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 It’s hard to believe that a sport that sees some long-term contracts in excess of $200 million being behind that curve, but if Forbes annual report on the World’ 100 Highest-Paid Players holds true, that’s the case. While boxers Floyd Mayweather holds the #1 spot with $85 million in earnings from his two fights in the past 12 months and Manny Pacquiao in at #2 with $62 million, no MLB player is in the top 10. In fact, MLB nearly ran the risk of not having a player in the top 20.
It is not till #18 that Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees hits the list with $31 million in player salary and $2 million in endorsements that make his total earnings $33 million that a baseball presence is felt. To put that in perspective, Charles Johnson of the Carolina Panthers ranks #15 with $34.4 million in total earning.
Is MLB truly “lagging behind?” That’s a question in terms of “annual” or “contract life.” Baseball careers are much longer and with it we’re seeing more and more contracts either at or hovering around the 10-year mark. So, baseball may lag in terms of the average annual value of contracts, but not in terms of the total contract amount.
But, there is this to take in: Sam Bradford, the NFL’s number one overall pick in 2010 is ranked #27 ahead of Joe Mauer at #29 who will pull in $23 million in salary and $4 million in endorsements through the likes of Nike, Gatorade, Head & Shoulders and Sony. In other words, Mauer at #29 is MLB’s second highest-paid athlete based on salary and endorsements based on Forbes’ ranking.
This year’s Top 10 Highest-Paid Athletes are:
|
RANK
|
NAME
|
SPORT
|
SALARY/ WINNINGS
($mil)
|
ENDORSEMENTS
($mil)
|
TOTAL EARNINGS
($ mil)
|
|
1
|
Floyd Mayweather
|
Boxing
|
85.0
|
0.0
|
85.0
|
|
2
|
Manny Pacquiao
|
Boxing
|
56.0
|
6.0
|
62.0
|
|
3
|
Tiger Woods
|
Golf
|
4.4
|
55.0
|
59.4
|
|
4
|
LeBron James
|
Basketball
|
13.0
|
40.0
|
53.0
|
|
5
|
Roger Federer
|
Tennis
|
7.7
|
45.0
|
52.7
|
|
6
|
Kobe Bryant
|
Basketball
|
20.3
|
32.0
|
52.3
|
|
7
|
Phil Mickelson
|
Golf
|
4.8
|
43.0
|
47.8
|
|
8
|
David Beckham
|
Soccer
|
9.0
|
37.0
|
46.0
|
|
9
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
|
Soccer
|
20.5
|
22.0
|
42.5
|
|
10
|
Peyton Manning
|
Football
|
32.4
|
10.0
|
42.4
|
Source: Forbes
 Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He writes for Baseball Prospectus and is a contributor to Forbes. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).
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