Top 10 richest sportspeople

By Jo Robinson , Mar 26, 2012
Filed under: News

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

We often like to moan about the phenomenal wages of sport stars, but just how much money are they pocketing each year? And do their performances match up to how much they make?

This is the list of the top 10 richest sports people, based on figures from Forbes and taking into account salaries, bonuses, prize money, appearance fees licensing and endorsement income between May 2010 and May 2011.

Top 10 richest sportspeople

1. Tiger Woods
 Despite some disastrous revelations about his personal life, and a string of disappointing performances on the golf course, the Tiger still comes in at number one with a phenomenal salary of $75 million. His net worth is estimated at an eye-watering $500 million.
2. Kobe Bryant
 The most valuable and highly paid NBA player, basketball superstar Bryant has a net worth of $140 million and a salary of $53 milllion.
3. LeBron James
 Another hugely popular basketball player, James' jersey was the NBA's best seller last year and his salary of $48 million is certainly pretty healthy for a 26 year old.
4. Roger Federer
 He might not be winning quite as many Grand Slams as he used to, but the much-loved tennis star has an incredible list of sponsors to his name - Rolex, Credit Suisse, Nike and Wilson to name a few. Another great of his game, his salary is estimated at $47 million.
5. Phil Mickleson
 Another hugely popular golfer, he makes some serious earnings from endorsements and has an estimated salary of a cool $46.5 million.
6. David Beckham
 Arguably the most famous and recognisable sportsman in the world, Becks nets $40 million and his net worth is estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List to be a staggering £135 million.
7. Christiano Ronaldo
 The Portuguese footballer earns $38 million at the age of just 26, and is a social media sensation with 3 million followers on Twitter. He also has 26 million Facebook fans - twice as many as any other athlete.
8. Alex Rodriguez
 The 'A-Rod' is considered one of the best all-round baseball players of all time, and at 35, the New York Yankees star earns a cool $35 million.
9. Michael Schumacher
 His return to Formula 1 might not have gone quite as he wanted, but the 42 year old racing veteran is still cashing in on his endorsements and sponsors, earning a healthy $34 million.
10. Lionel Messi
 Football's wonder-kid, and already hailed as an all-time great at the age of just 23, the Argentinian earned a very respectable $32.3 million last year in both wages from Argentina and his La Liga club Barcelona, as well as a multitude of sponsorship deals.

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AT LAST,,,,,,,,,,,the media are beginning to recognise the real problem behind local and national government pensions. Some say that 52% of the employed in this country work for government.

That means that 48%, the PRIVATE sector, are topping up their pensions when many of those are not in a position to provide for themselves.

It strikes me that we, the country in broad brush stroke terms, have produced a system that provides for those who acually produce nothing in ££££'s BUT little or no reward for those who actually produce and make or do something that pays the national debts. ONE HELL OF A BURDEN FOR THE 48%

It is the longevity of the public centre that should be worrying the country

April 13 2012 at 1:35 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply