The 20 highest-earning International athletes |
All hail King Roger. The average earnings of the top 20 non-American sportsmen have broken the $30 million barrier for the first time, led by a new No. 1. With the all-time record for majors and unprecedented millions in winnings, endorsement dollars and lucrative exhibition fees, Roger Federer has dethroned David Beckham as the top-earning foreign athlete with a near $62 million haul.
Beckham, in fact, has fallen to No. 3. The Los Angeles Galaxy star is now also behind Argentine demigod and reigning FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, who has ridden a mythic year to the No. 2 spot.
In all, this year's list features seven soccer players, five motor-sports racers, three tennis players, two NBA stars, two baseball players and one boxer. As always, our list includes salary, bonuses, endorsement income and appearance fees. For the Fortunate 50 list of the top-earning American athletes, click here.
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1
Roger Federer
Tennis
Switzerland
Last Year's Rank: 9$61,768,110 -
2
Lionel Messi
FC Barcelona (soccer)
Argentina
Last Year's Rank: 4$44,000,000 -
3
David Beckham
Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
Great Britain
Last Year's Rank: 1$40,500,000 -
4
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid (soccer)
Portugal
Last Year's Rank: 12$40,000,000 -
5
Manny Pacquiao
Boxing
Philippines
Last Year's Rank: 3$38,000,000 -
6
Ichiro Suzuki
Seattle Mariners (MLB)
Japan
Last Year's Rank: 15$37,000,000 -
7
Valentino Rossi
Motor Sports
Italy
Last Year's Rank: 5 (tie)$35,000,000 -
8
Yao Ming
Houston Rockets (NBA)
China
Last Year's Rank: 7$34,378,325 -
9
Rafael Nadal
Tennis
Spain
Last Year's Rank: NR$27,466,515 -
10
Lewis Hamilton
Auto Racing
Great Britain
Last Year's Rank: 8$26,700,000 -
11
Kaká
Real Madrid (soccer)
Brazil
Last Year's Rank: 18 (tie)$25,100,000 -
12
Thierry Henry
New York Red Bulls (MLS)
France
Last Year's Rank: 14$24,000,000 -
13
Dirk Nowitzki
Dallas Mavericks (NBA)
Germany
Last Year's Rank: 16$23,795,714 -
14
Kimi Räikkönen
Auto Racing
Finland
Last Year's Rank: 2$23,600,000 -
15
Jenson Button
Auto Racing
Great Britain
Last Year's Rank: 18 (tie)$23,100,000 -
16
Ronaldinho
AC Milan (soccer)
Brazil
Last Year's Rank: 11$23,000,000 -
17
Fernando Alonso
Auto Racing
Spain
Last Year's Rank: 5 (tie)$22,600,000 -
18
Carlos Tévez
Manchester City (soccer)
Argentina
Last Year's Rank: NR$20,500,000 -
19
Miguel Cabrera
Detroit Tigers (MLB)
Venezuela
Last Year's Rank: 18 (tie)$20,250,000 -
20
Maria Sharapova
Tennis
Russia
Last Year's Rank: 17$19,923,619
Sources: Salaries, winnings and bonus figures from players' associations, tour records, agents and news reports. Endorsement estimates from Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, other sports-marketing executives and analysts, and agents. Salaries based on current or most recently completed seasons (exception: 2010 for NFL). For winnings-based sports (golf, auto racing, tennis), 2009 calendar year amounts used. Boxing purses are from July '09 to June 2010.