Successful profesional athletes of virtually any sport earn a considerable amount of money, and arguably have some of the best jobs in the world. If your true passion and love in life is playing basketball, it must be pretty amazing to earn millions of dollars to play a game. Sure, there’s much more to professional sports than “playing a game”, but ultimately at the end of the day that is what they are doing. Still as much as athletes makes from contracts, professional athletes can earn even more money from various endorsements. Whether it’s a shoe company or a cell phone manufacturer, athletes have a variety of other outlets to earn money from. So what are some of the biggest endorsement deals of all time? We are going to look at a list of ten different athletes who have some of the highest-paying endorsement deals around.
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10. Maria Sharapova – $70 million with Nike
Maria Sharapova is not only a world class tennis star, a model, and one of the most successful female athletes of all time, she also signed one of the largest endorsement deals in history. She’s endorsed various products from Motorola, Land Rover, TAG Heuer, and others, however the largest one was with Nike. In 2010 she signed an eight-year endorsement deal with Nike for $70 million and receives a certain percentage from the sales of her product line.
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9. Damian Lillard – $100 million with Adidas
Next up we have the 24-year-old point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard. Lillard was actually drafted as a sixth-round pick back in 2012, but has since proven his value. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year award for his first season, and has been named an NBA All-Star on two occasions. Just last year he signed a deal with Adidas that is estimated at $100 million dollars for 10 years for a line of shoes and other athletic products.
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8. Dwyane Wade – $100 million with Li-Ning
Miami Heat shooting guard Dwayne Wade is no stranger to product endorsements. He’s has made a few deals in the pst with T-Mobile, Gatoradle, Lincoln, and others, however like many basketball players, the biggest endorsements come from shoes. He was original signed with Converse, but then moved over to the Air Jordan brand in 2009/2010. However since then he has left the brand to take a bolder deal. Now Wade has signed with the Chinese shoe and athletic company known as Li-Ning, and it is estimated that the deal finalized for $100 million and will go until the end of his basketball career.
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7. Rory McIlroy – $100 million with Nike
At the age of 26, Rory McIlroy is one of the most accomplished and highest-paid golfers of recent times. His stellar golf career landed him a great endorsement deal with Nike. Being endorsed by Nike is like getting signed to the Ferrari F1 team; it’s the absolute dream. While the exact details of the deal are somewhat unknown, most officials think that it is a 10 year deal with the brand for $100 million.
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6. David Beckham – $160 million with Adidas
Even though David Beckham has since retired from professional soccer a few years back, he still is not only one of the highest paid athletes in the world, but also signed one of the largest endorsement deals. While he has made deals with H&M, Armani, Samsung, Coca-Cola, and others, his largest deal came from Adidas. In 2003 he signed a lifetime contract with the brand for $160 million, and reportedly received $80 million up front. He also receives a certain percentage from his various branded product sales.
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5. George Foreman – $200 million with Russell Hobbs, Inc.
The two-time heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist George Foreman has made quite a name for himself outside of boxing. When he made his comeback he attributed his success with healthy nutrition, this would then lead him to signing a deal with Russell Hobbs, Inc. and the George Foreman Grill was born. I personally own one, and don’t know of any other products that are similar. They have sold hundreds of millions of units, and it is estimated that George Foreman has earned around $200 million from the endorsement.
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4. Kobe Bryant – $15 million per year with Nike
Not only is Kobe consistently one of the best players in the NBA, he is also one of the highest earners thanks to endorsements. He’s worked with Coca-Cola, Nutella, Adidas, and a few other companies and last year he collected some $31 million from endorsements alone. Still his biggest endorsement is with Nike where he sees around $15 million per year. Also his Kobe shoes are some of the most popular Nike shoes that they currently sell.
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3. Derrick Rose – $185 million with Adidas
Point guard for the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose is certainly an accomplished athlete. He made the cover over NBA 2K13 but his biggest endorsement was with Adidas. He initially signed a deal in 2008 that granted him $1 million per year, however in 2011 he signed a larger contract with the brand that is estimated to be worth between $185 million to as high as $250 million for 10 years.
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2. LeBron James – $30 million per year with Nike
LeBron James is arguably the best player in basketball currently, and is among some of the highest paid players. He has made endorsement deals with Coca-Cola, State Farm, McDonalds, and Samsung, yet his biggest deal is with Nike, like many others on our list. He originally signed a $90 million deal with Nike out of high school, but that has changed over time. Now he is estimated to make around $30 million every year with Nike.
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1. Michael Jordan – Over $100 million per year with Nike
Universally hailed as the best basketball player who has ever lived, Michael Jordan is still the highest paid figure in sports through endorsements even though he is retired. He has signed deals with a long list of companies, but none come close to Nike. In 1984, Nike created a specific sneaker brand for him known as Air Jordan. Since then the brand has become arguably the most successful sneaker brand in the world, and being endorsed by Air Jordan is pretty much an honor. Today it’s estimated that Air Jordan brings in over $1 billion in sales for Nike, and Michael obviously sees a considerable portion of that. While we don’t know the exact figures, we do know in 2013 that he eared $100 million from Nike, so it’s safe to assume that’s how much he earns each year from the endorsement.
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