The 10 Highest-Paid American Athletes of All Time

Not each skilled athlete is wealthy. Actually, the median pay for athletes and sports activities rivals in 2021 was $77,300, in line with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

However some athletes are making financial institution. Actually, the very best paid athletes of all time can depend their earnings within the billions.

Sports activities enterprise publication Sportico not too long ago pulled collectively a listing of the 50 highest paid athletes. (If you’re on the lookout for a girl, you gained’t discover her right here. The one feminine to make the highest 50 was tennis legend Serena Williams, who landed within the No. 38 spot with inflation-adjusted earnings of $600 million.)

Following are the highest Individuals to make the reduce among the many highest paid athletes of all time.

10. Mike Tyson

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $875 million (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: 2005

“Iron Mike” Tyson had a heavyweight boxing profession that spanned 20 years. Throughout that point, he gained 50 bouts and landed 44 knockouts. He solely misplaced six occasions.

Nonetheless, Tyson could also be as notorious for his habits outdoors the ring as for his wins in it. His authorized historical past is checkered with crimes, and regardless of having earned a lot, Tyson filed for chapter in 2003.

9. Shaquille O’Neal

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.05 billion (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: 2011

Shaquille O’Neal – identified to many merely as Shaq – is an enormous man, has an enormous persona and has made large cash. The basketball star was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 1992, and he earned Rookie of the 12 months honors in 1993.

In the present day, Shaq is off the courtroom however nonetheless within the sport, so to talk, as a commentator on the present “Contained in the NBA.” He has additionally racked up a formidable variety of endorsement offers and dabbles in a number of enterprise ventures.

8. Kobe Bryant

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.05 billion (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: 2016

When he was drafted in 1996, Kobe Bryant was one of many youngest gamers within the NBA. As a guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, the workforce gained 5 championships throughout his profession, and he performed alongside Shaquille O’Neal for 3 of them in a row.

This basketball nice would possible have risen within the ranks on this checklist if his life wasn’t tragically reduce quick by a helicopter crash in 2020.

7. Phil Mickelson

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.36 billion (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: N/A

Golf legend Phil Mickelson has 57 profession wins and has been inducted within the World Golf Corridor of Fame, however he isn’t retiring but. The 52-year-old has stirred up some controversy, although, together with his resolution to play in a LIV Golf Invitational collection which is backed by Saudi Arabia.

6. Floyd Mayweather

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.41 billion (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: 2017

Thought-about by some to be one of many biggest boxers of all time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was undefeated in his profession. On his strategy to 50 wins, he had 27 knockouts.

Mayweather’s resolution to advertise his personal fights helped enhance his monetary backside line. He walked away from a 2015 match towards Manny Pacquiao with $200 million from pay-per-view gross sales, the most important payday ever for a boxer. Then, he surpassed that file by incomes an estimated $275 million for a 2017 match-up with Conor McGregor.

5. LeBron James

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.53 billion (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: N/A

King James, as LeBron James is typically referred to as, has been taking part in skilled basketball for 20 seasons. He’s the all-time scoring chief, placing up greater than 38,000 factors in his profession up to now.

Drafted because the No. 1 choose for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, James now performs for the L.A. Lakers. Within the low season, he spends his time on different endeavors – like starring within the not-critically acclaimed film “Area Jam: A New Legacy.”

4. Jack Nicklaus

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.63 billion (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: 2005

With a profession that spanned almost 45 years, Jack Nicklaus is maybe the best skilled golfer of all time. Generally known as the Golden Bear, he launched his skilled profession in 1962 by beating fellow golf nice Arnold Palmer within the U.S. Open.

He went on to win a number of occasions within the U.S. Open, Masters, PGA Championship and British Open. Nicklaus was a five-time PGA Participant of the 12 months and was inducted into the World Golf Corridor of Fame in 1974. In the present day, the 83-year-old lives in Florida and continues to be concerned within the sport.

3. Arnold Palmer

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.7 billion (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: 2006

Arnold Palmer could have misplaced the 1962 U.S. Open to Jack Nicklaus, however he bests his competitor with regards to lifetime earnings. Palmer turned professional in 1954 and racked up 62 PGA Tour wins over the course of greater than 50 years.

Palmer handed away in 2016 on the age of 87, however his legend lives on within the match and golf programs that bear his identify in addition to the half lemonade, half iced tea drink that he made well-known.

2. Tiger Woods

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $2.5 billion (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: N/A

We proceed the streak of golf gamers with Tiger Woods. Because the second most extremely paid American athlete of all time, Woods has lifetime earnings that exceed $2 billion, when adjusted for inflation, and he’s nonetheless taking part in.

A professional participant since 1996, Woods has 82 profession wins and that’s regardless of a collection of accidents. His profession additionally skilled a setback after a 2009 auto accident, allegations of extramarital affairs and a short stint in a behavioral rehab middle.

1. Michael Jordan

This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $3.3 billion (adjusted for inflation)

The 12 months this athlete retired: 2003

When you’ve ever owned a pair of Air Jordan sneakers, you’ve helped their namesake change into a billionaire. Michael Jordan — a basketball legend — has amassed $3.3 billion in earnings over his lifetime.

As a famous person participant for the Chicago Bulls, he led the workforce to 6 NBA championships and was MVP 5 occasions. He cashed in on his superb skills with quite a few endorsement offers, and, earlier than there was LeBron James, there was Jordan within the authentic “Area Jam” film. In the present day, he owns the Charlotte Hornets, though there are studies he’s trying to promote.