Every year, a list of the highest-paid athletes worldwide is released, and every year we get to bask in the star power that is the nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi. This year, we have Forbes to thank for our list, and while Rossi’s ranking is down in 20th position (he’s usually a Top 10 sort of guy), the value amount has remained steady…which is really saying something considering the slogging the motorcycle industry has taken the past few years.
Coming down to an almost 50/50 split between raw salary and endorsements, Rossi is estimated to make a tidy $30 million per year, tying him for the 20th spot with Formula 1’s Michael Schumacher. The only MotoGP star to top the Top 100 on Forbes’ list, it just goes to show that MotoGP salaries and endorsement contracts aren’t always about results. The Top 20, and other notable entries from the Forbes’ research are listed after the jump.
#1 Floyd Mayweather -Total earnings: $85 million – Salary/winnings: $85 million – Endorsements: $0
#2 Manny Pacquiao: $62 million – Salary/winnings: $56 million – Endorsements: $6 million
#3 Tiger Woods: $59.4 million – Salary/winnings: $4.4 million – Endorsements: $55 million
#4 LeBron James: $53 million – Salary/winnings: $13 million – Endorsements: $40 million
#5 Roger Federer: $52.7 million – Salary/winnings: $7.7 million – Endorsements: $45 million
#6 Kobe Bryant: $52.3 million – Salary/winnings: $20.3 million – Endorsements: $32 million
#7 Phil Mickelson: $47.8 million – Salary/winnings: $4.8 million – Endorsements: $43 million
#8 David Beckham: $46 million – Salary/winnings: $9 million – Endorsements: $37 million
#9 Cristiano Ronaldo: $42.5 million – Salary/winnings: $20.5 million – Endorsements: $22 million
#10 Peyton Manning: $42.4 million – Salary/winnings: $32.4 million – Endorsements: $10 million
#11 Lionel Messi: $39 million – Salary/winnings: $20 million – Endorsements: $19 million
#12 Haloti Ngata: $37.3 million – Salary/winnings: $37.1 million – Endorsements: $200,000
#13 Larry Fitzgerald: $36.8 million – Salary/winnings: $35.3 million – Endorsements: $1.5 million
#14 Ndamukong Suh: $36 million – Salary/winnings: $35.5 million – Endorsements: $500,000
#15 Charles Johnson: $34.4 million – Salary/winnings: $34.3 million – Endorsements: $100,000
#16 Rafael Nadal: $33.2 million – Salary/winnings: $8.2 million – Endorsements: $25 million
#16 Mario Williams: $33.2 million – Salary/winnings: $32.9 million – Endorsements: $250,000
#18 Alex Rodriguez: $33 million – Salary/winnings: $31 million – Endorsements: $2 million
#19 Fernando Alonso: $32 million – Salary/winnings: $29 million – Endorsements: $3 million
#20 Valentino Rossi: $30 million – Salary/winnings: $17 million – Endorsements: $13 million
#20 Michael Schumacher: $30 million – Salary/winnings: $20 million – Endorsements: $10 million
—————————————————————– Other Notable Athletes —————————————————————–
#23 Dale Earnhardt Jr.: $28.2 million – Salary/winnings: $13.2 million – Endorsements: $15 million
#24 Lewis Hamilton: $28 million – Salary/winnings: $25 million – Endorsements: $3 million
#42 Jeff Gordon: $23.6 million – Salary/winnings: $13.6 million – Endorsements: $10 million
#50 Michael Vick: $22 million – Salary/winnings: $20 million – Endorsements: $2 million
#63 Usain Bolt: $20.3 million – Salary/winnings: $300,000 – Endorsements: $20 million
#76 Barry Zito: $18.9 million – Salary/winnings: $18.8 million – Endorsements: $150,000
Source: Forbes; Photo: © 2011 Scott Jones / Scott Jones Photography – All Rights Reserved
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