It seems if you want to be the athlete who is on the top of a list concerning the highest paid, you need to be on the golf course. A lot. Sports Illustrated released a list of the 50 highest paid athletes thus far for 2011. Although the top two positions of being the highest paid is a golfer, in comparison to the other sports, they don’t have the quantity. There are only 3 golfers on the list, 19 NBA players, 17 baseball players, 8 NFL players and 3 NASCAR drivers. I wanted to highlight the top 10 of those who are having fun going to bank.
The Highest paid athlete in the number one position is Tiger Woods. His salary earnings were $2,294,116. That isn’t very much by today’s sports paychecks. However, his earnings from endorsements were $60,000,000. $60 million dollars in endorsements!
Nike has not dropped Woods and neither has EA, those two keep him on top. It is predicted he will not be on top much longer. His total earnings in the number 1 spot is $62,294,116.
The second highest paid athlete is also a golfer, Phil Mickelson. Phil’s salary was higher than Tiger Woods with a total of $4,185,933. His Endorsements bring in $57 million. Sports Illustrated made a point to say that Mickelson does not have “flashy” endorsements, but he is considered one of the most reliable endorsers in professional sports. A couple are Rolex and ExxonMobil. His total is $61,185,933. He isn’t that far from Tiger’s total.
Lebron James is the highest paid representative of the NBA players sitting at number 3 on the list. Shocker. Lebron’s salary is $14,500,000 with his endorsements bringing in $30 million. This helps Lebron live in his $9 million dollar home in Coconut Grove. The home has a wine cellar, library, and movie theater. It was pointed out that all the money in the world couldn’t buy you an NBA title. True, very true.
The number 4 spot has good ole boy, Peyton Manning. I remember Peyton’s days at the University of Tennessee. Being from Alabama, we didn’t care for him too much back then. But in the NFL he is quite entertaining as well as one hellava quarterback. I remember he hosted Saturday Night Live one season and the best part was his making fun of himself. He is laughing all the way to the bank. With the Indianapolis Colts his salary is a modest $23 million and his endorsements are $15 million.
The first baseball player to hit the list at the number 5 spot is Alex Rodriguez. $ 32 million in salary and $4 million in endorsements keep him having fun with a different movie star or music star every week. This year ARod has the chance to pass Willie Mays on the all time home run list. Willie is number 4 at 660. If ARod does pass Mays, he will get and extra $6 million.
The next basketball player to hit the top ten at number 6 is Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant. His salary is $18 million and his endorsements are $14 million.
Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett is number 7. Nearly $19 million in salary and $14 million in endorsements raised his position on the list from 15 to 7. Next season is the last year of his contract with a value of $21 million. If he retires he will have earned over $300 million during his career. Wow.
I originally left off Tom Brady by mistake. He is number 8 with total earnings of $31 million. His salary is $20 million and his endorsements $11 million.
Matt Ryan is number 9. Matt plays for the NFL team Atlanta Falcons. Almost $33 million in salary with $450,000 in endorsements makes for a pretty good deposit slip.
His total contract signed in 2008 is for $72 million. This year’s payout will be $22 million on top of his regular salary.
Number 10 goes to NBA player Dwight Howard. Howard plays for the Orlando Magic. His salary is roughly $17 million give or take a few hundred grand. Add that with his endorsements of $12 million and you have a total of $29 million. If Howard goes to the Lakers he will be taking a large pay cut.
Honorable mentions:
At the 13 spot is NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Earnhardt empire is one third of all merchandise sales in NASCAR. His salary is $4 million and his endorsements are $22 million.
Jeff Gordon is 19 on the list with total earnings of $24 million. That is both salary and endorsements. He is also generous and raised over $11 million for children’s charities.
New York Yankee Derek Jeter hit number 22 with total earnings of $23 million. Jeter’s home is 31,000 square feet and worth over $7 million.
Five time Sprint Cup champion Jimmy Johnson is in the 32 spot. His total earnings were $20 million.
The younger Manning brother, Eli, who plays for the New York Giants, is in the number 47 spot with earnings around $16 million.
It is hard for me to truly wrap my mind around having millions of dollars in your bank account. No worry over the electric and water bill. Mortgage is not even a blip on the worry chart. I would travel if I had that kind of money. It would be interesting to see what these high paid athletes do with their time off and how they “relax”.
We know pretty much how Tiger Woods chose to spend his free time. Thank you! I will be here all week! Try the veal!
Take care and stay safe,
KJ
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