Golfers are out here making money!
Sportico released a top 10 list naming the richest athletes of all time, and coming in at the top spot is no surprise at all, with basketball legend Michael Jordan, ranked No. 1, estimated to be worth an extraordinary $3.3 billion.
Coming in second is another legend (though they all are on this list) in Tiger Woods, who is worth $2.5 billion. In third comes the late, great Arnold Palmer, who was worth $1.7 billion. Jack Nicklaus is fourth with a tally of $1.63 billion, and rounding out the top five is Cristiano Ronaldo at $1.58 billion.
Here is the complete top 10 from Sportico:
The Top 10 highest-paid athletes of all time, according to @Sportico.
For context, Michael Jordan’s Nike income alone ($1.8 billion) would put him #3 on the list. pic.twitter.com/QL8l79wbjh
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) March 7, 2023
Man … It must be nice. I can’t imagine having that much money in my bank account.
With Sportico’s list, I’m not really surprised at Michael Jordan being No. 1. I know he makes a ton of money from his sneakers, and has for decades now. And I’m not necessarily surprised at the list being dominated by golf either. But I’m honestly surprised to not see more soccer on the list.
Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were going to be on the list, but with how much money gets spent in the realm of soccer (and it’s a boatload), I was expecting to see more from the game. (RELATED: Los Angeles Clippers Building Flashy New Stadium, Owner Steve Ballmer Goes Ballistic About Bathrooms)
But at the same time, when you’re competing against other billionaire athletes like LeBron James and Floyd Mayweather, it’s not really surprising either.
Very interesting list.