Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes

Now that the 2012 summer Olympic Games kicked off on 27th July in London, we shall today be looking at the Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes in 2012 some of whom will be representing their countries by competing against their fellow athletes in a bid to win medals; not only for themselves, but most importantly for the flags they came in with.

Throughout the Olympic Games, we shall be looking at the various sporting events that shall be taking place in London (their history) as well as the highest paid in the respective categories. For those who might not be aware, the 2012 London Olympic Games shall continue on till 12th August 2012 and about 10,500 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees are expected to participate.

Here’s the complete list of the Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes in 2012

Rank Name Pay Salary/Winnings Endorsements Sport
1  Floyd Mayweather $85 M $85 M $0 M Boxing
2  Manny Pacquiao $62 M $56 M $6 M Boxing
3  Tiger Woods $59.4 M $4.4 M $55 M Golf
4  LeBron James $53 M $13 M $40 M Basketball
5  Roger Federer $52.7 M $7.7 M $45 M Tennis
6  Kobe Bryant $52.3 M $20.3 M $32 M Basketball
7  Phil Mickelson $47.8 M $4.8 M $43 M Golf
8  David Beckham $46 M $9 M $37 M Soccer
9  Cristiano Ronaldo $42.5 M $20.5 M $22 M Soccer
10  Peyton Manning $42.4 M $32.4 M $10 M Football
11  Lionel Messi $39 M $20 M $19 M Soccer
12  Haloti Ngata $37.3 M $37.1 M $0.2 M Football
13  Larry Fitzgerald $36.8 M $35.3 M $1.5 M Football
14  Ndamukong Suh $36 M $35.5 M $0.5 M Football
15  Charles Johnson $34.4 M $34.3 M $0.1 M Football
16  Rafael Nadal $33.2 M $8.2 M $25 M Tennis
16  Mario Williams $33.2 M $32.9 M $0.3 M Football
18  Alex Rodriguez $33 M $31 M $2 M Baseball
19  Fernando Alonso $32 M $29 M $3 M Racing
20  Valentino Rossi $30 M $17 M $13 M Motorcycle
20  Michael Schumacher $30 M $20 M $10 M Racing
22  Darrelle Revis $28.3 M $27 M $1.3 M Football
23  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. $28.2 M $13.2 M $15 M Racing
24  Lewis Hamilton $28 M $25 M $3 M Racing
24  Wladimir Klitschko $28 M $24 M $4 M Boxing
26  Maria Sharapova $27.9 M $5.9 M $22 M Tennis
27  Sam Bradford $27.8 M $26.8 M $1 M Football
28  Tom Brady $27.1 M $23.1 M $4 M Football
29  Joe Mauer $27 M $23 M $4 M Baseball
30  Eli Manning $26.6 M $18.6 M $8 M Football
31  Mahendra Singh Dhoni $26.5 M $3.5 M $23 M Cricket
31  LaMarr Woodley $26.5 M $26.3 M $0.2 M Football
33  Dwight Howard $25.6 M $14.6 M $11 M Basketball
34  Kevin Durant $25.5 M $12.5 M $13 M Basketball
35  Dwyane Wade $24.7 M $12.7 M $12 M Basketball
36  Derek Jeter $24.5 M $15.5 M $9 M Baseball
37  Wayne Rooney $24.3 M $17.8 M $6.5 M Soccer
38  Mark Sanchez $24.2 M $23.2 M $1 M Football
39  Ichiro Suzuki $24 M $17 M $7 M Baseball
40  CC Sabathia $23.8 M $23 M $0.8 M Baseball
40  Johan Santana $23.8 M $23.3 M $0.5 M Baseball
42  Jeff Gordon $23.6 M $13.6 M $10 M Racing
43  Ben Roethlisberger $23.3 M $22.3 M $1 M Football
44  Carmelo Anthony $22.9 M $14.9 M $8 M Basketball
45  Mark Teixeira $22.8 M $22.5 M $0.3 M Baseball
46  Amar’e Stoudemire $22.7 M $14.7 M $8 M Basketball
47  Tony Stewart $22.3 M $15.3 M $7 M Racing
48  Luke Donald $22.2 M $13.2 M $9 M Golf
49  Vernon Wells $22.1 M $22 M $0.1 M Baseball
50  Michael Vick $22 M $20 M $2 M Football
51  Logan Mankins $21.9 M $21.8 M $0.1 M Football
51  Richard Seymour $21.9 M $21.6 M $0.3 M Football
53  Ryan Howard $21.5 M $20 M $1.5 M Baseball
53  Jimmie Johnson $21.5 M $14.5 M $7 M Racing
53  Adrian Peterson $21.5 M $20.5 M $1 M Football
56  Jon Beason $21.4 M $21.3 M $0.1 M Football
57  Kevin Garnett $21.1 M $17.1 M $4 M Basketball
58  Matthew Stafford $20.9 M $19.9 M $1 M Football
59  Miguel Cabrera $20.8 M $20.6 M $0.2 M Baseball
59  Kaka $20.8 M $14.3 M $6.5 M Soccer
61  Novak Djokovic $20.6 M $11.6 M $9 M Tennis
61  Roy Halladay $20.6 M $20.1 M $0.5 M Baseball
63  Usain Bolt $20.3 M $0.3 M $20 M Track
63  D’Brickashaw Ferguson $20.3 M $20.1 M $0.2 M Football
65  Sergio Aguero $20.1 M $16.6 M $3.5 M Soccer
66  DeAngelo Williams $19.9 M $19.8 M $0.2 M Football
67  Joe Thomas $19.8 M $19.3 M $0.5 M Football
68  Eric Berry $19.6 M $19.3 M $0.3 M Football
68  Prince Fielder $19.6 M $19.3 M $0.3 M Baseball
68  Fernando Torres $19.6 M $16.6 M $3 M Soccer
71  Ryan Kalil $19.4 M $19.3 M $0.1 M Football
72  Chris Paul $19.2 M $13.2 M $6 M Basketball
73  Tim Duncan $19.1 M $17.1 M $2 M Basketball
73  Yaya Touré $19.1 M $16.6 M $2.5 M Soccer
75  Miguel Cotto $19 M $19 M $0 M Boxing
76  Barry Zito $18.9 M $18.8 M $0.2 M Baseball
77  Robert Mathis $18.7 M $18.6 M $0.2 M Football
78  Carlos Lee $18.6 M $18.5 M $0.1 M Baseball
78  Sachin Tendulkar $18.6 M $2.1 M $16.5 M Cricket
78  Lawrence Timmons $18.6 M $18.4 M $0.2 M Football
81  Li Na $18.4 M $1.4 M $17 M Tennis
82  Torii Hunter $18.3 M $18 M $0.3 M Baseball
82  Alfonso Soriano $18.3 M $18 M $0.3 M Baseball
84  Deron Williams $18.2 M $16.2 M $2 M Basketball
85  Johnathan Joseph $18.1 M $18 M $0.1 M Football
86  Darnell Dockett $18 M $17.9 M $0.1 M Football
87  Matt Holliday $17.6 M $17.3 M $0.3 M Baseball
88  Rashard Lewis $17.5 M $17 M $0.5 M Basketball
88  John Terry $17.5 M $12.5 M $5 M Soccer
88  Justin Verlander $17.5 M $17 M $0.5 M Baseball
91  Ernie Els $17.4 M $1.4 M $16 M Golf
91  Rory McIlroy $17.4 M $10.4 M $7 M Golf
91  Albert Pujols $17.4 M $14.4 M $3 M Baseball
91  Carlos Zambrano $17.4 M $17.3 M $0.1 M Baseball
95  Pau Gasol $17.2 M $14.7 M $2.5 M Basketball
96  Russell Okung $17.1 M $16.8 M $0.3 M Football
97  Steven Gerrard $17 M $12.5 M $4.5 M Soccer
98  Carl Crawford $16.9 M $16.8 M $0.2 M Baseball
99  Rolando McClain $16.7 M $16.5 M $0.2 M Football
100  Jake Peavy $16.6 M $16.5 M $0.1 M Baseball

 

 

 

{Courtesy of Forbes}

So there you have it, the Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes as of June 2012.

It was however a bit shocking that there were only two women on the above list of the Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes in 2012, and they coincidentally play the same game (Tennis);

  • Maria Sharapova who raked in a total of $27.9M and
  • Li Na who raked in a total of $18.4M

This brings forth a challenge to women that they ought to negotiate better paycheck terms (while at the same time excelling in their respective games) and market their names (brands) out there in order to get better and more endorsement deals which as you might have observed, has contributed significantly towards the pay of some of the athletes on this list e.g Tiger Woods who got endorsements amounting to $55M compared with his winnings of $4.4M.

 

 

LAID OFF ENGINEER MAKES $204,122 IN ONLY 10 MONTHS

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