The Richest Athlete Endorsement Deals of All Time

When a pro athlete is active and people genuinely care about them, it makes perfect sense they want to cash in outside of their sport. After all, if you’ve got a limited shelf life, you might as well squeeze out every possible dime. This idea has led to the proliferation of athletes as endorsers, people like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods whose likenesses are used everywhere to sell the products that pay them the most money.

The formula is simple: the products become synonymous with the players, and everyone gets really, really rich. For companies like Nike and adidas, hitching their wagons to star athletes has contributed dramatically to their dominance and indeed legitimized them to consumers worldwide. Since today is George Foreman’s birthday, in his honor we decided to take a look at the Richest Athlete Endorsement Deals of All-Time.

NOTE: We only listed deals for which we could find confirmed dollar values. Athletes such as Lance Armstrong (Nike) and many others have deals that likely exceed some of these, but those dollar amounts have never been disclosed.

Year(s) of endorsement: 2008-2013
Brand/product: Starter
Estimated money made: $10 million
Source

Everyone loves to make fun of Tony Romo (and with good reason), but there's no doubting his endorsement power. The Cowboys' quarterback signed with the famous jacket-maker Starter in 2008, inking what was thought to be the richest endorsement deal ever given to an NFL player. Anyone who watches football knows about Romo's ubiquitous backwards Starter hat, so obviously the company did a good job getting their name out there. Maybe it's a telling sign, though, that they did not renew his contract this year; they could see the Cowboys' fall coming before the rest of us.

Year(s) of endorsement: 2003-Present
Brand/product: Nike
Estimated money made: $40 million
Source

Nike famously stood by Kobe Bryant during his 2004 legal dust-up, and they're likely very glad they did. Bryant has been a star for the company ever since he left Adidas for the Swoosh in 2003, just before the allegations in Colorado surfaced. After playing out the initial five-year, $40 million deal, Bryant has remained with Nike ever since, signing multiple deals with the sneaker giant and likely cashing some monstrous checks due to his extreme popularity in China.

Year(s) of endorsement: 2000-2005
Brand/product: Reebok
Estimated money made: $40 million
Source

Venus Williams made history in December of 2000 when she signed with Reebok for a staggering $40 million. Not only was it one of the richest deals ever given to an athlete, but the fact that Williams was a minority female made it an even more significant commitment that drew praise from the likes of Billie Jean King, a pioneer in her own right. They certainly chose wisely with Williams; since signing the deal, she has won seven majors in singles and another nine in doubles, proving that she is one of the great women's tennis players of all time.

Year(s) of endorsement: 2000-2006
Brand/product: adidas
Estimated money made: $50 million*
Source
*With incentives

Anna Kournikova never accomplished much on the tennis court, and perhaps Adidas was a bit clairvoyant when they signed the Russian beauty to a contract that, with incentives, could have been worth $50 million. Of course, Kournikova actually needed to be a success on the court to get all that money, and (quite famously) she flopped. Adidas only guaranteed her about $3 million, with the rest coming if she could have, you know, win a tournament. Somehow, though, we think she'll get by even though she left $47 million on the table.

Year(s) of endorsement: 1996-Present
Brand/product: Reebok
Estimated money made: $50 million
Source

Allen Iverson's fall from grace has not been fun to watch, but Reebok at least was looking out for the best interests of "The Answer" when they signed him to a lifetime endorsement contract in 1996. Of the $50 million Iverson was given, $30 million of that reportedly went into a trust fund that A.I. will not be allowed to use until 2030. Unfortunately, there is no way he will get all $30 million; his debts and a costly divorce settlement mean that on the day he can finally get the money, Iverson will have to give it all back to his creditors and his ex-wife.

Year(s) of endorsement: 2010-Present
Brand/product: Nike
Estimated money made: $70 million
Source

At just 26 years old, Maria Sharapova has already cemented her status as one of the great women's tennis players of her generation. She has won every single Grand Slam event, and has a total of 29 singles titles to her credit. She also happens to be quite attractive, which made Nike signing her to the richest contract ever given to a female athlete a no-brainer. At eight years and $70 million, Sharapova's deal easily surpasses that of Venus Williams, who had previously held the title of "highest paid female athlete."

Year(s) of endorsement: 2003-Present
Brand/product: Nike
Estimated money made: $90 million
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It was a bold move for Nike to give LeBron James—who had yet to play an NBA game—$90 million in exchange for his endorsement. We think it's safe to say that, unlike the “Joey Heisman” campaign, this one has also paid off. LeBron has won four league MVPs (with a fifth looking likely in 2013-14), two NBA titles, and has been an All-Star every single season of his career. After his first contract with Nike expired in 2010, James re-upped with the company for an undisclosed amount and for a period of time only described as longer than the first deal. Considering how much money he has already made Nike, we can only imagine how much the King is getting paid this time.

Year(s) of endorsement: 2012-Present
Brand/product: Li-Ning
Estimated money made: $100 million
Source

It takes serious guts to leave the Jordan brand, but in October of 2012 Dwyane Wade left the bosom of Nike and His Airness to sign with Li-Ning, a Chinese brand that had previously partnered with Shaquille O'Neal. Wade got his own line of shoes and a contract that matched the one he was getting from Nike, a 10-year deal that pays him upwards of $100 million. Not too bad for a guy who had begun to recede into the background as LeBron's No. 2. For us, though, the best Wade ad will always be his original Converse ad from 2005.

Year(s) Of Endorsement: 2013-Present
Brand/product: Nike
Estimated Money Made: $100 million
Source

With two major titles already under his belt and at just 24 years old, Rory McIlroy has already become the face of golf's young generation of star players. Sensing that their other marquee star Tiger Woods can't dominate forever, Nike swooped in and signed McIlroy to a huge endorsement deal in early 2013. While initial rumors had the deal pegged at over $200 million, the actual value of the deal is nothing to scoff at either. While McIlroy struggled in 2013, it's only a matter of time before he turns it around and resumes the dominance he showed in 2012. Otherwise, he might get a late-night visit from Phil Knight and a couple goons.

Year(s) of endorsement: 2000-Present
Brand/product: Nike
Estimated money made: $105 million
Source

Even though he absolutely destroyed his public image in November of 2009, Tiger Woods has proven to be scandal-proof when it comes to endorsement cash. His five-year, $105 million deal with Nike that he signed in 2000 was (obviously) the largest ever given to a golfer until it was surpassed by Tiger again in 2005 when he re-upped for $140 million over seven years. With Rory McIlroy nipping at his heels, Woods signed a new deal with Nike this past summer that, according to Tiger's agent Mark Steinberg, kept him as "emphatically" the highest paid endorser in golf.

Year(s) of endorsement: 1995-Present
Brand/product: Salton, Inc.
Estimated money made: $137.5 million
Source

We've all seen the infomercials, learned all the tag lines ("knock out the fat!"), and, really, all probably own one. The George Foreman Grill may indeed have surpassed the boxer's ample in-ring accomplishments in sports' fans memories, replacing heavyweight titles and gold medals with visions of hamburgers and grilled chicken. After launching the famous product in 1995, Foreman and the Grill-making company Salton, Inc. reached a deal in 1999 to sell the boxer's name to the company for a staggering $137.5 million. Considering from 1995 to 1999 Foreman earned 40 percent of the profits from each grill sold, and it's likely that he has earned close to $200 million.

Year(s) of endorsement: 2003-Present
Brand/product: adidas
Estimated money made: $160.8 million
Source

The ubiquitous David Beckham is perhaps the single most iconic footballer of this generation, and he has had no lack of endorsement opportunities throughout his career. After signing with Real Madrid in the summer of 2003, he signed a deal with adidas that guaranteed him just over $160 million (including half up front) and also earned him a percentage of the profits for all his own branded adidas gear. He even engaged in some silly “Football Meets Futbol” ads when he came to play for the L.A. Galaxy, starring alongside then-New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush.

Year(s) of endorsement: 2012-Present
Brand/product: Adidas
Estimated money made: $260 million
Source

Before he was plagued by knee trouble, Derrick Rose looked like he was going to be one of the great NBA players of his generation. After missing out on Michael Jordan 18 years earlier, Adidas was not going to lose their man this time. They inked Rose to an absolutely obscene deal, guaranteeing him $185 million over 13 years with incentives that can push it into a 14th year and all the way up to $260 million. Even with his injuries, Adidas has managed to capitalize on Rose's star power and produced a series of commercials leading into this season dubbed "The Return." Perhaps we'll get version two next year?

Year(s) of endorsement: 1984-Present
Brand/product: Nike
Estimated money made: $500,000*
Source
*Currently making approximately $60 million per year

When Nike swooped in with a monster offer of $500,000 for an unproven rookie named Michael Jordan, they trumped an offer from Jordan's purportedly preferred brand of adidas. That turned out to be a pretty shrewd business decision, if we may say so. Nike very quickly built their first ad campaign around the Air Jordan I, and from there the sneaker game was never the same. While it's unclear exactly how much Jordan has pulled in from this deal (the terms have never been fully disclosed), recent estimates have him pulling in some $60 million per year.