Forbes list of highest earning sportspersons, Tiger Woods tops again

Sports enthusiasts, even in cricketobsessed India, will know that Tiger Woods is richest athlete on the planet. He has topped the Forbes list of highest earning sportspersons every year since 2002, except in 2012. In 2009, he became the first sportsperson in history to earn over $1 billion, just a few months before Michael Jordan and Michael Schumacher reached that mark.

In 2013, three active golfers feature in the top 21 of Forbes’ list— American Phil Mickelson at 7 with just under $50 million and 23-yearold Rory Mcilroy at 21 with $30 million.

No big deal, everyone knows golf is a very rich sport.
The surprise entry in the 2013 list, however, was that just a position below superstar footballer Lionel Messi at rank 10, was another golfer, Arnold Palmer with earnings of $40 million—but he’s 84 years old.

Palmer ranks second on the Forbes list of retired sportspersons. Palmer won only $1.9 million in career prize money on the PGA Tour and the last of his 62 PGA Tour victories came in 1973, but 2013 was his most successful year ever from an earnings standpoint.

The Arnold Palmer line of drinks is a $200-million business and represents roughly 25% of revenues for the AriZona Beverage Co.

Palmer’s golf course design work is limited relative to some of his contemporaries, but he has built an empire by licensing his name, particularly in Asia. There are 400 stores in Asia that bear his name and sell apparel and leather goods. IMG puts together an annual conference in Asia for as many as 50 Palmer licensees with 250 delegates participating. Palmer leads a quartet of golfers that make the retired sportspersons list: Jack Nicklaus ($30 million at age 74), South African Gary Player ($19 million at age 78) and Aussie Greg Norman ($16 million at age 59).

All four have played competitively for four decades, but course design earns them the most. While Palmer designed 60 courses, Gary Player has done 40 and Nicklaus 380 courses in 36 countries.

The author is a former Asian Games Gold Medallist