Highest Paid Athletes

Have you ever wondered who the highest paid athletes in the world are?  It might surprise you that the top ten highest paid athletes range from race car drivers, golfers, basketball players, and a baseball player.  There is not a national football player in the top ten. 

Despite his recent controversial lifestyle, Tiger Woods is still the highest paid athlete raking in around 110 million dollars a year and no one is even close.  Tiger is nearing the one billion mark totaling his 13 year career.  He still has endorsements from Nike, Gillette, and Buick.  Phil Mickelson, the rival of Tiger, comes in the number five spot making nearly 40 million a year.  His endorsements include Callaway and Rolex.

The two best basketball players in the world crack the top four spots.  Kobe Bryant is the second highest paid athlete and Lebron James follows him in the number four slot.  Kobe earns around 45 million a year while Lebron is at 40 million.  Despite Kobe’s sexual assault accusation, he still has strong endorsements from Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water, and Nike.  Lebron may take over the lead spot in the NBA in the next few years.  Lebron has won the NBA’s MVP award the last two years and his popularity has sky rocketed since joining the Miami Heat.  His endorsements include Nike, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and others.

Wrapping up the list at number ten is Yankee’s third basemen Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod is famous for signing the 225 million dollar contract that put the Texas Rangers into near bankruptcy.  He then signed a 275 million dollar contract with the Yankees after only playing for the Rangers for three years.  Both were the biggest baseball contracts of their time.  He makes around 27.5 million dollars a year strictly on his contract.  His recent steroid allegations and poor reputation hinders his ability to sign endorsement deals with big companies.

If you want to see the complete list of the top ten highest paid athletes, click this website.  http://www.mensweekly.net/2010/04/17/10-highest-paid-athletes-2/

This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.