LeBron James, Aaron Rodgers Among Highest-Paid American Athletes According to Forbes
By Daniel Lubofsky
Forbes released its annual list of the highest-paid athletes of 2019 which included a number of familiar faces.
Among the top 10 American athletes, Russell Wilson takes the throne, racking in a combined $89.5 million between his contract with the Seattle Seahawks and endorsements.
Highest-paid athletes 2019 via @Forbes:
— Kurt Badenhausen (@kbadenhausen) June 11, 2019
1. Messi $127M
2. Ronaldo $109M
3. Neymar $105M
4. Canelo $94M
5. Federer $93M
https://t.co/uCcGdmo2yu pic.twitter.com/4kstUGEyvF
LeBron James earned the most of any basketball player, having collected $89 million. Not surprisingly given his world-wide popularity, a whopping $53 million of that came outside of his deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
NFL and NBA players are tied for the numbers of players on this list with four each, with names such as Aaron Rodgers ($89.3 million), Stephen Curry ($79.8 million) and Kevin Durant ($65.4 million) earning an appearance.
Serena Williams is the lone woman ranked among @Forbes highest-paid athletes. She ranks #63 with $29.2 million. No female athlete made the top 100 in 2018. https://t.co/jo17MpfiLo pic.twitter.com/jsp84Cau4W
— Kurt Badenhausen (@kbadenhausen) June 11, 2019
Rodgers comes in as the second highest ranked NFL player, making just $200,000 less than Wilson, while Ben Roethlisberger's $55.5 million ranks third among football stars. Khalil Mack earns $55 million and is the highest earning defensive player in the NFL.
Tiger Woods is the only golfer to appear on the list at No. 6 overall with just under $64 million in annual earnings.
Mike Trout is the first baseball player to appear on the list. His total salary came in at $50.6 million with only $3 million of that figure coming from ventures outside his MLB contract.