Tiger Woods' remains professional sports' highest earner for the eighth straight year, with an annual income of $110 million -- two and a half times larger than his closest competitor. And that's after his potential prize money took a dive due to a knee surgery: The world's highest-paid athletes.
Woods' knee injury caused his prize money to drop to $5 million from $25 million, but his overall earnings only fell $5 million thanks to an expansion of Tiger's non-playing financial empire. That's right. Diversify, suckas.
The guy gets $30 million from Nike alone. And dude, Tiger has a freaking brand of Gatorade named after him. He gets a cut of sales for the four flavors sold under his name ("Gatorade Tiger"). That's pure money right there.
Another notable name on the list of the highest paid athletes is boxer Manny Pacquiao -- a newcomer to the list. The massively popular fighter earned $40 million over the last year, thanks to knockout bouts with Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, as well as high-profile endorsements in the Philippines.
The top five highest paid athletes, according to Forbes.com, are Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Kimi Raikkonen and David Beckham. Pacquiao is number six. To see the full list of athletes who make waaaay more money than you, go here.
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