Michael Jordan is the Highest Earning Athlete of All TIme
Not only is he arguably the greatest basketball player to ever grace the court, but Michael Jordan is officially the highest-earning athlete ever.
A recent article by Sportico detailed the 25 highest-paid athletes of all time, with his Airness clearly taking out the top spot. The former Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards player pocketed a tidy $2.62 billion USD during his highlight-filled career. Unsurprisingly, most of Jordan’s wealth has come from his sponsorship deal, with just 6% of his total earnings coming from his basketball days. It’s believed he’s earned over $1 billion USD through endorsement deals, with much of that coming from Nike.
Coming in at the number two spot is golfing great Tiger Woos with a respectable $2.1 billion USD. Similar to Jordan, much of his wealth has come from his deal with Nike. Golfers also took out the third and fourth spots, with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus having earned a reported $1.5 billion USD and $1.36 billion USD respectively. Rounding out the top five is the mercurial Cristiano Ronaldo with $1.24 billion USD.
Michael Jordan Tops All-Time Athlete Earnings List of a Billionaires Dozen https://t.co/EmgrV0vzJv pic.twitter.com/IsFEUKwgCA
— Sportico (@Sportico) November 4, 2021
The rest of the top 10 is filled with a mixture of athletes and includes undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather ($1.20 billion USD), NBA champion LeBron James ($1.7 billion USD), former Barcelona star now PSG player Lionel Messi ($1.4 billion USD), F1 legend Micahel Schumacher ($1.3 billion USD), and tennis great Roger Federer ($1.2 billion USD).
The list is dominated by men, with not one female athlete making it. The closest is Serena Williams who has earned around $480 million, putting her just outside the top 40.
Check out the top 10 below and head to Sportico to read about the entire 25.
- Michael Jordan – $2.62 billion
- Tiger Woods – $2.10 billion
- Arnold Palmer – $1.50 billion
- Jack Nicklaus – $1.38 billion
- Cristiano Ronaldo – $1.24 billion
- Floyd Mayweather – $1.20 billion
- LeBron James – $1.17 billion
- Lionel Messi – $1.14 billion
- Michael Schumacher – $1.13 billion
- Roger Federer – $1.12 billion
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