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Palmer pitched rental cars, airlines, financial services and office products, roughly 50 brands in all. IMG founder Mark McCormack and his star client, Palmer, revolutionized sports marketing in the 1960s and made The King a global celebrity endorser and the template for the modern superstar athlete. “Combine that with their global appeal across a broad and high-end fan demographic, and it’s no wonder so many rank high among the all-time earners in sports.”
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“With competitive careers that can span 30 years or more, golfers have the longest shelf life of any pro athletes,” said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert at Pinnacle Advertising. The biggest paydays for Nicklaus and Palmer came after their dominance of the sport in the 1960s and 1970s, and adjusting for inflation pushed them into the three-comma club for earnings. LeBron James ($1.17 billion), Kobe Bryant ($930 million), Shaquille O’Neal ($870 million) and Kevin Durant ($625 million) also made the cut.Ī trio of golfers finished in the spots just behind Jordan: Tiger Woods ($2.1 billion), Arnold Palmer ($1.5 billion) and Jack Nicklaus ($1.38 billion). MJ leads a quintet of basketball stars among the 25 highest-paid athletes of all time. Nike’s Jordan Brand is the dominant player in the booming “retro” or lifestyle basketball business, with market share of 52%, while Nike-brand retro product makes up another 43%, according to market research firm NPD Group. The estimate is based on salaries, endorsements, licensing and memorabilia earnings since Jordan turned pro in 1984 and includes ongoing endorsements in retirement with Nike, Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck. Jordan is the highest-paid athlete of all time, with inflation-adjusted career earnings of $2.62 billion-and only 6% of the total is from his playing contracts with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards.