How did a golfer ever get so rich? According to Forbes, Tiger Woods has become the first person to make a billion dollars out of a career in sport. The magazine has calculated Woods's earnings since he turned professional in 1996, and worked out that, after he earned $10m for winning the FedEx Cup this year, the combined tally of prize money, appearance fees, endorsements, and earnings from his flourishing golf design business has now surpassed the billion dollar barrier. Woods, who is still only 33 and could conceivably keep playing at the top level for the next 15 years, has won 14 Major titles, and is able to charge up to $3m for playing tournaments in the Middle East. Sharply-dressed, well-behaved and, if a little private, a marketing man's dream, he's signed numerous lucrative endorsement deals. Since the "I'm Tiger Woods" advertising campaign, his profile has allowed Nike, which was starting from scratch, to turn into a major name in the golf equipment and clothing industry. Woods has a drink named after him – 'Gatorade Tiger', and helped to design a special watch for Tag Heuer, which is able to resist the sort of shock you get from a golf swing gone wrong. He also has deals with the management consultants Accenture, Electronic Arts video games and, along with Roger Federer and Thierry Henry, Gillette razors. Also, by linking up with property deals, he can charge an awful lot for the courses that his company – Tiger Woods Design – is making in Dubai, North Carolina and Mexico. The only two other sportsmen to have made anywhere near as much money as Woods are Michael Jordan and Michael Schumacher. Despite his retirement, the basketball player still commands $45million a year, much of it from his work endorsing Nike, and Forbes estimates that he’s earned around $800 million since he first started out in the NBA in 1984. As for Schumacher, the German F1 driver who briefly threatened an astonishing comeback this season, he has made something like $700m over his career, and once earned $80m a season at a time when he was winning the F1 Driver's Championship for fun.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in musicunder the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
-
Tiger Woods pulls out of PGA ChampionshipSpeed Read
-
Tiger Woods at the Masters: golf’s ‘greatest ever comeback’ part two?Under the Radar The 15-time major champion’s practice round at Augusta fuels speculation of a sensational return
-
The biggest sports scandals of the 21st centuryIn Depth Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and football’s governing body have all shocked the world
-
Mason Greenwood: footballer arrested on suspicion of rape and assaultSpeed Read Man Utd confirm the striker will not train or play until further notice
-
Tiger Woods targets the 150th Open: ‘I would love to play at St Andrews’feature But the American admits a return to golf full-time is not a ‘realistic expectation’
-
Handball: swapping bikini bottoms for tight pantsSpeed Read Women competitors will be required to ‘wear short tight pants with a close fit’
-
Cristiano Ronaldo’s second comingSpeed Read Last week, Manchester United re-signed the forward on a two-year deal thought to be worth more than £400,000 a week
-
Bank holidays and boycotts: are MPs trying to jinx England?Speed Read Declaring a bank holiday would be ‘tempting fate’, says Boris Johnson
