Dave Thompson/PA

Everything Jessica Ennis touches is set to turn to turn to gold following her spectacular triumph in the heptathlon.

The London 2012 Olympics darling and poster girl for the games is forecast to see her sponsorship earnings double to £2 million over the next 12 months.


The Sheffield-born 26-year-old already has several big name sponsors including Olay, Jaguar, British Airways and Aviva. Her earnings are forecast to tip £2million over the next year, according to a report in the Daily Mail, as more brands want a slice of the nation's golden girl.

Adidas is said to be Ennis' most valuable sponsor, with a contract reportedly worth £320,000 annually. By becoming one of the sports giant's worldwide faces Ennis could see this figure soar in a similar way to David Beckham.

Earning power
Yet maintaining the earning power of successful British Olympic athletes like Ennis is still expected to present a challenge to their managers, as many Olympic athletes don't enjoy the same continuous coverage as stars from high profile sports like football, golf, tennis and boxing.

While many brands are likely to be keen to seal much-needed advertising deals with gold medal winners, the athletes may face difficultly squeezing more endorsements into already busy schedules of training and existing sponsorship coverage.

Big players
Even with a big leap in earnings, Ennis will still be be some way behind the big earners in the sports world. American boxer Floyd Mayweather tops the Forbes rich list of 100 highest paid athletes this year with $85 million, pushing out Tiger Woods who was hailed by Forbes as the highest earning athlete from 2001-2011.

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 also owns Mayweather Promotions, which he uses to promote his fights and therefore substantially increase his earnings.

Athletes rich list

1. Floyd Mayweather, boxing
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $85 million Salary/winnings: $85 million
Endorsements: $0

2. Manny Pacquaio, boxing
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $62 million Salary/winnings: $56 million
Endorsements: $6 million (Monster Energy, Hennessy, Nike, Hewlett-Packard)

3. Tiger Woods, golf
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $59.4 million Salary/winnings: $4.4 million
Endorsements: $55 million (Nike)

4. LeBron James, basketball
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)

5. Roger Federer, tennis
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $52.7 million Salary/winnings: $7.7 million
Endorsements: $45 million (Nike, Rolex, Wilson, Credit Suisse)

6. Kobe Bryant, basketball
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $52.3 million Salary/winnings: $20.3 million
Endorsements: $32 million

7. Phil Mickelson, golf
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)

8. David Beckham, football
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $46 million Salary/winnings: $9 million
Endorsements: $37 million (Burger King, Sainsbury's, Samsung)

9. Cristiano Ronaldo, football
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $42.5 million Salary/winnings: $20.5 million
Endorsements: $22 million (Nike, Castrol, Konami and others)

10. Peyton Manning, American football
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)

The best-paid Olympians



Source: Forbes



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