10 Richest American Athletes

The wealthiest in the United States of America are also one of the richest American athletes. Americans have a fascinating relationship with money that is very potent, more so than any other major nation. Nike reportedly had $3.8 billion in endorsement commitments last year, according to Forbes.And American athletes, right from golf to basketball, baseball and even pro wrestling are always competing to better the other even when it comes to the money stakes. Here are the richest American athletes of 2014, with figures gathered from TheRichest.com, Forbes, and CelebrityNetWorth.

#10 Shaquille ONeal $250 million

The Big Aristotle, the Green Goblin, Diesel - one of the most dominating centers in the NBA in his time, Shaq is the 6th leading NBA scorer of all time, is a 4-time NBA champion and is the 10th richest on this list.

He has enjoyed good finances even after his 18-year-long playing career, featuring in movies, video games, rap records and in recent years has become a pundit on TNT. He recently also became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings in 2013.

#9 Jack Nicklaus - $280 million

One of the best golfers of all time, the 74-year-old golfer has been raking in the cash since he turned pro in 1961. He had 18 championships to his name during his career and has also published some best-selling books such as Golf My Way.

Nicklaus, along with fellow golfers Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, was also instrumental in the founding of the sports and media management company IMG.

Nicklaus earns a lot even after retirement through licensing fees and fees for other public appearances. He reportedly made $28 million a year as recently as 2012.

Nicklaus also founded Nicklaus Design, a design firm that crafts world-class golf courses.

#8 Don King $290 million

One of the most familiar faces connected with boxing in America as Mike Tyson and co. became famous names, Don King is by far the most famous promoter in boxing. He has had a hand in bringing the likes of Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield to the ring and presenting them to the watching world.

#7 Dale Earnhardt Jr. $300 million

It isn't the senior Earnhardt, but the junior, the chip of the old block, who comes in at No.7. Following in the footsteps of his father, Earnhardt jr. pulled in over $300 million from racing and endorsements.

Apart from racing, Earnhardt jr. is also the owner of Hammerhead Entertainment, which produces Back In The Day for the Fox Sports Speed Channel. He also owns a couple of bars and also a car dealership.

He has sponsorship deals with Diet Mountain Dew, Chevrolet, TaxSlayer.com, Nationwide Insurance, National Guard, and Hellmann’s as of 2012.

#6 Alex Rodriguez $300 million

Alex Rodriguez, star baseball player, is so rich that he owns both the #1 and the #2 spot on the list of “largest American sports contracts ever”. He had a $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers in 2001 and $275 million in 2008 with the New York Yankees.

He is likely to lose out on about $25 million in salary though as he misses the 2014 season through a steroid-use related suspension.

#5 Tiger Woods $500 million

Woods broke $1 billion in career earnings back in January according to Golfer’s Digest (Via ESPN). He made $78 million last year, mostly off endorsements. He is not no.1 here due to his falling off the top of the rankings in recent years.

Almost 90 percent of Tiger’s $1.16 billion take comes from endorsements - he made $100 million from his sponsors in 2008 and 2009 - one that dropped down to $62 million after his rather messy divorce.

Like Nicklaus, Woods is the head of a golf course design firm, Tiger Woods Design, that he founded in 2006.

#4 Magic Johnson $500 million

The man who brought "Showtime" basketball to the city of Los Angeles, was one of the most instrumental figures in popularising the NBA to what it is now.

Magic managed to take in $18 million earnings from his 16-year NBA career and managed to invest it into Magic Johnson Enterprises, a billion-dollar company that has netted him a personal net worth of $500 million.

In 2012, he led a group of investors in the purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2 billion, and has also done commentary and TV appearances. He has been publicly HIV positive since 1991, and has since contributed heavily to AIDS/HIV activism.

#3 Michael Jordan $650 million

The highest basketball player on this list, unsurprisingly, is Michael Jordan who has redefined the word 'brand' in sports. Jordan is his own sponsor with the Air Jordan brand with NIke.

By today’s standards, Jordan was criminally underpaid by the Chicago Bulls (total NBA salary: $90 million over thirteen seasons), but his endorsement deals with Gatorade, Hanes, and 2k Sports have more than made up for it — in 2013, 10 years after retirement, His Airness still racked up $60 million, according to Forbes.

Plus he earns from every purchase on the Air Jordan brand!

#2 Arnold Palmer $675 million

Arizona Iced tea, lemonade and the various golf-appropriate sponsors such as Rolex and Ketel One make Arnold Palmer no.2 on this list.

His association with Arizona Iced tea in fact began in 2000 and hit the $100 million mark in 2010. Quite incredibly, Palmer, at the time, represented 10 percent of the company’s business and 40 percent of it's growth.

As mentioned earlier, Palmer, Nicklaus and Player were instrumental in the formation and growth of IMG. And like his other peers, Palmer too, of course, has a golf design firm called Arnold Palmer Design, and even his own tournament - the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The 84-year-old golfer has not lost touch with the sport as he's there to kick off the Masters Tournament every year since 2007.

#1 Vince McMahon $1.2 billion

Well, WWE is technically sports entertainment, rather than a 'sport' in the proper sense of the word. But Vince McMahon, who started off as an announcer back in 1971, bought the then WWF company from his father in the 1980s and has since then turned it into a money spinning machine.

McMahon, who did some bit of wrestling himself in the 1990s, was one of the newly minted billionaires of 2014. The 68-year-old has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.