Tiger Woods is once again the world's highest-paid athlete, according to Forbes. The 37-year-old golfer topped the list by earning $78.1 million last year. Tennis star Roger Federer and NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant finished second and third, while last year's top earner, Floyd Mayweather Jr., fell to 14th on Forbes' list.
Woods, who had topped the Forbes list from 2001 until 2012, returned to No. 1. His $78.1 million included $13.1 million from prize money, as well as earnings from endorsements, appearance fees and golf course design work. Forbes calculated that Woods makes more than $20 million annually from Nike, which is expected to complete a new deal with him soon.
Federer ranked second with earnings of $71.5 million, largely due to his endorsements. His lucrative deals with 10 sponsors ̶ including Nike, Rolex and Wilson ̶ paid him more than $40 million.
Bryant followed with $61.9 million, thanks partly to his $27.8 million NBA salary ̶ the highest in the league. Endorsement deals from companies such as Nike, Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz padded his earnings.
Fellow NBA star LeBron James trailed Bryant with $59.8 million. While Bryant made more in salary, James was the NBA's highest-earner in endorsement deals. He led all NBA players over the last 12 months with deals totaling $42 million. Some of James' biggest endorsements came from Nike, McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Samsung Electronics.
Mayweather, who won the top honors for 2012, was this year's No. 14. Forbes listed the boxer's earning at $34 million. Contrary to the recent Sports Illustrated Fortunate 50 list, which named Mayweather its highest-earning American athlete at $90 million, only Mayweather's fight against Robert Guerrero in May qualified during Forbes' 12 month time period.
For the complete list of Forbes' highest-paid athletes, visit here.
