Richest sportspersons of the year

19 June, 2012

Floyd Joy Mayweather is the highest paid sportsperson of the year. Manny Pacquiao is second and Tiger woods is third on the list that has been released by the website of Forbes. Other sportspersons such as Beckham, Federer, Kobe Bryant are also included in the list.

PRETTY BOY Money is Floyd Joy Mayweather's nick name. The boxer has stood true to his nickname. The portal of Forbes magazine has named Floyd Joy Mayweather as the highest paid-athlete over the last year. He earned a staggering amount of USD 85 million. Tiger Woods has always been one of the top earning sportsperson in the sporting arena, but it is not the same as per the website. This time around, Woods stood third in the list with $59.4 million and another boxer, Manny Pacquiao stood second with an earning of USD 62 million. All the figures given are for their earnings between June 2011- June 2012.

His method of earning is very different from sportspersons all over the world. Most of them would be banking on endorsement. But, not Mayweather. In case of endorsements, Tiger Woods always has been on the top of the list. In fact, Tiger Wood's earnings from his salary or winnings is only USD 4.4 million and USD 55 million are from endorsements, reported the website therichest.org. He may have earned more from endorsement than from his sport.

Mayweather, on the other hand, seems to be a clever businessmen. He has his company, Mayweather Promotions, which plays an important role in collecting various revenues from tickets, sponsorship, etc. No wonder, he has been making fortunes.

Two of the top NBAstars, Lebron James and Kobe Bryant also find their names in the list where they are ranked fourth and sixth respectively. James has an earning of USD 53 million and Kobe USD 52.3 million. Basketball is considered to be one of the richest sports that is played across the globe, especially the NBA players are paid very handsomely. Roger Federer is the only Lawn Tennis player in the top ten list of the richest sportspersons with an earning of USD 52.7 million. His immediate rival, Nadal lies on the 16^th place with 33.2 USD.

Football is also considered to be a rich sport where players are paid very well. David Beckham may well be past his prime, but his earnings still make him the richest soccer player. He had an earning of USD 46 million with most of his money coming from endorsements. He is no. 8 on the list. He is closely followed by another top footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, who made an earning of USD 42.5 million.

All the mentioned players above here have proved themselves in their respective sport. Hence, they have made huge earnings, not only from their prize winnings but also endorsements. Top companies such as Nike, Reebok, etc., like to associate with such well known sportspersons.