Top 20 highest paid athletes in the world

Forbes magazine recently released its annual list ofhighest paid sportspersons in the world for the year 2013-2014.The selected individuals were categorized based on their base salary and prize money, while also taking into account the endorsement factor.The list involves a combination of players belonging to different sports. From footballing icons and NFL quarterbacks to NBA stars, we take a look at the elite set of individuals who have made the cut for the list of the top 20highest paid sportspersons in the world.

#1 Floyd Mayweather, $105 million

Floyd Mayweather has become the first athlete to break the $100 million threshold after Tiger Woods did it a few years ago. Mayweather’s September 2013 fight against Canelo Alvarez set new records for highest PPV gross ($150 miilion), live gate earnings ($20 million) and total revenue (roughly $200 million).

The Canelo fight was the second of the blockbuster 30-month, 6-fight deal signed with Showtime in 2013. Mayweather earned a guaranteed $32 million for his May fight with Marcos Maidana and he pocketed $105 million for the two bouts together, as a pugilist and a promoter.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo, $80 million

Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo tops the group of football players in this list. Ronaldo, who in 2014 won the World Player of the Year award (the Ballon d’Or award) for the second time in his career, earns $52 million excluding taxes as a Real Madrid player alone.

He has 11 endorsement partners on top of that, which include the likes of Nike, Emirates, Tag Heur Samsung that generate $28 million a year in income. Real Madrid rewarded his spectacular Champions League winning season (69 goals in 59 matches) with a new 5-year deal worth more than $200 million.

#3 LeBron James, $72.3 million

LeBron James comes third in the list with earnings of $72.3 million. Two back-to-back NBA titles and four MVP awards have made James the undisputed king of basketball. He is the NBA's biggest endorsement star, thanks to deals with Nike, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Upper Deck and others. The sales of his signature Nike shoes were the highest among active players at $300 million in the US, according to research firm SportsOneSource, and his jersey was the NBA's best-seller.

James' earnings also got a boost from the sale of the firm Beats to Apple for $3 billion. James owned a small piece of the business and helped make the brand a must-have accessory by outfitting the 2008 U.S. Olympic basketball team in Beijing with the high-priced headphones.

James is one of those stars whose endorsement deals outweigh his salary.

#4 Lionel Messi, $64.7 million

Lionel Messi ranks 4th in the list of highest paid sportspersons. Messi, who stood second this year in the Ballon d’Or standings after winning it four consecutive times, was involved in a image rights tax dispute which made him eventually pay up $6.5 million. Nonetheless, the Argentine has endorsement deals with Adidas and Turkish airlines and he signed his seventh contract in 11 years with Barcelona which will pay him $50 million a year. Messi earned a total of $64.7 million this year.

#5 Kobe Bryant, $61.5 million

Kobe Bryant topped the highest salary grossers in the NBA for the fourth straight year. His earnings of $30.5 millions tops the chart by $8 million. Bryant recently signed a contract extension of $48.5 million which will keep him on top of the leaderboard for quite some time.

As part of an all-time leading scorers’ list, his jersey is the third most sought after in the NBA after LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Bryant’s endorsement deals with Turkish Air, Lenovo and Nike are worth more than $30 million annually. His company Kobe Inc invested $4-6 million to buy a 10% share in the emerging sports drink BodyArmour.

#6 Tiger Woods, $61.2 million

Tiger Woods underwent back surgery in March this year which sidelined him for the US Open for the first time since 1994. His quest for Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Majors is stuck at 14 since the 2008 US Open. Electronic Arts’ deal with Woods, which had generated up to $800 million in sales, was terminated this year.

However, Nike renewed their deal with Woods in 2013, and they built a gold division on the back of the deal which saw sales of $793 million in Nike’s fiscal year. Woods remains one of the highest paid athletes in the world thanks to the Nike deal and tournament fees outside the US.

#7 Roger Federer, $56.2 million

Tennis legend Roger Federer continues to be one of the highest paid players in the world of sports 16 years after he turned pro. He holds the record for most Grand Slam wins with 17, and also the career prize money record of $81 million. Federer’s endorsement deals with Nike, Rolex and Credit Suisse pay him $40 million annually. Moreover, the champagne brand Moet & Chandon signed him on to a 5-year deal in 2012.

#8 Phil Mickelson, $53.2 million

Phil Mickelson helped himself a great deal by winning the British Open which earned him valuable sponsorship bonuses. He earns more than $40 million annually from appearances and endorsement sponsors, which include Barclays, Exxon Mobil and Rolex. Mickelson has racked up 42 PGA victories, earning career prize money of $74 million.

#9 Rafael Nadal, $44.5 million

Rafael Nadal had a great 2013, winning the French Open and the US Open and ending the season with a win-loss record of 75-7 and the year-end No. 1 ranking. Nadal has had a decent 2014 too, having been runner-up at the Australian Open in January and winning the French Open again this month. Nadal’s income includes $14 million of prize money alone which is topped off by his sponsorship deal with Nike. His other sponsors include Mapfre, Babolat, Richard Mille and Kia Motors.

#10 Matt Ryan, $43.8 million

Matt Ryan signed a 5-year deal worth $103.5 million last year with the Atlanta Falconstha which includes a $28 million signing bonus and a further $12 million option paid in March. The deal made him the NFL’s top-paid player for the past 12 months. Matt bolsters his income with appearances, memorabilia and sponsors like Nike, Comcast and Liquid Nutrition. Ryan became the all-time leader in passing yards last year.

#11 Manny Pacquiao, $41.8 million

Pacquiao recovered from his December 2012 loss with back-to-back victories against Brandon Rios and Timothy Bradley, although neither of these matches could generate much PPV buys. Pacquiao still pocketed $41 million, including Phillipines TV money with these two bouts. Pacquaio was an endorsement star until his knockout to Marquez and the year-long break that followed. This put a break to his out-of-the-ring earnings and deals with HP and Wonderfull all expired within a year, bringing his endorsement earnings below $1 million.

#12 Zlatan Ibrahimovic, $40.4 million

In the past year, Ibrahimovich ended up as the Ligue 1’s top scorer with 26 goals, helped his side Paris Saint-Germain win the title, and won the Player of the Year honours for the second time in a row. PSG tied him to a new deal which will run up to 2016. Although he is not featuring in the World cup, Zlatan made up for that with sponsorship deals with Nike and Volvo.

#13 Derrick Rose, $36.6 million

Injuries have curtailed Derrick Rose the past three seasons but he still collects a fortune of a salary from Chicago Bulls through a deal worth $95 million signed at the end of 2011. Rose is one of the NBA’s top earners off the court thanks to a huge 13-year deal with Adidas for his signature shoes. Adidas sold $40 million of his shoes in the US in 2013, but that is not nearly enough to cover his annual payment from Adidas. The 2011 MVP missed the entire 2012-2013 season and 10 games of the past season after surgery on his medical meniscus.

#14 Gareth Bale, $36.4 million

Real Madrid spent around $136 million (100 million euros) for the 24-year-old’s Welshman’s signature in 2013. The deal pays him $456,000 in weekly wages for 6 years. Bale hopes to make even more with his signature heart hand gesture called the “Eleven of Hearts” which he trademarked to use for footwear and T-shirts. The only Madrid player to not go to the World Cup, Bale will make around $2 million doing promotional work in Asia.

#15 Radamal Falcao, $35.4 million

After a prolific season for Atletico Madrid in which he scored 34 goals in 41 matches, the Colombian striker nicknamed ‘El Tigre’ struck a 5-year deal with AS Monaco doubling his salary. Falcao justified the move by saying his heart was always there as his idol Thiery Henry had played there. Just like his idol, Falcao endorsed Gillette for a campaign airing in his homeland.

#16 Neymar, $33.6 miilion

The Brazilian wonder kid’s much talked about move to Barcelona actually cost $124 million, $50 million more than the amount originally reported. The club president had to resign for covering up the full transfer costs of the transaction.

Neymar Jr though will pocket $74 million over a 5-year period with bonuses of $13 million. Off the pitch, Neymar has signed on for Castrol, Police sunglasses and L’Oreal.

#17 Novak Djokovic, $33.1 million

Novak Djokovic has been on an incredible run picking up his second Slam title in 2011. He has reached 10 of the last 14 Grand Slam finals, winning five and earning $38 million as prize money. On the endorsement front he’s been improving too, with deals with Peugot and Seiko this year helping his cause. Djokovic pops in $1 million in exhibition fees as he is a favourite draw among fans for his impersonations of other players.

#18 Matthew Stafford, $33 million

The Detroit Lions quarterback signed a 3-year contract extension of $53 million that includes $27.5 million as signing bonus. Stafford holds the all-time NFL record for most passing yards and completions over the first 50 starts of a career as a quarterback. He endorses Nike, PepsiCo and Blue Cross.

#19 Lewis Hamilton, $32 million

Hamilton moved to the Mercedes Formula 1 team from his boyhood team Mclaren in 2013, in part to open up potential sponsorship opportunities. The Brit, who is one of the most marketable drivers in the circuit, had a tight leash around his neck as Mclaren controls the sponsorship inventory around its drivers. Mercedes provided more freedom to his cause and if he happens to win his second World championship this year, the sponsorship floodgates might just open up. Hamilton currently endorses IWC and Bombardier.

#20 Kevin Durant, $31.9 million

Kevin Durant, who has won the NBA scoring championship four times, won his first MVP trophy this year after leading Oklahoma City Thunder to the second best record in NBA. Durant has two years left on his 5-year contract of $85 million he signed with the Thunder in 2010. The bulk of his off-court income comes from Nike’s 7-year deal worth $14 million annually. Others sponsors include Sprint, Skull Candy, BBVA and Panini.

#21 The rest of the athletes who made it to the Top 50

21. Fernando Alonso, $31 million
22. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, $30 million
23. Dwyane Wade, $29.9 million
24. Carmelo Anthony, $29.4 million
25. Wladimir Klitschko, $28 million
26. Peyton Manning, $27.1 million
27. Amar’e Stoudemire, $26.7 million
28. Dale Earnhardt Jr., $25.9 million
29. Dwight Howard, $25.5 million
30. Cliff Lee, $25.3 million
31. Joe Mauer, $24.8 million
32. Miguel Cabrera, $24.6 million
33. Zack Greinke, $24.5 million
34. Maria Sharapova, 24.4 million
35. Derek Jeter, $24.3 million
36. Rory Mcllroy, $24.3 million
37. Chris Paul, $24.2 million
38. CC Sabathia, $24.2 million
39. Prince Fielder, $23.9 million
40. Darrelle Revis, $23.8 million
41. Li Na, $23.6 million
42. Jimmie Johnson, $23.5 million
43. Wayne Rooney, $23.4 million
44. Sergio Aguero, $23.3 million
45. Usain Bolt, $23.2 million
46. Dirk Nowitzki, $23.2 million
47. Blake Griffin, $23 million
48. Alex Rodriguez, $22.9 million
49. Johan Santana, $22.9 million
50. Mark Teixeira, $22.7 million