The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes for 2011

Once we have thought that to earn the biggest paycheck in our lives, we should finish the most prestigious degrees in college and complete the most outstanding postgraduate courses. But that is not always the case. While some people are receiving the highest salaries as executives, some athletes are earning millions of dollars, playing and ruling their respective sports. The Forbes has just released the world’s 50 highest paid athletes for 2011. The 50 athletes has total earnings equivalent to $1.4 billion, which is 11% lower than last year. Their average earnings equal to $28 million, with the highest earnings of $75 million and the lowest from the list earning $18.8 million. These athletes played their respective sports from basketball, baseball, racing, soccer, golf, football, tennis and boxing.
Who are the highest-paid athletes in the world?

So who are the athletes who receive the richest paychecks in 2011? Tiger Woods is still the highest-paid athlete in the world despite failing to win tournaments or sign new sponsorship deals since his November 2009 car crash and his subsequent infidelity scandal. Woods, the former No. 1 golfer on the planet, now only ranked 13th in the world, still earned $75 million over the past 12 months, enough to outdistance the second-ranked NBA star Kobe Bryant, who made $53 million.

The following sportsmen are considered the highest-paid athletes in the planet today. Their earnings are derived from salaries, bonuses, prize money, appearance fees, licensing, and endorsement income (without deducting for taxes or agent’s fees) in the 12 months ending May 1, 2011.

Rank	Name	Age	Earnings (in  millions)	Sports
1	Tiger Woods	35	$75	Golf
2	Kobe Bryant	32	$53	Basketball
3	LeBron James	26	$48	Basketball
4	Roger Federer	29	$47	Tennis
5	Phil Mickelson	40	$46.5	Golf
6	David Beckham	36	$40	Soccer
7	Cristiano Ronaldo	26	$38	Soccer
8	Alex Rodriguez	35	$35	Baseball
9	Michael Schumacher	42	$34	Racing
10	Lionel Messi	23	$32.3	Soccer
11	Fernando Alonso	29	$32	Racing
12	Rafael Nadal	24	$31.5	Tennis
13-14 (tie)	Valentino Rossi	32	$31	Racing
13-14 (tie)	Tom Brady	33	$31	Football
15	Lewis Hamilton	29	$30	Racing
16	Derek Jeter	36	$29	Baseball
17	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	36	$28.5	Racing
18	Yao Ming	30	$27.7	Basketball
19	Dwight Howard	25	$27.6	Basketball
20	Dwyane Wade	29	$26.2	Basketball
21	Peyton Manning	35	$26.1	Football
22	Ichiro Suzuki	37	$26	Baseball
23	Carmelo Anthony	26	$25.1	Basketball
24-25 (tie)	Kaka	29	$25	Soccer
24-25 (tie)	Manny Pacquaio	32	$25	Boxing

 

For the complete list of the 50 highest-paid athletes in the world please visit full list and details at Forbes.com.