How Much Money Do Professional Athletes Really Make?

Everyone knows that professional athletes make a lot of money. No matter what sport they play or how good they are, they make more than most of us can ever hope to make working a 9-5 job. I sometimes think it is fascinating to look at just how much money professional athletes make because I don't really see what they do to deserve their pay rates. Yes, they provide entertainment for us all, but does that really merit millions of dollars a year in endorsements and contracts? Couldn't that money be put to better use in, oh I don't know, the economy??? (I never use more than one question mark in an article, so you know I'm heated). Let's take a look at just how much money is flying into athletic pockets.

Highest Paid Professional Athletes in America

I figured I would start things off right at home. If you're reading this from another country, you can still feel the general disgust for how much money people are making around here. It's ridiculous, don't you think? I'll let you decide…

1. Tiger Woods - Pro Golf: $127,902,706 career total
2. Phil Mickelson - Pro Golf: $62,372,685 career total
3. LeBron James - Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA): $40,455,000 career total
4. Floyd Mayweather Jr. - Boxing: $40,250,000 career total
5. Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers (NBA): $35,490,625 career total
6. Shaquille O'Neal - Phoenix Suns (NBA): $35,000,000 career total
7. Alex Rodriguez - New York Yankees (MLB): $35,000,000 career total
8. Kevin Garnett - Boston Celtics (NBA): $31,000,00 career total
0
9. Peyton Manning - Indianapolis Colts (NFL): $30,500,000 career total
10. Derek Jeter - New York Yankees (MLB): $30,000,000 career total
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Auto Racing: $27,221,970 career total
12. Allen Iverson - Denver Nuggets (NBA): $27,109,375 career total
13. Kevin Durant - Seattle SuperSonics (NBA): $25,950,000 career total
14. Jeff Gordon - Auto Racing: $25,926,687 career total
15. Ben Roethlisberger - Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL): $25,200,000 career total
16. Dwyane Wade - Miami Heat (NBA): $25,041,250 career total
17. Tracy McGrady - Houston Rockets (NBA): $25,014,187 career total
18. Carmelo Anthony - Denver Nuggets (NBA): $22,541,250 career total
19. Tim Duncan - San Antonio Spurs (NBA): $22,514,187 career total
20. Manny Ramirez - Boston Red Sox (MLB): $22,500,000 career total

I would gladly take 1% of any of the numbers above and live off it for the rest of my life. Pay off my car, buy a house, and go to sleep as long as I want throughout the day. Yep, sounds like a good plan. Are ya with me? Sigh…

Highest Paid Athletes in the World

America isn't the only place in the world that has overpaid athletes. There are plenty of other countries that pay their athletes more than they are probably worth. Let's look at the numbers for proof…

1. David Beckham - Los Angeles Galaxy (Soccer): $48,200,000 career total
2. Kimi Räikkönen - Auto Racing: $46,000,000 career total
3. Ronaldinho - FC Barcelona (Soccer): $37,500,000 career total
4. Lionel Messi - FC Barcelona (Soccer): $35,800,000 career total
5. Roger Federer - Tennis: $35,130,620 career total
6. Fernando Alonso - Auto Racing: $35,000,000 career total
7. Valentino Rossi - Motor Sports: $34,000,000 career total
8. Yao Ming - Houston Rockets (NBA): $31,762,775 career total
9. Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United (Soccer): $30,300,000 career total
10. Ichiro Suzuki - Seattle Mariners (MLB): $27,602,149 career total
11. Lewis Hamilton - Auto Racing: $27,600,000 career total
12. Thierry Henry - FC Barcelona (Soccer): $26,100,000 career total
13. Maria Sharapova - Tennis: $21,758,550 career total
14. John Terry - Chelsea (Soccer): $21,600,000 career total
15. Michael Ballack - Chelsea (Soccer): $21,500,000 career total
16. Ronaldo - AC Milan (Soccer): $20,800,000 career total
17. Johan Santana - New York Mets (MLB): $20,750,000 career total
18. Dirk Nowitzki - Dallas Mavericks (NBA): $20,360,095 career total
19. Kaká - AC Milan (Soccer): $20,100,000 career total
20. Hideki Matsui - New York Yankees (MLB): $19,000,000 career total

As you can see, professional athletes have nothing to worry about financially. Sure there are those that don't make nearly that much money, but most people in professional sports make more than the average FBI agent salary, and they don't even have a college degree. No matter how disgusting this may be though, it is something we all have to deal with. The next time you go to buy a piece of sports memorabilia, think about where all of that money is going. It may make you rethink the purchase in the future.