Basketball
With an average salary of $4million, basketball players are among the best paid sports stars in the world. The game has worldwide appeal and players make even more money through billion dollar endorsement deals.
Cleveland Cavaliers player LeBron James earned a salary of $20.8 million in 2015. He topped this up with a cool $44 million in endorsements.
Boxing
This sport has a reputation for paying its athletes large sums of money. Boxers also receive quite a bit of money from pay-per-view earnings, which typically fluctuate with how high-profile the fighters are.
In 2015, Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr finished on top of Forbes’ annual list of highest paid athletes, raking in $285 million.
Motor Racing
Formula 1, Nascar and other reputed events are well-known for being the highest paying events in sports.
English driver Lewis Hamilton is currently at the summit, as the richest Formula One racer, with $39 million in income.
Golf
The game is played on a golf course with either nine or 18 holes. Now played all over the world, the game originated in Scotland. Big names in the game include the likes of Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. In 2015, Phil Mickelson earned $2.9 million in salary. He made more millions in endorsement deals.
American Football
American Football involves two teams of 11 players each and is similar to rugby. In 2015, Cam Newton earned $4.1 million in salary.
Soccer
Widely regarded as the most famous sport in the world, soccer is one of the top ten highest paying sports. There are numerous leagues, conducted in almost every country.
Famous soccer players Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi often make the list for the richest athletes in the world.
Real Madrid’s Ronaldo earned a salary of $52.6 million in 2015, with Messi making a close $51.8 million in salary.
Tennis, ice hockey, baseball and cycling round up the top ten highest paying sports.