June 06, 2007
50 Highest Paid Atheletes
(I'm rich, B!#$@)
Wow, here's the list from Sports Illustrated/CNN. The top paying sports: golf, auto-racing, baseball, and basketball. Wow!!
Thoughts?
Here's the top six:
(1)Tiger Woods
Pro Golf
Last Year's Rank: 1
$11,941,827--Salary/Winnings
$100,000,000--Endorsements
$111,941,827--Total
Mighty Tiger's handlers figure sports' first $100 million man's endorsement and appearance income increases an average of 13 percent a year.
(2)Oscar De La Hoya
Boxing
Last Year's Rank: NR
$53,000,000--Salary/Winnings
$2,000,000--Endorsements
$55,000,000--Total
One last giant pay day? On top of $25 million purse, Golden Boy took home $28 million in pay-per-view receipts from the Mayweather title fight.
(3)Phil Mickelson
Pro Golf
Last Year's Rank: 2
$4,256,505--Salary/Winnings
$47,000,000--Endorsements
$51,256,505--Total
One of sports' most reliable endorsers, Lefty is now at a point where his annual take in off-the-course income outdoes his total career winnings.
(4)Shaquille O'Neal
Miami Heat (NBA)
Last Year's Rank: 3
$20,000,000--Salary/Winnings
$15,000,000--Endorsements
$35,000,000--Total
Shaq took 20,000-square foot mansion off the market last year when no one would meet $32 million asking price. Now he's trying again -- for $35 million.
(5)Kobe Bryant
Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
Last Year's Rank: 4
$17,718,750--Salary/Winnings
$16,000,000--Endorsements
$33,718,750--Total
Need proof Kobe is a marketing genius? Since he switched from No. 8 to No. 24, his jersey has become the top seller in both the U.S. and China.
(6)LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
Last Year's Rank: 6
$5,828,089--Salary/Winnings
$25,000,000--Endorsements
$30,828,089--Total
King James' $2.1 million, 11-bedroom mansion near Akron is in the process of being refitted with a theater, bowling alley, casino and barber shop.
I think it's interesting that the three highest paid athletes are such based mainly on winnings rather than contract salary--even endorsements stem from wins. It would be interesting to see how other sports/athletes would change if players received much lower base contract salaries with bonus earning based on wins/team earnings.
"Need proof Kobe is a marketing genius? Since he switched from No. 8 to No. 24, his jersey has become the top seller in both the U.S. and China."
That's smooth.
It's kind'a chicken and egg. The winnings create the endorsement opportunities (which can come only after an athlete has proven himself over time. I wonder how I can get a shoe contract?
Posted by: Anthony at June 6, 2007 05:18 PMMichael Schumacher makes over $100M per year from ferrari. You missed all motor sports?
Posted by: Brian at February 14, 2008 10:23 AM