Well, I figured out where I went wrong in life. Turns out I should have been a really talented athlete, because THEY MAKE MONEY. Like, a lottttt of money.
Here are 29 athletes that are so rich it hurts. Disclaimer, I didn't check their bank accounts, however I did check celebritynetworths.com, and it's probably not that far off— but take everything with a grain of salt. Either way they are all loaded.
1. Michael Phelps: $100 Million
He's made around $75 million from product deals and endorsements alone, and he's the most decorated Olympian ever.
2. Rob Dyrdek: $100 million
He's not just a skateboarder, but also an investor. He founded Street League Skating, aka SLS, and owns a "venture studio" which is a hybrid venture capitalist firm and branding agency.
3. Tony Hawk: $140 million
He makes approximately $43 a minute thanks to sponsorships, product deals, etc.
4. Justin Verlander: $150 million
He has a current two-year contract with the Astros for $50 million. That's $25 million a year.
5. Triple H: $150 million
He's not really wrestling anymore, but he still works for the WWE and makes $3 million a year in his position as Head Of Talent Development.
6. Russell Wilson: $165 million
He has a four year contract that's up in 2023, where he makes $35 million a year playing for the Seattle Seahawks.
7. Rory McIlroy: $170 million
So far in 2022 he's made around $26 million in tournament money.
8. Dwyane Wade: $170 million
He's retired now, but during his time in the NBA he made justtttt about $200 million.
9. Maria Sharapova: $180 million
She made a lot of money playing tennis and doing brand partnerships, but she also has her own candy company, Sugarpova.
10. Ichiro Suzuki: $180 million
He made $168,958,064 after 19 seasons of playing baseball.
11. Derek Jeter: $200 million
He's retired but he still makes $30 million a year being Jeter.
12. Novak Djokovic: $220 million
He has made the most prize money of any tennis player ever, which is over $159 million over his career.
13. Serena Williams: $250 million
She has made $95 million in prize money over the course of her career, not to mention all of her endorsement deals and sponsorships. She also has her own venture capital firm, Serena Ventures.
14. Lewis Hamilton: $285 million
In 2021 he made $62 million from just racing.
15. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: $300 million
He retired with more than $400 million in career earnings, the second highest Nascar earner after Jeff Gordon.
16. David Beckham: $450 million
Besides his soccer (sorry, football) money, he models, does product deals, and recently signed a huge deal to promote the 2022 world cup in Qatar.
17. Christiano Ronaldo: $500 Million
For the 2021-22 season, he'll make $125 million (before taxes).
18. Aaron Rodgers: $200 million
He's set to earn $150 million over the next three years playing for the Packers.
19. Manny Pacquiao: $220 million
His dozens of boxing matches on pay-per-view brought in billions of dollars. Side note, he ran for president in The Philippines in 2022, but lost.
20. Alex Rodriguez: $350 million
He doesn't play baseball anymore but will be collecting money from his $252 million contract until 2025. MUST BE NICE!!!
21. Shaq: $400 million
Aside from his NBA career, he has also invested in dozens of franchises, and now makes $60 million a year in his ventures.
22. Floyd Mayweather: $450 million
He can earn hundreds of millions just from one pay-per-view fight.
23. Roger Federer: $550 million
He has made $130 million in prize money alone throughout his career.
24. LeBron James: $600 million
His current contract earns him $45 million a year playing for the Lakers.
25. Lionel Messi: $600 million
26. His latest soccer contract made him over $674 million in four years.
27. Magic Johnson: $620 million
Other than his basketball earnings, he once owned 125 Starbucks' and a minority stake in the Lakers. He sold both for $100 million.
28. Tiger Woods: $800 million-$1 billion
He makes around $50 million a year, and is only second to Michael Jordan in career earnings (for an athlete). He actually might be a billionaire now.
29. Michael Jordan: $2.2 Billion
He earns 5% of every Nike/Jordan shoe sold. Between just 2002 and 2012 that made him $480 million. He's also a majority owner in the Charlotte Hornets. He's Michael Jordan, people.
