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You’ve probably heard a number of children respond to the question—what do you want to be when you grow up? And the answers vary, if only slightly. Many children want to be firefighters or doctors—and still more want to be...
You’ve probably heard a number of children respond to the question—what do you want to be when you grow up? And the answers vary, if only slightly. Many children want to be firefighters or doctors—and still more want to be professional athletes. Whether they’re gunning to drive a racecar or dribble down the court, from an early age, kids want to be professional athletes.
As children, we’re probably more into it because of the cool factor—the very idea that a person could play a sport for a career is astounding (and still is). As adults, the paychecks associated with such a career may make the idea even more appealing. Professional athletes make a ton of money, though they don’t always know what to do with it.
So what athletes are the highest paid in the world?
Floyd Mayweather is the top earner, and he’s been making significant money for over a decade. His fights are among the most popular in history, and he earns as much as $32 million for only one fight. He’s widely considered the most popular boxer in the world and he promotes fights, further driving up his paycheck.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a soccer player and he ranks second overall for athletic earners. He’s pulling in $80 million and is often paid for endorsement deals with major companies—think Samsung and Toyota. Combine that with his soccer salary and he’s making almost as many dollars as he has social media fans (83 million on Facebook).
LeBron James unsurprisingly comes in at number three, earning $72.3 million. His endorsement deals include Nike and McDonalds and his shoe and jerseys sales reflect this popularity. He’s also making a ton of money through Beats by Dre, which he outfitted the entire 2008 US Olympic basketball team in.
Next is Lionel Messi, a soccer player who earns $64.7 million. He’s the face of a franchise, and his paycheck certainly shows it. He’s on his seventh contract in 11 years and is the beneficiary of a lot of sponsor dollars. He’s doing his fair share of endorsements too, which include companies like Adidas and Gillette.
And finally, Kobe Bryant comes in fifth with a casual $61.5 million. He, like Jason Hartman, is an investor, though his product of choice is sports drink BodyArmour. He’s got a super high salary and is working with companies like Nike and Turkish Air. Overall, his jersey is the third best selling in the NBA and he’s raking in the cash.
Of course, these represent extremes. Many and most athletes fall somewhere in the middle.
And what is it they’re doing with their money?
As you might have guessed, the money of the rich and famous is passed through a lot of hands. They’ve got someone to invest it, someone responsible for paying the bills, an accountant monitoring everything, and perhaps a secondary accountant for just in case. Oh, and there’s at least one lawyer to make sure everything is on the level. The money of famous athletes is juggled between a lot of people and places, to say the least. That is, if they’re smart, they are enlisting the help of financial professionals. But that isn’t always the case.
