Who were the top ten highest paid athlete of 2009?

Answer 1

Top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world 2009

1. Tiger Woods

Earnings: $100 million, Sport: Golf, Nationality: American, Born: Dec. 30, 1975

As the face of Nike Golf, Woods has helped create a brand with $600 million in annual revenue for Phil Knight's company. No wonder they named a building for Woods on the Nike campus.

2. Oscar De La Hoya

Earnings: $43.0 million, Sport: Boxing, Nationality: American, Born: Feb. 4, 1973

The Golden Boy has been the biggest draw in boxing over his long career. Revenues for his 18 pay-per-view fights totaled $612 million, the most in boxing history.

3. Phil Mickelson

Earnings: $42.2 million, Sport: Golf, Nationality: American, Born: June 16, 1970

Phil the Thrill's income has surged in recent years as sponsors look for an alternative to Tiger in the golf sponsorship game. Callaway, Ford and Bearing Point write Mickelson his biggest checks.

4. Kimi Raikkonen

Earnings: $40 million, Sport: Auto racing, Nationality: Finish, Born: Oct. 17, 1979

Ferrari made Raikkonen the highest-paid driver in motor sports last year when they gave the Finn a 3-year deal. Raikkonen delivered this year when he clinched the Formula One championship earlier this month.

5. Michael Schumacher

Earnings: $36 million, Sport: Auto racing, Nationality: Germany, Born: Jan. 3, 1969

Formula One's greatest driver retired last year after dominating the sport for 15 years and winning seven championships. During his career, Schumacher earned $650 million in salary and endorsements.

6. David Beckham

Earnings: $33 million, Sport: Soccer, Nationality: British, Born: May 2, 1975

Becks invaded America this year greeted by much fanfare, but injuries kept him off the pitch for most of the MLS season. The bulk of Beckham's income is derived from sponsors like Adidas , Motorola and PepsiCo

7. Kobe Bryant

Earnings: $32.9 million, Sport: Basketball, Nationality: American, Born: Aug. 23, 1978

The possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers trading Bryant promises to be one of the biggest stories of the NBA season. Bryant will have a say where he goes, as he possesses the league's only full no-trade clause.

8. Shaquille O'Neal

Earnings: $31.9 million, Sport: Basketball, Nationality: American, Born: March 6, 1972

Injuries caused the Diesel to average career lows in points and rebounds last season. Injured or not, the Miami Heat still owes Shaq $60 million over the next three years.

9. Michael Jordan

Earnings: $31 million, Sport: Basketball, Nationality: American, Born: Feb. 17, 1963

MJ has been out of the NBA as a player for four years now, but his Jordan brand is still a $500 million a year sales business for Nike. Jordan is back in the league as a minority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.

10. Ronaldinho

Earnings: $31 million, Sport: Soccer, Nationality: Brazilian, Born: March 21, 1980

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year has lucrative endorsement contracts with EA Sports, Lenovo and PepsiCo, but Nike is his biggest deal. His current contract with the Barcelona club runs through 2010

In a June 2009 article, Forbes listed Tiger Woods as the world's highest paid athlete. From 2008 to 2009, he made $110 million and is the first athlete ever to earn $1 billion in his 13-year career. It should be noted that most of his money comes from endorsements.

Here is the full list from Forbes, including the amount each athlete made from June 2008 to June 2009. (Some of them are ties.)

Top 20 highest paid athletes, as of 2009

1. Tiger Woods, golf - $110 million

2. Kobe Bryant, basketball - $45 million

2. Michael Jordan, basketball - $45 million

2. Kimi Raikkonen, Formula 1- $45 million

5. David Beckham, soccer/football - $42 million

6. Lebron James, basketball - $40 million

6. Phil Mickelson, golf - $40 million

6. Manny Pacquiao, boxing - $40 million

9. Valentino Rossi, motorcycling - $35 million

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR - $34 million

11. Roger Federer, tennis - $33 million

11. Shaquille O'Neal, basketball - $33 million

13. Oscar de la Hoya, boxing - $32 million

13. Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1 - $32 million

13. Alex Rodriguez, baseball - $32 million

16. Vijay Singh, golf - $31 million

17. Kevin Garnett, basketball - $30 million

17. Jeff Gordon, NASCAR - $30 million

17. Derek Jeter, baseball - $30 million

17. Ronaldinho, soccer/football - $30 million

Answer 2

Surfing skating and Snowboarding