- Adjusted for inflation, Jordan’s historical earnings are a staggering $3.75 billion.
- To be in the top 50, career earnings must exceed $300 million
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Michael Jordan is the highest-paid athlete of all time, earning more than $1 billion more in inflation-adjusted terms during his career than any other athlete.
Although Jordan only received a $94 million NBA contract during his time with the Bulls and Wizards, Jordan made a lot of money through off-court endorsements and brand deals.
Jordan is one of nine athletes in history to earn more than $1 billion non-inflationally, and the basketball legend also tops the list with non-inflation earnings of $2.7 billion.
Sportico reports data on each athlete, and Jordan benefited in large part from being retired from the sport for more than 20 years and watching his investments grow.
Last year alone, Nike’s Jordan Brand achieved revenue of $6.6 billion. Nike’s total assets are $51 billion. Jordan has had a royalty-based partnership with Nike since first joining the Bulls in 1984.
Sportico provides the earnings of the top 50 athletes, as well as earnings adjusted for inflation at the time. The earliest athlete on the list was Gary Player in 1953, narrowly beating out Arnold Palmer in 1954.
Palmer is one of the top earners, ranking fourth with a total of $1.76 billion adjusted for inflation. Without exaggerating the numbers, his earnings were only $885 million.
Between Jordan and Palmer are Tiger Woods and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Woods being the only athlete to break the all-time $2 billion mark with $2.66B adjusted for inflation.
Ronaldo’s big-money move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr helped the Portugal international rank third with inflation-adjusted earnings of $1.92B.
There are only four active athletes in the top ten, with LeBron James ranking fifth with earnings of $1.7 billion. Not adjusting for inflation, his total assets are $1.36 billion.
Lionel Messi and Jack Nicklaus are tied for sixth in inflation-adjusted earnings, although the Inter Miami star earns far more than in Golden Bear history Earnings that do not take inflation into account.
Messi’s historical income is US$1.36 billion, while Nicklaus’s historical income is US$890 million.
Messi’s Inter Miami coach David Beckham, who spent time at Real Madrid and Manchester United, is worth $1.13 billion before inflation, ranking eighth.
Rounding out the top 10 are Roger Federer and Floyd Mayweather, who both netted $1 billion on an adjusted basis.
When adjustments for inflation kick in, the top 16 players all earn more than $1 billion, with Neymar ranking 16th at $1.01 billion.
Only one woman cracks the top 50, with Serena Williams tied at No. 40 with former boxer Evander Holyfield, both with adjusted combined earnings of $630 million.
The most iconic sport in the top 50 is basketball, with more than a dozen athletes earning a combined $13 billion (adjusted for inflation).
The three sports of golf, boxing, and racing, which combine NASCAR and Formula 1 athletes, each have more than five members in the top 50.
Only two athletes on the list retired before 2000, George Foreman and Magic Johnson, with George Foreman probably ranked No. 26 for his entrepreneurial career , and Magic Johnson is tied for 34th.
Conor McGregor is the only MMA fighter on the list to barely make it to No. 50 on the list, with a total earnings of $555 million after adjusting for inflation.
McGregor is also the only athlete on the list who only represents his sport.
Although football is the most popular sport in the United States, the top earner on the gridiron is Tom Brady, ranking 23rd overall.