The Wealthiest Athletes of All Time

We’ve all got our own set of heroes when it comes to professional sport. If you’re a basketball fan, you might love LeBron James. If you’re into golf, you may have idolized Tiger Woods at some stage, and if you like tennis, it could be Roger Federer. But regardless of who our own personal superstars may be, there is one fact that justifies certain athletes as being some of the greatest in their sports - the numbers.

Athletes these days make so much money at the top of their game that most of us can’t even fathom just how much. It isn’t just their on-court/on-field performances either, it’s the endorsement deals, key sponsorships, and other revenue streams that allow them to pull in so much cash.

So, just who are these legends who have raked in so much money over the course of their careers? Read on to find out.

Michael Jordan

Compared to the other guys on this list, Michael Jordan has a net worth that is a cool 1 billion-plus higher than any other athlete on the planet. At the time of writing, Jordan’s net worth is an estimated $1.9 billion, but of course, this didn’t all come from basketball earnings. While Jordan was obviously an amazing basketball player, it was his off-court business skills that have allowed him to amass such enormous wealth.

Joran still holds enormous endorsement deals with Gatorade and Nike, and he is also the owner of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team. As some of you may know, he also starred in the hit film, Space Jam, which continues to pull in revenue for Michael Jordan to this day.

Finally, as a fun fact on this guy, he apparently adores sports betting! But hey - when you’ve got almost 2 billion to your name, you can probably afford to do so in a big way.

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods was probably everyone’s favorite golfer before his life started to unravel a few years back. Since then, however, he has turned things around and even won another Masters event to add to his trophy cabinet. According to several sources, Woods rakes in around $50 million per year in prize money, but like the other athletes on this list, his net worth comes mainly from his sponsorship deals.

Despite his various scandals back in 2009, Woods has managed to retain some incredibly lucrative deals with American Express, Gatorade, and Nike. Maybe he was listening to some advice from Michael Jordan when putting these sponsorship deals together? Either way, it is estimated that Woods is worth around $800 million right now, which makes him the richest golfer in the world.

Given that he continues to play golf, this could grow even larger too.

Michael Schumacher

The name Schumacher has almost become synonymous with Formula One success over the years. He is without question one of the most successful drivers ever, winning an amazing 7 world titles during his time behind the wheel. Schumacher was continuing to perform well in Formula One until he suffered a horrible skiing accident in 2013. This accident effectively ended Schumacher’s career, and even today, he is nowhere near being fully recovered.

It’s a sad tale of a man who has been simply phenomenal in his sport. It’s not all doom and gloom for Michael Schumacher, however, for he has still amassed a net worth of $800 million during his time, putting him on a par with Tiger Woods.

Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson may be famous for his illness and his battle with HIV to those who don’t really follow basketball, but for those that do, he’s a legend of the game. In his day he played for the LA Lakers, winning 5 NBA Championships during his time there. His illness is actually what forced him to retire from the game in 1996, and beyond this date, pretty much everything Johnson has touched has turned into gold.

His net worth now stands at $600 million, and through his company, Magic Johnson Enterprises, he has managed to obtain deals with the likes of Starbucks and Sony Pictures. On top of this, he plowed $2 billion into his purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2012.