Billionaire Athletes: Tiger Woods & Other Elite Sports Stars Who’ve Earned A Billion Dollars
Matthew Underwood
There are only a handful of MVP athletes who can boast about being billionaires. Learn more about Tiger Wood and other 10-figure sports stars here.
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Athletes Who Are Billionaires: Tiger Woods & More
TANNEN MAURY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstoc While some sports stars are only about racking up Ws, the most elite athletes also know how to rake in the cash too. There is only a short list of athletes who can call themselves billionaires and they are proud of it.
Tiger Woods is the most recent All-Star to get there, after being named as a ‘Forbes’ bona fide billionaire in June 2022. Tiger’s contest cash is only a fraction of his wealth, making up less than 10% of his $1.72billion career haul. Most of Tiger’s money is from his massive endorsement deals, which reportedly rake in over $100 million off the course per year. It’s no surprise he’s made it to 10-figure status. Tiger has topped ‘Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes for a decade straight.
Here, you can see Tiger in full swing during the second round of the 2022 PGA Championship golf tournament at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 20, 2022. It was his first on-the-green appearance since a near-fatal car crash.
Want to learn more about the other billionaire athletes who made the cut? Check out our gallery here.
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Michael Jordan
Shutterstock The GOAT! Michael Jordan is worth a reported $1.7billion, per ‘Forbes’. His salary during his career totaled $90 million, but he has earned $1.8 billion (pre-tax) from such corporate partners as Nike, Hanes and Gatorade. He joined sports-betting firm DraftKings as a special advisor to the board and an investor in September 2020 and became a NASCAR team co-owner in late 2020. He also owns the Charlotte Hornets and sold a minority stake in a 2019 deal that valued the NBA team at $1.5 billion.
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Cristiano Ronaldo
Valter Gouveia/NurPhoto/Shutters Cristiano Ronaldo is worth $1.24 billion according to ‘Forbes’. The soccer star has massive endorsement deals with Nike, Herbalife, and Clear shampoo. He’s also an investor in Tatel restaurants and the forthcoming soccer community app ZujuGP. Don’t forget that Manchester United salary either. They cut him a $460k a week check for his footie skills.
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LeBron James
Shutterstock LeBron James‘ pockets are deep. He’s worth $1.16 billion, according to ‘Forbes’. He has plenty of places to pull cash from. The NBA great has a $41.5million contract with the LA Lakers, as well as a lifetime deal with Nike. He sold a significant stake in his production company ‘SpringHill’ for a reported $725 million in 2021, adding to his purse. The business savvy athlete has also started picking up equity stakes in companies he has endorsed, like the at-home fitness company Tonal.
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Lionel Messi
Maurizio Borsari/AFLO/Shuttersto Lionel Messi doesn’t mess around with money, reportedly worth $1.15 billion. The Argentinian dream was the highest-paid athlete in the world between 2021 and 2022. It didn’t even matter when he took a significant pay cut upon moving from Barcelone to Paris Saint-Germain last August. His endorsement deals include a $20 million partnership with fan engagement app Socios, and work with Adidas, Budweiser, PepsiCo, and Hard Rock International.
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Roger Federer
Shutterstock Roger Federer, worth a reported $1.09 billion, is an ace on-and-off the court. He raked in $90m in 2021 as the face of Rolex and Uniqlo. He also has a sizable investment in the shoe brand On.
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Floyd Mayweather Jr.
JLN Photography/Shutterstock Knockout earner Floyd Mayweather Jr. is worth $1.08 billion. He made history in 2018 when he took home a $275 million purse from his prize fight with Conor McGregor. As the man behind his own production company, the savvy sportsman gets a cut of the pay-per-view, gate, sponsorships, merchandise and international TV deals. That adds up when you consider Floyd fought in each of the four most-profitable fights in boxing history.
