Not every professional athlete is rich. In fact, the median pay for athletes and sports competitors in 2021 was $77,300, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But some athletes are making bank. In fact, the highest paid athletes of all time can count their earnings in the billions.
Sports business publication Sportico recently pulled together a list of the 50 highest paid athletes. (If you are looking for a woman, you won’t find her here. The only female to make the top 50 was tennis legend Serena Williams, who landed in the No. 38 spot with inflation-adjusted earnings of $600 million.)
Following are the top Americans to make the cut among the highest paid athletes of all time.
10. Mike Tyson
This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $875 million (adjusted for inflation)
The year this athlete retired: 2005
“Iron Mike” Tyson had a heavyweight boxing career that spanned 20 years. During that time, he won 50 bouts and landed 44 knockouts. He only lost six times.
However, Tyson may be as infamous for his behavior outside the ring as for his wins in it. His legal history is checkered with crimes, and despite having earned so much, Tyson filed for bankruptcy in 2003.
9. Shaquille O’Neal
This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.05 billion (adjusted for inflation)
The year this athlete retired: 2011
Shaquille O’Neal – known to many simply as Shaq – is a big guy, has a big personality and has made big money. The basketball star was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 1992, and he earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1993.
Today, Shaq is off the court but still in the game, so to speak, as a commentator on the show “Inside the NBA.” He has also racked up an impressive number of endorsement deals and dabbles in multiple business ventures.
8. Kobe Bryant
This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.05 billion (adjusted for inflation)
The year this athlete retired: 2016
When he was drafted in 1996, Kobe Bryant was one of the youngest players in the NBA. As a guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team won five championships during his career, and he played alongside Shaquille O’Neal for three of them in a row.
This basketball great would likely have risen in the ranks on this list if his life wasn’t tragically cut short by a helicopter crash in 2020.
7. Phil Mickelson
This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.36 billion (adjusted for inflation)
The year this athlete retired: N/A
Golf legend Phil Mickelson has 57 career wins and has been inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame, but he isn’t retiring yet. The 52-year-old has stirred up some controversy, though, with his decision to play in a LIV Golf Invitational series which is backed by Saudi Arabia.
6. Floyd Mayweather
This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.41 billion (adjusted for inflation)
The year this athlete retired: 2017
Considered by some to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was undefeated in his career. On his way to 50 wins, he had 27 knockouts.
Mayweather’s decision to promote his own fights helped boost his financial bottom line. He walked away from a 2015 match against Manny Pacquiao with $200 million from pay-per-view sales, the largest payday ever for a boxer. Then, he surpassed that record by earning 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 year this athlete retired: N/A
King James, as LeBron James is sometimes called, has been playing professional basketball for 20 seasons. He is the all-time scoring leader, putting up more than 38,000 points in his career so far.
Drafted as the No. 1 pick for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, James now plays for the L.A. Lakers. In the off-season, he spends his time on other endeavors – like starring in the not-critically acclaimed movie “Space Jam: A New Legacy.”
4. Jack Nicklaus
This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.63 billion (adjusted for inflation)
The year this athlete retired: 2005
With a career that spanned nearly 45 years, Jack Nicklaus is perhaps the greatest professional golfer of all time. Known as the Golden Bear, he launched his professional career in 1962 by beating fellow golf great Arnold Palmer in the U.S. Open.
He went on to win multiple times in the U.S. Open, Masters, PGA Championship and British Open. Nicklaus was a five-time PGA Player of the Year and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Today, the 83-year-old lives in Florida and is still involved in the sport.
3. Arnold Palmer
This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $1.7 billion (adjusted for inflation)
The year this athlete retired: 2006
Arnold Palmer may have lost the 1962 U.S. Open to Jack Nicklaus, but he bests his competitor when it comes to lifetime earnings. Palmer turned pro in 1954 and racked up 62 PGA Tour wins over the course of more than 50 years.
Palmer passed away in 2016 at the age of 87, but his legend lives on in the tournament and golf courses that bear his name as well as the half lemonade, half iced tea drink that he made famous.
2. Tiger Woods
This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $2.5 billion (adjusted for inflation)
The year this athlete retired: N/A
We continue the streak of golf players with Tiger Woods. As the second most highly paid American athlete of all time, Woods has lifetime earnings that exceed $2 billion, when adjusted for inflation, and he’s still playing.
A pro player since 1996, Woods has 82 career wins and that’s despite a series of injuries. His career also experienced a setback after a 2009 auto accident, allegations of extramarital affairs and a brief stint in a behavioral rehab center.
1. Michael Jordan
This athlete’s lifetime earnings: $3.3 billion (adjusted for inflation)
The year this athlete retired: 2003
If you’ve ever owned a pair of Air Jordan shoes, you’ve helped their namesake become a billionaire. Michael Jordan — a basketball legend — has amassed $3.3 billion in earnings over his lifetime.
As a superstar player for the Chicago Bulls, he led the team to six NBA championships and was MVP five times. He cashed in on his amazing abilities with numerous endorsement deals, and, before there was LeBron James, there was Jordan in the original “Space Jam” movie. Today, he owns the Charlotte Hornets, although there are reports he is looking to sell.
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