Shane Watson tops Australia's cricket rich-list

Shane Watson

It has been revealed that all-rounder Shane Watson was Australia’s highest paid cricketer in 2014 after BRW magazine released its annual top 50 earning sports stars list. Basketball star Andrew Bogut, who plays for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA in USA tops the list.

Watson was overall 8^th in the list with earnings of $4.5 million. The 33-year-old, however, was way behind Bogut, who earned $16.2 million.

The figures include money earned on the field as well as off the field, which include prize money, endorsements and commercial sponsorships apart from the salary earned by the player.

Mitchell Johnson is the second highest earning cricketer in the list, coming in at $4.1 million and captain Michael Clarke made $4 million to round off the top 3 earners of Australian cricket.

Retired cricketers Brett Lee and Michael Hussey also managed to make the cut, standing in at No. 45 and 49, respectively.

There were 13 cricketers in the list of Australia’s top 50 earning sports stars. Here are the top cricketing earners in Australia. Numbers in brackets indicate their overall position in the top 50 highest earning Australian sports stars list.

1. Shane Watson (8) – $4.5 million
2. Mitchell Johnson (10) – $4.1 million
3. Michael Clarke (11)– $4 million
4. David Warner (12) – $3.8 million
5. Steven Smith (14) – $3.1 million
6. James Faulkner (18) – $2.8 million
7. Brad Haddin (24) – $2.5 million
8. Glenn Maxwell (25) – $2.4 million
9. Mitchell Starc (27) – $2.2 million
10. George Bailey (36) – $1.8 million
11. Aaron Finch (37) – $1.8 million
12. Brett Lee (45) – $1.5 million
13. Michael Hussey (49) – $1.4 million