It is generally recognized that the American Forbes magazine considers other people's money best of all, which, among other things, determines the 100 highest paid athletes in the world every year. In 2017, for the first time, a new ranking of the most financially successful athletes in the history of sports was compiled.
About ratings
The new ranking includes 25 athletes who have earned the most in their careers. This list contains the most basketball players - 6, boxing and golf represent 5 people each, the most popular sport in the world is represented by 3 football players, 2 representatives of tennis and auto racing, American football and baseball delegated 1 athlete each.
In 2018, representatives of 11 sports entered the regular ranking. Together they earned $3.8 billion, up 23% from last year. Most of all in the list of the highest paid athletes in the world of basketball players - 40 people, which is associated with success in the business of the NBA, whose income growth allows you to pay record salaries.
The richest in history
The list includes representatives of 8 sports who have earned during their sports career from 1.85 billion (leader - Michael Jordan) to 470 million dollars (tennis player Andre Agassi closes the rating). If the list is compiled again, then Floyd Mayweather, who is in 9th place in the current ranking, will be added to the 5 great athletes who have earned more than one billion dollars. Tiger Woods (2nd place) was in the top of the highest paid athletes in the world in history, followed by golfers who have long since retired from their sports careers - Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Rounding out the top five billionaires is the legendary racing driver Michael Schumacher.
Who earned the most
The most famous basketball player Michael Jordan (USA), whose fortune is now estimated at 1.7 billion dollars, has earned the most in sports. Only 93 million of this incredible amount was wages for 15 years of phenomenal play in the clubs of the strongest basketball league. According to Forbes, he is the highest paid athlete in the world in history.
Currently, he makes 100 million every year thanks to an advertising contract with Nike. The Air Jordan brand earns $2.8 billion in revenue. Jordan successfully invested in the NBA team "Charlotte Hornets", the price of which has increased several times.
First billionaire athlete
Tiger Woods is the second highest paid athlete in history. And at the same time, he is the first athlete to earn a billion dollars. Twelveyears in a row, from 2001 to 2012, was the athlete with the largest annual salary. Woods only conceded first place after he stopped playing due to back pain. When he resumed his sports career, he began to earn on sponsorship contracts only half of the amounts that he received at the peak of his fame. In 2018, in the list of the 100 highest paid athletes in the world, he ranked 16th with earnings of $43.3 million.
No scandals in his personal life, no back pain prevented good contracts, he continues to act in commercials. Despite outstanding sports results (14 times won in major tournaments), he earned much more from advertising, signing contracts, including with TaylorMade, Bridgestone, American Express, EA Sports, General Motors.
Absolute record holder
After Tiger Woods temporarily interrupted his sports career, the next three years, the top highest paid athletes in the world were led by undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather. In 2015, he set an absolute record in terms of annual income. Only the bonus for winning the "fight of the century" with Manny Pacquiao amounted to $ 100 million, in total he earned 300 million. After record earnings, Floyd announced his retirement from the sport.
However, he soon began training for a highly publicized fight with MMA star Conor McGregor. The 36-minute fight, which was more like a show in which Floyd tried not to hit McGregor too hard, earned him 285 milliondollars, including 275 million fixed income and a percentage of television broadcasts.
Promotion deals with Hublot and Tequila Avion brought him another 10 million. Hublot released a special edition of watches, with which the client received a boxing glove autographed by Mayweather. Thanks to a good career resumption, his total earnings exceeded one billion dollars. And he joined Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan in the list of the highest paid athletes of all time. In total, he spent 49 fights in the professional ring, without losing a single one of them.
First footballer
Cristiano Ronaldo is the only representative of his sport to have taken the top spot among the highest paid athletes in the world. In 2017, during the retirement of Floyd Mayweather, he managed to dilute the circle of American leading athletes. In 2018, Ronaldo fell back to third place. In the ranking of the highest paid athletes in the world of all time, he takes 12th place with a total income of $ 725 million.
In the last football season, Cristiano scored 44 goals in 43 matches and received a medal for winning the Champions League for the fifth time. In 2017, he again, for the fifth time, became the best football player in Europe and the owner of the Golden Ball. The contract with Real Madrid provides him with an annual income of $ 50 million. This summer, Ronaldo moved to Juventus, according to rumors, for 100-120 million. At the same time, his salary will be about a third more than the specified amount. ATLast year, he earned $108 million, of which $47 million came from advertising campaigns.
Ronaldo has a lifetime contract with Nike worth over one billion. Nike's CR7 name brand line has expanded significantly, now it is not only football boots, but also underwear, jeans, shoes, eau de toilette and children's products. In addition, he represents other popular brands, including Herbalife and American Tourister. Hotels and restaurants in Brazil operate under his name, produce electronic devices for building muscle mass, and much more. Cristiano remains the most followed athlete on social media with 322 million followers.
More footballers
On the list of the world's highest paid athletes of all time, there are only two other football players - David Beckham (8th place with a total earnings of $800 million) and Lionel Messi (16th place with $600 million).
David Beckham is a multiple champion of England with Manchester United and the United States with Los Angeles Galaxy, and at the end of his career he became the champion of France with Paris Saint-Germain. During the years of his performances, the wages of football players were not so high, Beckham earned most of his fortune on sponsorship and advertising contracts. After retiring from football in 2013, he continues to do a lot of commercials.
In 2017, Lionel Messi renegotiated his contract with Barcelona, making him the highest paid player in the world. Newterms, he will receive $80 million a year, including salary and bonuses. Among the highest paid athletes in the world in 2018, he took second place, ahead of his eternal rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. In the last football season, Messi scored 45 goals in all competitions, becoming the best in the top 5 strongest European champions. He earned $111 million last year, of which $84 million in salary and prize money
Messi has a lifetime contract with Adidas, which has recently been updated, in addition, he advertises products for Gatorade, Pepsi, Hawkers, etc. An entertainment complex named after him in Nanjing (China) is under construction and is scheduled to open in 2020.
Record holder for prize series of tournaments
Roger Federer was ranked 6th in the top 100 highest paid athletes in the world for 2018 and 15th in the rankings of all time with a total career earnings of $ 675 million. In the annual rating for the current year, he took 7th place. He recently set the record for the most cashes on the ATP Tour with $116M, surpassing Novak Djokovic ($109.8M) and Tiger Woods with $110M on the PGA Tour.
The best tennis player of all time has increased his record of victories to 20 in Grand Slam tournaments. In 2018, he was briefly the first racket of the world, thereby setting a record as the oldest leader in the ATP rankings. Roger made $77.2 million last year, including $12.2 million in prize money.he still earns money from advertising. Federer recently re-signed Mercedes-Benz, Lindt and pasta and sauce seller Barilla for $40 million.
NBA's Best Fast Food Vendor
LeBron James is once again in the top 10 highest paid athletes in the world, finishing 6th in 2018. In the ranking of the richest athletes in the history of sports, he took 11th position with a total earnings of $ 730 million. Last year, his total income was 85.5 million, of which the majority came from advertising contracts - 52 million.
James was named MVP of the best basketball league four times, eight seasons in a row, "Cleveland Cavaliers" with his participation reached the NBA tournament finals. Last season, he broke Michael Jordan's old double-digit streak record to become the youngest player to reach 30,000 career points.
In addition to earning a lot of money from advertising, in which he represents the most famous brands, including Beats by Dre, Nike, Kia Motor and Intel, LeBron has proved to be an excellent investor. His investment company has 17 good projects, including 17 Blaze Pizzas, the fastest growing food service business in history. For this, he received the comic title of "Best Fast Food Seller in the NBA." He has a production and media company, and even a 2% stake in Liverpool Football Club, which jumped in price after reaching the Champions League final. LeBron spends a lot on charity, in childhoodhe invested $41 million in projects, and later plans to open a free elementary school.
