Wade and LeBron Among Top 10 Highest-Earning Athletes
Five of the top 40 have ties to Miami, but none have bought us dinner. Hmmph!
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HOLLYWOOD - JULY 12: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat poses together during a break at the 2006 ESPY Awards at the Kodak Theatre on July 12, 2006 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
We learned last year that 60% of NFL ballers are bankrupt within five years of leaving the game, and 78% of NBA players are bankrupt or in financial stress within two years of retiring.
But that doesn't mean a good number of them -- and a couple of ours -- don't get one giant leg made of money up in the game.
Sports Illustrated just released a list of the top 50 highest-earning (active) athletes, and, well, let's just say we're never buying Dwyane Wade and LeBron James a drink if we see 'em on the town. (Throw our single selves at their feet? That's a different story.)
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson rock the top two spots on the list before man-boobs make way for actual athleticism in the form of boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Our newly-acquired King, who banked $90 million from Nike before he even signed his first NBA contract, is fourth on the list, followed shortly by Wade at no. 10.
SI lists both Heat players' salaries at $15,779,912, but it's the most hated man in American sports with more endorsement dollars that anyone else in the NBA: LeBron rakes in a whopping $30 million dollars off the court.
Wade's bonus $12 million from Jordan, T-Mobile, and others isn't too shabby either. But it will be very, very interesting to take a look at those same numbers next year; LeBron's current tally includes a deal to launch a line of children's furniture in the one state that can no longer stand the sight of his face.
Here's guessing that's not gonna get renewed.
Interestingly, more than a few other players with Miami ties rank. Alex Rodriguez is an obvious 5-spot, Shaquille O'Neal makes no surprises besting Wade and Kobe himself at no. 6, and former Hurricane-turned-Patriot Vince Wilfork ate the 38th place on the list and burped up even more money.
But in the Heat-fans-cringe-in-unison department, newly-inked Celtic Jermaine O'Neal comes in at no. 22 thanks to having earned the second-highest salary in the NBA from the Heat last year.
How much did Pat Riley overpay the lesser O'Neal? His paltry $250,000 in endorsements would make it the most hysterical farce, but we still have lingering memories from last season.
Posted Wednesday, Jul 21, 2010 - 1:59 PM EST
