Are you scrounging around your car looking for a quarter you think you dropped so you can afford to get crunchy taco from Taco Bell because you can’t afford the $.40 more for a crunchy taco supreme? Well, you should have been a professional athlete. Then you could have afforded ALL OF THE TACOS!!!
Forbes put together a list of the highest paid athletes of all-time and wow, it really pays to play with balls or get punched in the face.
20. Manny Pacquiao – $490 million
19. Oscar De La Hoya – $510 million
18. Jeff Gordon – $515 million
17. Lionel Messi – $520 million
15. Alex Rodriguez – $600 million
15. Roger Federer – $600 million
14. Cristiano Ronaldo – $620 million
13. Lebron James – $640 million
12. Greg Norman – $680 million
11. Mike Tyson – $685 million
10. Shaquille O’Neal – $700 million
9. David Beckham – $730 million
8. Phil Mickelson – $760 million
7. Floyd Mayweather Jr. – $765 million
6. Kobe Bryant – $770 million
5. Michael Schumacher – $1 billion
4. Jack Nicklaus – $1.15 billion
3. Arnold Palmer – $1.35 billion
2. Tiger Woods – $1.65 billion
1. Michael Jordan – $1.7 billion
There were five golfers on the list and all five were in the top 12 earners. Of course this has to do with their longevity. Arnold Palmer was able to be a professional golfer for 52 years, whereas the average career of an NFL quarterback only lasts a little over 3 years. Next on the list was NBA players with four, followed by soccer players and boxers who both had three representatives.
The highest-paid athlete of all-time is Michael Jordan, who made $93 million in salary over 15 seasons. The NBA legend not only got paid on the court, but also became a world icon thanks to his line of sneakers. The GOAT is said to be paid $100 million from Nike per year. That’s not too bad of gig. Do a few commercials and sit back and relax as the money pours in.
So it’s been decided. If you have a son you need to tie a golf club around his hands as soon as he is born.
[Forbes]