ESPN just put together a report on the highest-earning players in tons of different sports. We all know MLB, NBA, and NFL players do well . . . but who knew there were BADMINTON and RACQUETBALL players making bank? Here are some of the highest-paid athletes from the big sports . . .
CHECK OUT THE GUYS TALK ABOUT THIS LIST ON THE SEGMENT BELOW:
–Boxing. Manny Pacquiao was the highest-paid athlete in the world last year . . . he made $50 million for two boxing title fights last year. Even though he didn’t make this list . . . because Pacquiao out-earned him . . . Floyd Mayweather was the highest-earning U.S. athlete last year. He made $40 million for one boxing
–Baseball. Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, $30 million.
–Football. Believe it or not, the highest-paid NFL player was a defensive end on the Carolina Panthers named Charles Johnson, who took down $34 million.
–Basketball. Kobe Bryant made $25.24 million in 2011.
–Hockey. The highest-paid NHL player was Brad Richards from the New York Rangers. He made $12 million.
–Golf. Luke Donald had the best year in 2011, making $9.5 million in prize money. The female golfer who made the most was Yani Tseng, who made $2.9 million on the LPGA tour.
–Tennis. Novak Djokovic made $12.6 million in prize money last year. For women, Petra Kvitova made $5.15 million . . . that makes her the highest-paid female athlete in the world.
–Auto racing. The real money has always been in Formula One. Fernando Alonso made $40 million last year in Formula One racing.
–And now some people raking in cash in smaller sports . . .
–Badminton. For men, Lee Chong Wei made $267,350 in prize money. For women, Wang Yihan made $277,550. This is one of the only sports where the top female out-earned the top male.
–Bowling. Sean Rash made $140,250 on the PBA tour.
–Darts. Phil Taylor made $938,497 in prize money in 2011.
–Competitive eating. Joey Chestnut made $205,000 winning eating contests.
–Fishing. Kevin VanDam made $706,500 on the Bassmaster Elite Series.
–Racquetball. Kane Waselenchuk made $270,000 on the International Racquetball Tour.
–Sumo wrestling. Hakuho of the Japan Sumo Association made $1.1 million.