No. 15 Alex Rodriguez (Tie for Postion #11)
$32 million
A-Rodearns little off the field these days but makes the cut thanks to hishistoric 10-year, $275 million contract he signed with the Yankeesafter the 2007 season. The deal paid A-Rod $27 million last year and isworth $32 million this season. He also got $1 million in January aspart of the $10 million signing bonus in the deal.
No. 14 Lewis Hamilton (Tie for Postion #11)
$32 million
Hamiltonis often compared to Tiger Woods for his breakout performance at anearly age as a black athlete in a predominantly white sport. Hamiltonwon the 2008 Formula One World Championship by a single point andbecame the youngest driver to win the title at 23. Last summer, Reebokinked Hamilton to a multimillion- dollar deal to be a "global brandambassador."
No. 13 Oscar De La Hoya (Tie for Postion #11)
$32 million
Boxing´sGolden Boy hung up his gloves after one last mega-fight in Decemberagainst Manny Pacquiao that earned De La Hoya $30 million. He retireswith the record for all-time pay-per-view buys of 14.1 million and PPVrevenue of $696 million.
No. 12 Shaquille O´Neal (Tie for Postion #11)
$33 million
Shaqexperienced a renaissance on the court this year returning to theAll-Star game where he shared the MVP Award with former teammate andnemesis Kobe Bryant. Off-the-court Shaq continues to pile up sales ofhis low-cost Shaq and Dunkman brands of shoes, which now top 75 millionpairs since he launched the first line in 1996. Shaq has reached a newaudience through Twitter where he has 1.2 million followers.
No. 11 Roger Federer (Tie for Postion #11)
$33 million
Federercemented his position as the greatest tennis player ever when he wonhis 14th Grand Slam title and completed a career Grand Slam by winningthe French Open this month. Federer also passed Pete Sampras in Octoberto become the all-time leader in career prize money and has earned $48million since turning pro in 1998.
No. 10 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
$34 million
Earnhardtwas chosen as Nascar´s most popular driver for a sixth straight year in2008 despite winning only one race during the past two seasons. Hismerchandise sales were twice the total of any other driver. Earnhardt´sbiggest personal sponsorship deals are with Adidas, Chevrolet, Polaris,Wrangler and Nationwide Insurance, which he added this year.
No. 9 Valentino Rossi
$35 million
TheDoctor won his eighth World Championship in 2008 after two straightyears of falling short of the title. The biggest star in motorcycleracing earns $16 million annually from his contract to ride for Yamahaand his earnings more than double when you count licensing income,bonuses and endorsement deals with the likes of energy drink Monster.
No. 8 Manny Pacquiao (Tie for Postion #6)
$40 million
Pac-Manhogged the boxing spotlight over the past year with victories in twoblockbuster fights against Oscar De La Hoya in December and RickyHatton in March that combined generated more than $100 million inpay-per-view revenue in the U.S. A member of Time magazine´s 100 MostInfluential People, Pacquiao plans to run for political office when hisdays in the ring are over.
No. 7 Phil Mickelson (Tie for Postion #6)
$40 million
Playingsecond fiddle to Tiger Woods has proven very lucrative for the world´ssecond-ranked player. His most lucrative deal is with Callaway, whichsigned Mickelson to a five-year extension this year. Other sponsorsinclude Barclay´s, Exxon, KPMG and Rolex. Mickelson has won $54 millionin prize money during his career, third all-time behind Woods and VijaySingh.
No. 6 LeBron James (Tie for Postion #6)
$40 million
TheNBA´s MVP led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the league´s best record andhad a playoff performance for the ages this year, but his team wasbounced from the playoffs by the Orlando Magic in the ConferenceFinals. His free agency next summer has teams maneuvering to get underthe salary cap in hopes of signing King James. The Cavs can offer thebiggest contract under NBA salary rules, but James might go in searchof a bigger market.
No. 5 David Beckham
$42 million
Becksis far from the best player on the pitch, but he is still the mostfamous which is why companies like Adidas, Giorgio Armani and Motorolapay him millions for his endorsement. Beckham spent five months on loanthis year playing for AC Milan before his planned return to play forthe Los Angeles Galaxy in July when the MLS season is half over.
No. 4 Kimi Raikkonen (Tie for Postion #2)
$45 million
FormulaOne´s highest-paid driver finished a disappointing third in the WorldChampionship standings last year after winning the title in 2007. Thisyear has been even worse for the Iceman who sits in 10th place in thecurrent standings. Ferrari resigned Raikkonen in September to aone-year contract extension keeping the Finn behind the wheel forFerrari through 2010.
No. 3 Michael Jordan (Tie for Postion #2)
$45 million
MJretired as a player for the third and presumably final time six yearsago, but he is still the most famous athlete in the United States. TheJordan Brand is approaching $1 billion in sales for Nike which turnedJordan into a marketing phenomenon. Jordan is on the short list ofpotential buyers for the Charlotte Bobcats where he is head ofbasketball operations and a minority owner.
No. 2 Kobe Bryant (Tie for Postion #2)
$45 million
Bryantsecured his place among the NBA´s all-time greats when he won hisfourth NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in June. The Black Mamba´spopularity is at its zenith as his No. 24 jersey is the top seller inthe U.S., Europe and China. Bryant pads his $21 million Lakers salarythrough endorsement deals with Nike, Upper Deck, Activision andVitaminWater.
No. 1 Tiger Woods
$110 million
Woodshas earned almost $900 million in prize money, endorsements andappearance fees during his 13-year professional golf career and nextyear is poised to become the first athlete to earn $1 billion during acareer. Woods racked up more than twice the earnings of any otherathlete over the past 12 months despite being sidelined for eightmonths after knee surgery thanks to lucrative endorsement deals withAccenture, Gillette and Nike as well as a thriving golf course designbusiness.
Bookmark this page
