Ever wondered exactly how much can you earn while if you are a good sportsman? Well, here’s a list of sportsmen who earn more than a lot of people can even dream of. The list comprises of two golfers, three soccer (football) players, two Basketball (NBA) players, a baseball player, an F1 racer and a legendary tennis player. So that basically makes an entire list of sports one could possibly want to play and these players are living proof that if you excel at your game, you will earn more than what is considered adequate in this world. The following list was released by Forbes so it you can believe the numbers without a second thought.
10. LIONEL MESSI, SOCCER PLAYER
Lionel Messi is a soccer player for Barcelona and he made it to the tenth spot earning a whopping 32.3 million dollars. Now one thing you need to understand is that being the best soccer player doesn’t necessarily mean that you get to earn the highest. Messi is the third-highest paid soccer player and he earns about fifty percent of his money from the club, Barcelona and the rest comes from sponsors such as Pepsi, Adidas etc. He had a wonderful year; score 53 goals, won fifth La Liga title and third Champions league trophy and it all happened before his 24th Birthday.
9. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER, F1 RACER
Michael Schumacher is an F1 racer for Mercedes Benz and he earned 34 million dollars last year. He is quite popular in the racing world and those of you who don’t even know a thing about racing must have heard is name on the waves as well. He drove for Ferrari and was the most successful racer you could think of. You name an event or a trophy and Schumacher has it on his shelf. I don’t have any interest in racing but even I know who he is.
8. ALEX RODRIGUEZ, BASEBALL
Alex Rodriguez plays baseball for the New York Yankees and he earned 35 million dollars last year making it to the eighth spot. He is also the highest paid baseball player in the history of the sport itself. He earns most of his money playing the game itself and not from sponsors. Even still, he isn’t the most popular person in the world therefore you will not spot him in any advertisements. New York Yankees is a world renowned baseball team and a very old one at that.
7. CRISTIANO RONALDO, SOCCER PLAYER
Cristiano Ronaldo is a soccer player for Read Madrid and he earned 38 million dollars in the year 2011. He is quite the celebrated sportsman. In the year 2011 he broke the goal scoring records in Spain. The bigger part of his income comes from different sponsor and the major one at that is ‘Nike’ and if you are to consider Facebook and Twitter and other such Social media networks, Cristiano Ronaldo happens to the most popular athlete as well.
6. DAVID BECKHAM, SOCCER PLAYER
David is a soccer player from England. I am sure whether or not you like soccer you have either seen him or heard about him. He is quite popular. He earned 40 million dollar last year and therefore made it to number 7 on this list. Not quite in his prime anymore, Beckham still manages to hold the number second spot in the top paid soccer players. Not a lot of his income comes from the club LA Galaxy, he usually earns from EA and Samsung. He lost the Pepsi deal a while ago otherwise he probably would have made it to the top if you consider the soccer players strictly.
5. PHIL MICKELSON, GOLF
True enough, golf is a weird sport. I for one have absolutely no interest in this game. I consider it lazy. Either way, Mr. Mickelson has managed the number 5 spot earning a whopping 46 million dollars in the year 2011. He currently is the number second highest paid golfer in the entire world. I’m sure you can guess who the number one golfer around Earth is.
4. ROGER FEDERER, TENNIS
Tennis is by far my favorite sport and Roger Federer does justice to it like none other. He earned 47 million dollars last year making it to the number 4 spot. He is no longer the number one player though; currently ranked third. But he rocked the sport for the better part of a decade from the year 2003 till 2010. Most of his money comes from Rolex, Nike and Wilson etc. These world known brands make him the highest earning tennis player.
3. LEBRON JAMES, BASKETBALL
James plays basketball for Miami Heat and whilst doing so he was able to earn 48 million dollars last year. Most of his money comes from endorsements such as Adidas etc. He makes around 15 million dollars playing the actual sport.
2. KOBE BRYANT, BASKETBALL
Kobe Bryant is another basketball player that made the list and he beat LeBron James by 5 million dollars. Bryant earned 53 million dollars last year in 2011 even though 2011 wasn’t his best year. He earns around 24 million dollars playing basketball which is by far the highest salary. Rest of his money comes from sponsors such as Mercedes, Nike and even Turkish Airlines.
1. TIGER WOODS, GOLF
No matter which sport enthusiast you ask about Tiger Woods, he will know him irrespective of whether he or she likes golf or not. Tiger Woods have been able to top the golfing charts or a very long time now and he was able to earn 75 million dollars in 2011. The difference between first and the second spot in this list is huge. Even though there have been scandals, injuries and he hasn’t been at the top of his game, that didn’t matter. Woods is still at the top of the charts as always. Tiger Woods earned a better chunk of his salary from giants such as Nike and EA and they pay him well enough to keep him at the top so even though he lost a few of his endorsements, it didn’t make a difference.
There you have it folks, it doesn’t matter if you want to live your life playing games because even that is considered a career. All you have to do is be good at it.
Asahel Ace Ryder 