World's Highest Paid Athletes

Professional sports persons are blessed methinks. Not only do they get to do what they love, and by default stay fit and healthy - they get paid for it! No 9 to 5 jobs for these, thank you very much. Lucky enough to have a skill they can market, fame is the name of the game , and with it, obscene amounts of cash too. With football clubs paying millions and brands knocking down doors with bigger and better endorsement deals, let's just say, they aren't really going to want for the green stuff - not for a couple of generations anyway! So which are the world's highest paid athletes? Let's find out.

World's Highest Paid Athletes List

Tiger Woods
Scandals in his personal life notwithstanding, Tiger Woods still remains the highest paid athlete in the world. Eight months out of the game following a knee surgery, and a mud slinging match with oodles of sleaze oozing out of the woodwork may have tarnished his picture perfect image, but have made merely a dent in his earnings. Dropped by AT&T, Gatorade and Accenture, he still raked up $90 million last year from prize winnings, bonuses, endorsement deals and associated fees. Tiger Woods is the world's highest paid athlete - eight years running!

Roger Federer
The Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer racked up an impressive $61 million, plus a few hundred thousand of loose change. Lucrative endorsement deals, plus an impressive line-up of wins meant 'Fedex' made it all the way to number two.

Phil Mickelson
Being World No. 2 isn't such a bad deal after all - and hey, if you're thinking about picking up a sport, you could do worse than to pick up golf. Tiger Woods may be his nemesis, but while he's at it, at least Phil Mickelson won't have to worry about making payments. The year wasn't too bad - $61,660,757 from bonuses, endorsement and of course, wins.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.
I suppose, it pays to have a good incentive when you're packing the punches? One way or another, 'Pretty Boy' Floyd Mayweather, Jr picked up an impressive $60,250,000 the year gone by - this boxing champ made it to the number four spot in the list of the world's highest paid athletes - not too shabby is it?

LeBron James
The NBA star raked up $45,779,912 - making him the fifth highest paid athlete in the world. King James drew criticism and a load of flak for his shift to Miami Heat, but Nike and State Farm, among others, don't seem to think that needs a salary cut - not for LeBron James it doesn't.

These were the world's highest paid athletes 2010, though they're just the tip of the iceberg in terms of sports fees worldwide. Some others, who missed out the top 5 spot by a few thousand and then some, are listed below:

Michael Jordan
He may have stopped playing pro, but the Jordan brand equals big money. Michael Jordan raked in $45 million in earnings, not too bad for a retirement plan, what say?

Kobe Bryant
LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant pulled in a cool $45 million in the year 2010.

Kimi Raikonan
The Finnish Formula One ace, Kimi Raikkonen earned approximately $45 million.

David Beckham
The British footballer slipped slightly in his rankings, down to $42 million this year, but when you have an expensive lifestyle to support, you've got to think about where the money's coming from, right? Easy-on-the-eyes David Beckham shifted his allegiance to Los Angeles Galaxy in '07, but that salary's just a trickle in the ocean that is Beck's endorsement deals and other sources of income.

Among female athletes, tennis players occupy the top spots - Russian Maria Sharapova is the reigning queen, perhaps not on the courts but certainly off them, with reported earnings of $24.5 million. Current world number one Serena Williams trails behind at $20.2 million, followed by sister Venus, at $15.4 million. The world's highest paid athletes may make you wish you could start your life over and devote it to sports, but in the meantime, go over those figures, and dream of what you'd do with all that cash!