World number one golfer the king of the sporting world, on and off the course.
If you pass Tiger Woods on the street any time soon and you’re short of a dollar or two, ask the golfing great if he could spare a couple.
After all he probably won’t miss a few hundreds given he earned $156.2 million last year through pay, salary/winnings and endorsement deals away from the golf course.
Close behind on the annual Forbes top 100 richest athletes list in the number two slot is tennis great Roger Federer who pulled in a respectable $143 million in the last year.
NBA superstars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James reside in third and fourth respectively with the Lakers guard earning $123.8 million while the Heat leader pulled in $119.6 million.
Rounding out the top five is the first of the NFL stars on the list, with New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees pipping Green Bay’s Aaron Rogers, with the former earning $102 million.
The MLB reigns as the millionaire factory with an incredible 26 players inside the top 100, with the NBA close behind on 20 with football close behind on 14 and the NFL in fourth with 12.
Only three boxers make the cut with Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Wladimir Klitschko punching above their weight when it comes to earnings.
Even rarer on the list are female athletes, with tennis star Maria Sharapova the highest placed female in 22nd with the only others getting run also coming from the tennis world, in the form of Serena Williams and Li Na.
Flying the flag solo are the only track and field athlete and motorcycle whiz on the list, and unsurprisingly, Usain Bolt and Valentino Rossi lead the way for their chosen fields.
Click here to see the full list and the complete breakdown of what they earned and how they did it.
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