The World's Highest-Paid Sportsperson

"As soon as you take money for playing sport, it isn't sport, it's work."
This time we take a look at the incredible large amount of money earned by a sportsperson in a year. A quick search on the internet for highest paid sportsman returns thousands of results. Interestingly highest paid sportsman is still Tiger Woods (Sport: Golf, Nationality: American, Born: Dec. 30, 1975) the man. He is highest earner with an annual income two and a half times larger than his closest competitor, largely due to giant endorsement deals with some of the biggest brands in the world. He is what they shout. He is what they crave. He is what they believe. No matter how much his sleazy behavior has betrayed everything he claimed to be. He may have had an injury that sidelined him for 8 months and a highly publicized sex scandal, but that certainly hasn't stopped him from raking in the dough this past year.
Woods has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any male player (Jack Nicklaus leads with 18), and 71 PGA Tour events, third all time. He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. Additionally, Woods is only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 16 World Golf Championships, and has won at least one of those events each of the 11 years they have been in existence.
According to Forbes, Tiger has earned $110 million during the past 12 months and is the highest paid sportsman for the eighth year in a row. Woods has earned almost $900 million in prize money, endorsements and appearance fees during his 13-year professional golf career. PepsiCo launched Gatorade Tiger last year in March with claims that it "helps focus your mind and your body." Woods receives a cut of sales for the four flavors sold under his name. When General Motors' problems caused Buick to terminate its $8 million a year deal with Woods one year early, the Woods camp moved quickly to sign a deal with AT&T to put the phone company's brand on his golf bag in Buick's place.


Nike is by far Woods' biggest benefactor with an annual payday of more than $30 million for the golfer. Woods profits from the success of the company's golf division, and last year sales for Nike Golf hit a record $725 million. Woods' most lucrative new endeavor is his golf course design business. Last year he announced plans for a third course to be built in Mexico. His other courses in Dubai and North Carolina are currently under construction.