Michael Jordan is the highest paid athlete of all time and Cristiano Ronaldo is the richest footballer in the list of 25 athletes

When it comes to talking about the athletes with the highest earnings in history, many factors must be taken into account. And that is precisely what he has done Sporty at the time of elaborating a curious ranking in which in addition to the different times, which he has tried to equalize by adjusting for inflation, he has handled data that comes from industry experts or historical estimates in the media, such as Forbes. In addition, earnings include salaries, bonuses, sponsorships or licenses, among other issues.

And once the pertinent accounts and adjustments are made, the athlete who has earned the most money in history according to Sporty it is Michael Jordan, which is also a special case. When he came to the NBA in 1984, the league’s highest paid player was Magic Johnson with $ 2,500,000,000 in salary, while he pocketed $ 550,000. They were different times. But if we think about this season, at least 30 players will win $ 30 million.

However, Jordan has shown that the road to monetary glory is far from the courts. Jordan is the highest-paid athlete of all time, with inflation-adjusted career earnings of $ 2,6200,000,000, and only 6% of the total comes from his contracts with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. The estimate includes endorsements even after its retired with Nike, Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck.

Continuing with this sport, Jordan leads a quintet of basketball stars among the 25 highest paid athletes of all time. LeBron James ($1.1700.000.000), Kobe Bryant ($ 930,000,000), Shaquille O’Neal ($ 870,000,000) and Kevin Durant ($ 625,000,000) also made the cut.

Although a trio of golfers occupy the first positions behind the owner of the Charlotte Hornets: Tiger Woods ($2.100.000.000), Arnold Palmer ($ 1,500,000,000) and Jack Nicklaus ($ 1,380,000,000). A not unusual fact when we consider how extensive golfers’ sports careers are.

The first footballer on the list is Cristiano Ronaldo, who ranks fifth with an estimated earnings of $ 1,240,000,000.

Leo Messi occupies the eighth place ($ 1,140,000,000), David Beckham the twelfth ($ 1,050,000,000) and Neymar ($ 615,000,000) closed the poker of aces with the ball at his feet, although he was outside the top 20.

The case of Rafa Nadal

Other names on the list include Floyd Mayweather, Michael Schumacher, Roger Federer, Alex Rodríguez, Manny Pacquiao or Lewis Hamilton.

There are also the legends of the boxeo Mike Tyson ($790.000.000) and Oscar de la Hoya ($ 595,000,000)Although both would be left off the list, along with Dereck Jeter, regardless of inflation and would be replaced by Rafael Nadal, Tom Brady and Conor McGregor.

In summary, the highest paid athletes in history belong to eight sports and their cumulative earnings are $ 25,500,000,000.

Unfortunately, we are talking about an exclusive men’s club, with Serena Williams being the female athlete who comes closest to the head with $ 480,000,000, close to the top 40. There is still a long way to go in terms of equal pay. (D)