Top 50 Earning Athletes in the United States

Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated has compiled a list of the top 50-earning athletes in the United States. Not surprisingly, Tiger Woods leads the way, although the size of his most recent annual earnings may startle you: $97.6 million, or twice as much as what the #2 person on the list, Phil Mickelson, earned in the last year ($46.0 million). These figures include winnings, salaries, endorsements, and appearance fees. In his career, Woods has earned over a half-billion dollars; he could earn well over a billion dollars by the time he retires from golf.

Here are the top earning players from each league/sport, and their most recent annual earnings figure (salary, endorsements, and appearance fees):

• PGA: Tiger Woods, $97.6 million
  

• NBA: Shaquille O'Neal, $34.0 million

• NFL: Carson Palmer, $31.6 million

• MLB: Derek Jeter, $28.0 million

• NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., $25.8 million

• Tennis: Andre Aggasi, $24.6 million
  

• NHL: no NHL player is on the list

Does David Dunn, Carson Palmer's agent, deserve an award or what? No offense to Palmer, an excellent quarterback for the Bengals, but does he really deserve to be the highest-earning NFL player? What about Tom Brady or, I suppose, Payton Manning? But Dunn negotiated a 9-year, $119-million extension for his client, and that deal included $24 million in up-front bonus money.

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