The World's Highest Paid Athletes in 1996
Here is the top 10 list of the highest earning sports people from 1996. It is a little old, the list would be much different today. A prominent sports person from future lists, Tiger Woods, placed 26th on the extended list. The German Michael Schumacher was the only non US athlete to be in the top 10.
All estimates (US dollars) are Forbes estimates for the 1996 calendar year. Totals include salaries, bonuses, prize money, endorsements and appearance fees. See also the top earning lists from other years.
| Name | Sport | Nationality | earnings ($ million) | previous year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mike Tyson | Boxing | USA | 75 | 2 |
| 2. | Michael Jordan | Basketball | USA | 52.6 | 1 |
| 3. | Michael Schumacher | F1 Motorsports | Germany | 33.0 | 9 |
| 4. | Shaquille O'Neal | Basketball | USA | 24.4 | 5 |
| 5. | Emmit Smith | NFL | USA | 16.5 | not ranked |
| 6. | Evander Holyfield | Boxing | USA | 15.5 | 14 |
| 7. | Andre Agassi | Tennis | USA | 15.2 | 7 |
| 8. | Arnold Palmer | Golf | USA | 15.1 | 11 |
| =9. | Dennis Rodman | Basketball | USA | 12.9 | not ranked |
| =9. | Patrick Ewing | Basketball | USA | 12.9 | 19 |
next on the list were Cal Ripkin, Roy Jones Jr, Dan Marino, Wayne Gretzky, Riddick Bowe, Pete Sampras, Oscar De La Hoya, Grant Hill, Ken Griffey Jr., Dale Earnhardt.
References
- Forbes Magazine, Dec 16, 1996, Vol 158, No.14. The Highest-Paid Athletes, p244.
Related Pages
- See the top earning lists from other years.
- Other world sport lists
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