Manny Pacquiao No. 8 On ‘Forbes’ Richest Athletes List

Manchester United is the richest team in sports, while Tiger Woods is the highest-earning athlete, according to Forbes magazine.

English Premier League soccer team Manchester United is worth $1.84 billion and Woods, the top-ranked player in the world, earned $105 million in the year through June, Forbes said.
Four US teams follow United in the ranking. The five-time Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys is No. 2 with a value of $1.65 billion, $50 million more than the New York Yankees, who last year won a record-extending 27th World Series title. The National Football League’s Washington Redskins ($1.55 billion) and New England Patriots ($1.36 billion) round out the top five.

Woods is the only athlete to have surpassed $1 billion in career earnings, Forbes said in October. The 14-time winner at golf’s four major championships has seen his endorsement income slump by $22 million to $70 million since he admitted in December to marital infidelity, according to Sports Illustrated. Woods earned $90.5 million in 2009, SI.com said.

Woods was ditched as a pitchman by Accenture Plc., AT&T Inc., Gillette razors and Gatorade after details about his private life emerged following a November car crash outside his Florida home. He hasn’t won a tournament since.

Mayweather and Pacquiao

Boxer Floyd Mayweather ranks second on the Forbes list behind Woods, with $65 million in annual earnings. Mayweather, who aptly uses the nickname “Money,” has held six world titles in five weights and is undefeated in 41 fights.

Mayweather is the World Boxing Council welterweight champion. A deadline for the 33-year-old American to agree to fight World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines in November expired on July 17 without Mayweather accepting the terms.

Ring magazine ranks Mayweather and Pacquiao, who is eighth on the Forbes list with annual income of $42 million, as the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is the third-highest paid athlete, with an income of $48 million.

Bryant was last month voted the Most Valuable Player of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals for the second-straight year as he helped the Lakers to win a 16th title. In this year’s playoffs, the 31-year-old Bryant averaged 29.2 points and six rebounds, compared with career averages of 25.3 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Mickelson, Beckham

Masters Tournament champion Phil Mickelson, ranked second in the world behind Woods, is next on the list with $46 million in annual income and the top five is completed by Los Angeles Galaxy soccer player David Beckham, the England international who made $43.7 million in the year through June.

United is one of nine soccer clubs included among the top 50 sports properties by value, which is defined by Forbes as a team’s equity plus its net debt.

Record nine-time European champion Real Madrid is the second-most valuable team in the sport at $1.32 billion, followed by United’s rival Arsenal, which Forbes said is worth $1.18 billion. The soccer teams’ values are the same as those attributed to them by the magazine on April 21.

NFL Sweep

All 32 National Football League teams are included. While their order remains as it did in a Forbes study released last September 2, some team values have changed, with the Cowboys dropping $50 million in value from $1.7 billion and the Redskins increasing by the same amount, for example.

Four Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs other than the Yankees make the grade. Those are the Boston Red Sox (35th, $870 million), the New York Mets (38th, $858 million), the Los Angeles Dodgers (45th, $727 million) and the Chicago Cubs (46th, $726 million). The MLB teams’ values are the same as they were in a Forbes report released on April 7.

The only two NBA teams on the ranking occupy the last two spots, with the Lakers valued at $607 million and the New York Knicks worth $586 million. No National Hockey League teams appear on the list.

The only other sport represented is Formula One motor racing, with Ferrari, the oldest team, ranked 16th at $1.05 billion and McLaren Mercedes in the 42nd spot with a value of $805 million.

Only lady in Top 50

Tennis star Maria Sharapova is the only female athlete in the top 50, earning $24.5 million to occupy the 35th spot. Her biggest deal is with Nike, which re-signed the Russian in January to an eight-year deal worth up to $70 million.

Dex McLuskey, Bloomberg