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Thursday, September 7, 2017
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FROM the leading authority in everything and anything about financial matters, Forbes a few months ago released the world’s top 100 highest paid athletes, combining for a total earning of $3.11 billion from the period covering June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017.
Including salaries, bonuses and prize money, athletes’ incomes also include endorsements, appearance fees and licensing earnings, which account for 29 percent of the total amounts earned. All figures indicated are exclusive of agent fees and taxes.
International athletes from 21 countries are on the list but Americans dominate the cast with 63. Since the listing was expanded to 100 athletes in 2012, less than five female athletes had joined this elite club and to date has become an almost exclusive boys’ club, with Serena Williams the only female on board at No. 51 with $27 million earned for the year. Regular top women’s earner Maria Sharapova crashed out when her endorsements went down after her drug-related suspension from active tennis.
Thirty-two players are from the NBA, 29 of them making at least $20 million annually. Six of them are on the top 15, joining Cristiano Ronaldo (1), Lionel Messi (3), Roger Federer (4), F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, golfers Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, Drew Brees and Andrew Luck from the NFL.
The NBA upped its salary cap to 34 percent, largely due to the new $24-billion television deal, thus sending this record number of players to the Forbes list in comparison to last year’s 18. The biggest stars from at least 10 major professional sports are offered millions to promote products worldwide, ranging from telecommunications and fast-food chains to cars and insurance companies, from underwear to beverages. Here are the NBA’s top six earners.
- 15 DAMIAN LILLARD($38.4 MILLION) – The Portland Trailblazers may not be an interesting team to many but they sure have a strong interest in Lillard when the franchise inked him an almost $140-million deal for five years. He earned $24.4 million this year and an additional $14 million in endorsements from Adidas, McDonald’s, Coach, and Spalding, among others.
- 13 RUSSELL WESTBROOK ($38.6 MILLION) –The league’s triple-double king went berserk on the court after the departure of Kevin Durant and became only the second player after Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double in a regular season. His take home pay was $26.6 million and collects the bulk of the $12-million endorsement from Nike’s Jordan Brand. He also endorses True Religion Apparels.
- 9 JAMES HARDEN ($46.6 MILLION) –The Beard has lifted off in Houston, not only career-wise but also financially. He earned the same amount as Westbrook but his endorsements with Adidas, Foot Locker, Body Armor, Beats by Dre, and NBA 2k earned him an additional $20 million.
- 8 STEPHEN CURRY ($47.3 MILLION) –Considering that he’s one of the league’s marquee players, Curry was severely underpaid last season with “only” $12.3 million in salaries and bonuses. Under Armour’s saving grace received an additional $35 million from several other sponsors aside from the sports apparel company. He just signed a max deal worth in excess of $200 million and Curry could probably crack the top five by next year.
- 5 KEVIN DURANT ($60.6 MILLION) –Despite the mixed reactions when he dumped OKC and brought his talents to the Bay Area, KD earned the most important thing in a pro player’s career – a league title. For the year, he earned $26.6 million for his talent and an additional $34 million from his sponsors. He signed for a lesser amount, a two-year contract extension worth $54 million, which ensures GSW’s core to be intact for at least a couple of years. The option on his second year allows KD to earn somewhere in the vicinity of $30 million.
- 2 LEBRON JAMES ($86.2 MILLION) –The league’s highest paid player also earns big outside the basketball court. Sponsors like Nike, Coca-Cola, Samsung, and Kia Motors pay him big bucks, and that’s where a huge chunk of the $55 million generated from endorsements comes from. He sells more shoes than any other active NBA player that Nike gifted him in 2015 with a lifetime deal worth more than $1 billion.
Lillard, Westbrook and Harden will be prominent players come playoff time but Curry and KD will still rule the league. LeBron saw a team overhaul and Cleveland had become defensively stronger. No matter. I’m no GSW fan but the NBA still and will be owned by the Warriors for a few more years. And these guys will just keep on raking in the millions, on and off the court. Not even in our wildest dreams can we experience the sweet smell of opulence./PN
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