his salary.
18. Ichiro Suzuki ($24 Million)
* Will be eclipsed in the 2007 rankings by his countryman, Dice K.
19. Maria Sharapova ($23.8 Million)
* The first female on the list. Let me see – she’s gorgeous, young, talented and rich. Why can’t I be married to her?
20. Peyton Manning ($23 Million)
* He needs a lot of money to buy the extra large pillows his gigantic cranium requires for him to sleep at night.
21. Tracy McGrady ($22.9 Million)
* NBA forward falls just a few spots behind his Rockets teammate, Yao.
22. Barry Bonds ($22.8 Million)
* Only $2M of that comes from endorsements. Probably because companies don’t want to be endorsed by a cheater.
23. Roger Clemens ($22.5 Million)
* Clemens gets huge money for working part-time. Aka: Not bad work if you can get it.
24. Jeff Gordon ($22.4 Million)
* Made $20 Mil and married a hot model. Not a bad 2006 for the Nascar champion.
25. Jason Giambi ($22 Million)
* Only $500K of money came from endorsements. See Bonds comments above.
26. Thierry Henry ($21.4 Million)
* French soccer star makes huge cash leading Arsenal in the English Premiere League.
27. Tim Duncan ($20.9 Million)
* The Pete Sampras of the NBA. Duncan’s motto is “just win, baby“.
28. Michael Ballack ($20.9 Million)
* German soccer stud is paid well to pay for Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea Football Club.
29. Ronaldo ($20.7 Million)
* One of the top soccer players in the World for years. Is now past his prime and starting to slip down the list.
30. Michael Finley ($20.6 Million)
* Sends a nice Christmas card to Mark Cuban every year, to thank him for giving him more money than he deserves.
31. Manny Ramirez ($20.5 Million)
* Supposedly spends half his yearly salary on socks & Yoohoo. Manny being Manny.
32. Floyd Mayweather Jr ($20.2 Million)
* Should allocate some of his dough to buy his Dad a better haircut.
33. Michelle Wie ($20.2 Million)
* Let’s see…$20 Mil in endorsement money – check. Never won a pro tourney – check. That seems about right.
34. Vince Carter ($20.1 Million)
* Remember when he started and people were saying he was going to be the next Jordan? [Lumberg voice] Riiiiiight. [/Lumberg voice]
35. Michael Vick ($20 Million)
* His dog fighting escapades are causing his sponsors to start dropping him. Vick = idiot.
36. Jason Kidd ($19.5 Million)
* Half of this money will go to his wife in their divorce settlement.
37. Stephon Marbury ($19.1 Million)
* $19 Mil will buy a lot of Starbury’s tennis shoes.
38. Hideki Matsui ($19 Million)
* The 5th New York Yankee on the list. Fifth! #5. Cinco. One, two, three, four, FIVE. 5th. That’s just sick.
39. Jermaine Oneal ($18.8 Million)
* Pacers star wants to go to a bigger market to earn more endorsement dollars.
40. Chris Webber ($18.8 Million)
* He and Michael Finley should start a club. The Overpaid NBA Rich Guy Club.
41. Jalen Rose ($18.6 Million)
* Jalen would be a founding member of their Club.
42. Dirk Nowitzki ($18.1 Million)
* Needs to return some of his salary for way he played against Heat in ‘06 playoffs, and Warriors in ‘07 playoffs.
43. Brett Favre ($18 Million)
* Like the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps going and going and going.
44. Ralf Schumacher ($18 Million)
* I’m rich, I’m Germany, I bang hot chicks, I race fast cars. That sums up Schumacher.
45. Jimmy Johnson ($17.7 Million)
* I’m rich, I’m American, I bang hot chicks, I race fast cars. And it sums up Johnson too.
46. Baron Davis ($17.5 Million)
* No word on whether any of that endorsement money comes from Norelco or Schick.
47. Andriy Shevchenko ($17.3 Million)
* Second player from Chelsea on the list. They are the NY Yankees of the English Premiere League.
48. Alfonso Soriano ($17.2 Million)
* Signed a huge deal with Cubs for ‘07. So he should move up the list.
49. Grant Hill ($17.1 Million)
* That’s a lot of money to pay for Glass Joe.
50. Vince Young ($17.1 Million)
* Look for Vince in the top 10 of this list in a couple of years.
51. Todd Helton ($16.9 Million)
* That’s a lot of money for a player the team was rumored to be trying to trade this year.
52. Ben Wallace ($16.6 Million)
* That’s a lot of money for a guy who can’t shoot or score.
53. Paul Pierce ($16.6 Million)
* That’s a lot of money for a guy who can’t play defense or rebound.
54. Andy Pettite ($16.5 Million)
* That’s a lot of money for a guy who’s always on the DL.
55. Vijay Singh ($16.4 Million)
* This “grinder” earns every penny he’s paid. He spends more time practicing than any other golfer on tour.
56. Eddie Jones ($15.9 Million)
* See comments on Finley, Webber & Rose above.
57. Dwayne Wade ($15.8 Million)
* LeBron is 50 spots ahead of Dwayne on this list. Sure Dwade had Shaq help him to a title, but 50 spots difference?
58. Jason Schmidt ($15.7 Million)
* Pitchers should be capped at $5 Mil per season. Too many variables can make them worth a lot less than they earn.
59. Alessandro Del Piero ($15.7 Million)
* Not a bad 2006 for Del Piero. Earned over $15 Mil. Won a World Cup trophy for Italy. Banged a lot of hot chicks.
60. Shawn Marion ($15.6 Million)
* Can you believe he’s going to wind up the best player ever to come out of UNLV?
61. Ray Allen ($15.6 Million)
* Only $1 Mil in endorsements, mainly because he’s too nice and boring.
62. Albert Pujols ($15.5 Million)
* The best player in baseball today? Maybe, at least he’s in the conversation.
62. John Terry ($15.5 Million)
* Another Chelsea soccer star. If you are keeping score, that’s Yankees 5, Chelsea 3.
63. Steven Gerrard ($15.4 Million)
* An English national teammate of Terry’s. Gerrard earns his money leading Liverpool to championships.
64. Antawn Jamison ($15.3 Million)
* Really? $15.3? Really?
65. Steve Francis ($15.3 Million)
* Oh, Stevie Franchise. Things have gone down hill quickly since he left the Rockets.
66. Tom Brady ($15 Million)
* Who cares about money. Brady knocked boots with both Bridget Monahan and Giselle in 2006. That’s better than $.
67. Carlos Delgado ($15 Million)
* I bet if you asked Carlos, he’d give up his $15 Mil to have the year Tom Brady did in 2006.
68. Johnny Damon ($15 Million)
* Finally tally on the list: New York Yankees 6, Chelsea Football Club 3
69. Amare Stoudmire ($14.9 Million)
* No word on whether he gives Steve Nash a cut of this, for making him look good.
That’s it. The richest sports stars in the World for 2006. Why end on #69 instead of #70? Because I like 69 more.
Which of these athletes do you think earns their money? Which do you think are wildly overpaid?
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