Not only is Tiger Woods No.1 in the world, but according to the latest report from Forbes, he's also No.1 on the list of the highest earning athletes.
Woods, who won the Players Championship in May, knocked off Floyd Mayweather, last year's No.1 athlete, on the list of the highest-paid athletes in the world for 2013.
This latest feat marks yet another milestone in the comeback of Woods, whose life and career began spiraling out of control following his 2009 Thanksgiving car crash which led to the revelations and accusations of extramarital affairs he was connected to.
Yet, since winning six of his last 12 tournaments in the last year, the biggest being his victory at the Players Championship--only the second of his career last month--Woods earned the top spot on the list at $78.1 million, having earned sponsor bonuses from Rolex and on the verge of signing a new deal with Nike that is likely to keep his pockets deep for quite some time.
Thanks to his tournament wins, Woods was able to double his prize money earnings from last year, now at $13.1 million. In addition, Woods is still getting some hefty cash thanks to the success of his Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game franchise from Electronic Arts. The video game franchise, the fifth best-selling franchise in the company's history, has earned $754 million of revenue in the U.S. since first launched in 1998.
Woods beat out big names such as, in order, Roger Federer ($71.5M), Kobe Bryant ($61.9M), LeBron James ($59.8M) and Drew Brees ($51M) to claim the No.1 spot. While Mayweather fell from No.1 to 14 in 2013, however, his new six-year, $200 million deal with Showtime could substantially help his chances of reclaiming that spot atop Forbes' list next year.
Federer, No.2 on the list, had help thanks to his 10 sponsors which earned him more than $40 million, such as Nike, Rolex, Moet & Chandon, Wilson and Credit Suisse. Bryant whose $27.8 million salary is the highest in the NBA, added Hublot to his endorsement portfolio, which also includes deals with Coca-Cola, Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Lenovo and more, and had the best-selling jersey overseas during the 2011-12 NBA season.
For baseball, Alex Rodriguez is the highest-earning athlete with $30.3 million in earnings. Among female athletes, three of them--all tennis stars--are on the list, including Maria Sharapova, who ranks No.22 on the list with $29 million in earnings, Serena Williams, No.68 on the list with $20.5 million and Li Na, 85th overall on the list with $18.2 million in earnings.
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