Milestone: Tiger hits $1b lifetime earnings

[Miramonti]

Unbelievable. No denying we frickin' love our athletes/entertainers. And I had no idea Michael Schumacher was made so much money too. :Q

Tiger Woods hit another milestone over the weekend.

But his most recent record wasn't set on the golf course but, rather, should have a positive effect on his bank account.

The $10 million bonus Woods received by winning the FedEx Cup title makes him the first athlete to earn $1 billion, Forbes.com reported.

Woods had earned $895 million going into 2009, according to Forbes.com. Adding the $10.5 million in prize money from this season, the FedEx bonus and more than $100 million in annual off-the-course earnings, Woods has topped the 10-figure mark.

Michael Jordan and Michael Schumacher are the only athletes, according to Forbes.com, who even come close to Woods. Jordan has earned $800 million since he entered the NBA in 1984 and Schumacher $700 million, by the Web site's count.

Woods, who is 33, has 95 professional wins including 71 on the PGA Tour. He has also won 14 majors.

 

[eplebnista]

:shocked: Yet he continues to play.

 

[Orsorum]

That surprises me, I thought Jordan made more.

 

[BeauJangles]

Tiger is amazing.

 

[ScottyB]

Why would anyone pay someone to golf?

 

[OBLAMA2009]

can someone list what clubs he uses

 

[tasmanian]

Originally posted by: ScottyB
Why would anyone pay someone to golf?

Why would anyone pay someone put a ball in a hoop?

 

[axelfox]

Sorry Lebron!

 

[RaistlinZ]

All three have something in common, they're not just great athletes but they are brand names as well. Their names drive merchandising, advertising, endorsements, etc. Once they finish "playing" their sport they'll continue to rack in millions of dollars a year just from their brand.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Orsorum
That surprises me, I thought Jordan made more.

I would have thought too but it makes sense since when Jordan played compared to when Tiger played they probably paid Tiger a hell of a lot more. Tiger has promoted many more things than Jordan did in his heyday.

 

[pray4mojo]

K dumb question here. How does he make so much playing golf? I understand basketball since people buy tickets to games or merchandise but where does all the money come from playing golf? Oh and I guess I dont get racing either.

 

[Snapster]

Jordan pipped him at the post?

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: pray4mojo
K dumb question here. How does he make so much playing golf? I understand basketball since people buy tickets to games or merchandise but where does all the money come from playing golf? Oh and I guess I dont get racing either.

People buy tickets to see the golf tournaments too. Other then that, the same revenue as any other sport. Sponsors and advertising. Both on the golf course and on the TV.

Ever see how many decals are on a race car? They dont put them there for free.

 

[LTC8K6]

I would put Schumacher higher than $700M also.

 

[RapidSnail]

Originally posted by: ScottyB
Why would anyone pay someone to golf?

Why would anyone have paid your mom?

 

[Lifted]

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ
All three have something in common, they're not just great athletes but they are brand names as well.

McDonald's.
Coca Cola.
Vincent Chase.

 

[Papagayo]

Originally posted by: pray4mojo
K dumb question here. How does he make so much playing golf? I understand basketball since people buy tickets to games or merchandise but where does all the money come from playing golf? Oh and I guess I dont get racing either.

Most of the money he make is from sponsorship (Nike, ATT, etc)..

Last I heard, he makes around 100 million from Nike for using their equipment, clothes, and shoes...

He still has lot of years left to make more. Most great PGA players don't retire until very late..

 

[PottedMeat]

What products has Schumacher endorsed/promoted?

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ
All three have something in common, they're not just great athletes but they are brand names as well. Their names drive merchandising, advertising, endorsements, etc. Once they finish "playing" their sport they'll continue to rack in millions of dollars a year just from their brand.

Oh God yes. It really is amazing how iconic the Jordan brand is now. The logo is instantly recognizable by just about anyone and I see it all over the world.

 

[Fingolfin269]

It would be interesting to see how much Jordan actually made in an apples to apples (inflation taken into account) comparison.

 

[LTC8K6]

Originally posted by: PottedMeat
What products has Schumacher endorsed/promoted?

I'm not sure but I remember his endorsement money alone was said to be $80M+ per year after his first championships. His driving contract with Ferrari was $35M per year in 2002 and I can only assume it went up later.

He liked to be in the U.S. because few people here recognized him and he could be a regular person...

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: axelfox
Sorry Lebron!

yeah, didn't lebron say he wanted to be the first billion dollar athlete?

 

[TridenT]

I need some of that money...

 

[LTC8K6]

Schumacher was giving away a lot... from wiki:

In 2004, Forbes Magazine listed him as the 2nd highest paid athlete in the world.[133] In 2005 Eurobusiness magazine identified Schumacher as the world's first billionaire athlete. His 2004 salary was reported to be around US$80 million.[134] Forbes magazine ranked him 17th in their "The World's Most Powerful Celebrities" list.[135] A significant share of his income came from advertising. For example, Deutsche Vermögensberatung paid him $8 million over three years from 1999 for wearing a 10 by 8 centimetre advertisement on his post-race cap.[136] The deal was extended until 2010.[137] He donated $10 million for aid after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.[138] His donation surpassed that of any other sports person, most sports leagues, many worldwide corporations and even some countries.[139] Schumacher's bodyguard Burkhard Cramer was killed in the tsunami along with his two sons.[140]

Schumacher is a special ambassador to UNESCO and has donated 1.5 million Euros to the organization.[141] Additionally, he paid for the construction of a school for poor children and for area improvements in Dakar, Senegal. He supports a hospital for child victims of war in Sarajevo, which specialises in caring for amputees. In Lima, Peru he funded the "Palace for the Poor", a centre for helping homeless street children obtain an education, clothing, food, medical attention, and shelter. He stated his interest in these various efforts was piqued both by his love for children and the fact that these causes had received little attention. While an exact figure for the amount of money he has donated throughout his life is unknown, it is known that in his last four years as a driver, he donated at least $50 million.[10] In 2008 it was revealed that he had donated between $5M and $10M to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park of Bill Clinton.[142]

 

[a123456]

Originally posted by: pray4mojo
K dumb question here. How does he make so much playing golf? I understand basketball since people buy tickets to games or merchandise but where does all the money come from playing golf? Oh and I guess I dont get racing either.

Almost all of the money is from sponsorships, such as Nike. Nike Golf grew from basically nothing to 750M/year in sales. I'm sure Tiger is a big part of that growth so they compensate him accordingly. With all the other sponsors, he pulls in ~100M/year. So 10 years, 1B sounds about right.

The prize money or salary is such a small portion of top top athletes' earnings. I do sometimes wonder why guys like Kobe don't take a smaller salary to help get better teammates.