Top-10 List of the World's Highest Paid Athletes in 1990
Here is the top 10 list of the highest earning sports people for the 1990 calendar year, from the list of top 30 athletes published by Forbes in August 1990. This is the first time that Forbes created such a list. Boxing was obviously the most lucrative sport in 1990, with three boxers heading the list, and another at equal 8th.
The top-ranked women were Steffi Graf at 13th with $6.1 million earnings, and Gabreila Sabatini at 22nd with $4.5 million. Totals include salaries, bonuses, prize money, endorsements and appearance fees. See also the top earning lists from other years.
| Name | Sport | Nationality | earnings ($ million) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mike Tyson | boxing | USA | 28.6 |
| 2. | Buster Douglas | boxing | USA | 26.0 |
| 3. | Sugar Ray Leonard | boxing | USA | 13.0 |
| 4. | Ayrton Senna | auto racing | Brazil | 10.0 |
| 5. | Alain Prost | auto racing | France | 9.0 |
| 6. | Jack Nicklaus | golf | USA | 8.6 |
| 7 | Greg Norman | golf | Australia | 8.5 |
| =8 | Michael Jordan | basketball | USA | 8.1 |
| =8 | Arnold Palmer | golf | USA | 8.1 |
| =8 | Evander Holyfield | boxing | USA | 8.1 |
next on the list were: Boris Becker, Nigel Mansell, Steffi Graf, Jose Canseco, Wayne Gretzky, Andre Agassi, Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, Diego Maradona, Don Mattingly.
References
- Forbes Magazine, Aug 20, 1990, Vol 146, No.4. List of the world's 30 highest-paid athletes, p70.
Related Pages
- See the top earning lists from other years.
- Other world sport lists
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Old Comments
- I LOVE BOXING AND I LOVE 2 SEE BOXER TOP ON THE LIST (from TURNINGSTAR, Nov 2012)
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