What Are Professional Athletes Worth?

Athletes may seem to make a lot of money, but despite the lavish lifestyles and spending we associate with them, very few professional athletes have great net worth. The average salary of a professional athlete is high, but still in the range of a doctor or lawyer; professions we rarely associate with vast fortunes. In fact, only one athlete cracks the top 400 list, but that wasn't even due to being an athlete. A large part of their wealth comes from sources other than the paycheck they get for playing. See the 10 highest paid athletes. The highest paid athletes and three richest sports stars follow.

The list of the 100 highest paid athletes of 2012 has representatives from all major sports (including cricket). Football players scored 30 of the top spots. The number one and number two spots, however, belong to boxers Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Third place goes to Tiger Woods, who made 60 million dollars this year. The NBA's highest paid member, LeBron James, takes the number four spot. Payton Manning, the highest paid football player, earned enough to reach tenth place. The rest of the top ten is filled out by Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, Phil Mickelson, David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo., a golfer (Phil Mickelson), a tennis player (Roger Federer), and two soccer players (David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo).

The three athletes with the highest net worth include one current and two former players. Michael Jordan is one of these, with a net worth of about 500 million. Magic Johnson has also parlayed his on-the-court success into a real estate fortune of around 500 million. The only current athlete on the list is Tiger Woods, whose endorsements and golf course design company have earned him around 500 million. That may seem like a lot, but, as a point of comparison, the richest man in the world, who isn't an athlete, has a net worth of around 54 billion.

For most athletes, though, the wealth doesn't last. Sixty percent of players in the NBA and almost eighty percent of NFL players will end up in financial trouble, and even bankruptcy, within years of retiring, according to some estimates. Part of this is due to how athletes get their money. While most professionals can expect to reach a peak earning level later in life, athletes reach their peak, on average, in the first five years of their careers. Short careers also mean that athletes must start planning for retirement much earlier than most.

It can also make athletes develop spending habits and lavish lifestyles that they won't be able to sustain once their careers are over. Athletes also must deal with sudden, career-ending injuries that can happen at any time in their professional lives; something an accountant or a teacher rarely has to think about. In an effort to help young athletes learn how to better handle their finances, some former athletes have partnered with retirement planners to offer advice. Learn about the world's highest paid athlete.