Michael Jordan retired from the NBA for good in 2003, and since then, he's only gotten richer. Like, waaaaaay richer. Forbes recently released their annual list of highest-paid retired athletes, and at No. 1 came His Airness with a reported $100 million in earnings last year. David Beckham ($75 million), Arnold Palmer ($42 million), Jack Nicklaus ($28 million), and Jerry Richardson ($23 million) rounded out the top five.
According to Forbes, Nike's Jordan brand continues to keep raising the stakes for MJ's bank account. It's like he's printing money at this point. Last year, Jordan sales in the U.S. rose 17% to a staggering $2.6 billion. He receives a royalty from Nike for his sneakers, so an increase in sales means fatter checks in the mail for MJ.
Endorsements with Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck, 2K Sports and Five Star Fragrances also helped his yearly earnings reach $100 million, which would make him the second highest-paid athlete in the world, active or retired. Only Floyd Mayweather Jr. ($105 million) made more amongst athletes last year.
Here's a live-feed into the bedroom of basketball's first billionaire:
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[via Forbes]
