Top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world 2009
1. Tiger Woods
Earnings: $100 million, Sport: Golf, Nationality: American, Born: Dec. 30, 1975
As the face of Nike Golf, Woods has helped create a brand with $600 million in annual revenue for Phil Knight's company. No wonder they named a building for Woods on the Nike campus.
2. Oscar De La Hoya
Earnings: $43.0 million, Sport: Boxing, Nationality: American, Born: Feb. 4, 1973
The Golden Boy has been the biggest draw in boxing over his long career. Revenues for his 18 pay-per-view fights totaled $612 million, the most in boxing history.
3. Phil Mickelson
Earnings: $42.2 million, Sport: Golf, Nationality: American, Born: June 16, 1970
Phil the Thrill's income has surged in recent years as sponsors look for an alternative to Tiger in the golf sponsorship game. Callaway, Ford and Bearing Point write Mickelson his biggest checks.
4. Kimi Raikkonen
Earnings: $40 million, Sport: Auto racing, Nationality: Finish, Born: Oct. 17, 1979
Ferrari made Raikkonen the highest-paid driver in motor sports last year when they gave the Finn a 3-year deal. Raikkonen delivered this year when he clinched the Formula One championship earlier this month.
5. Michael Schumacher
Earnings: $36 million, Sport: Auto racing, Nationality: Germany, Born: Jan. 3, 1969
Formula One's greatest driver retired last year after dominating the sport for 15 years and winning seven championships. During his career, Schumacher earned $650 million in salary and endorsements.
6. David Beckham
Earnings: $33 million, Sport: Soccer, Nationality: British, Born: May 2, 1975
Becks invaded America this year greeted by much fanfare, but injuries kept him off the pitch for most of the MLS season. The bulk of Beckham's income is derived from sponsors like Adidas , Motorola and PepsiCo
7. Kobe Bryant
Earnings: $32.9 million, Sport: Basketball, Nationality: American, Born: Aug. 23, 1978
The possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers trading Bryant promises to be one of the biggest stories of the NBA season. Bryant will have a say where he goes, as he possesses the league's only full no-trade clause.
8. Shaquille O'Neal
Earnings: $31.9 million, Sport: Basketball, Nationality: American, Born: March 6, 1972
Injuries caused the Diesel to average career lows in points and rebounds last season. Injured or not, the Miami Heat still owes Shaq $60 million over the next three years.
9. Michael Jordan
Earnings: $31 million, Sport: Basketball, Nationality: American, Born: Feb. 17, 1963
MJ has been out of the NBA as a player for four years now, but his Jordan brand is still a $500 million a year sales business for Nike. Jordan is back in the league as a minority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.
10. Ronaldinho
Earnings: $31 million, Sport: Soccer, Nationality: Brazilian, Born: March 21, 1980
The two-time FIFA Player of the Year has lucrative endorsement contracts with EA Sports, Lenovo and PepsiCo, but Nike is his biggest deal. His current contract with the Barcelona club runs through 2010.
0 comments:
Post a Comment