In today’s sports the stars are brighter and contracts are bigger. With wealth comes an unbelievable amount of power that athletes in the past never had the privilege to experience. Let’s peal back the curtain and examine who in athletics really has the “money, power, respect?”

On the last episode of the “Laugh Lines Sports Podcast” (formerly Why So Serious Sports Podcast) Noa Pharaoh examines many of the unique power structures in sports.

Now more than ever athletes are able to “flex” due to their amazing world wide popularity, enormous contracts and the rise of social media.

Athletes like Leborn James are changing the narrative and controlling their own destines inside and outside of the sports arena.

Here are the top TEN wealthiest athletes in the world.

Eddie Jordan

475 Million

Not Micheal Jordan’s brother!?

Eddie Jordan is an Irish former race car driver, Motorsport team boss, businessman, musician and television personality.

He won the Irish Kart Championship in 1971 and moved to Formula Ford in 1974. He also founded Jordan Grand Prix, a Formula One constructor which operated from 1991 to 2005.

Eddie Jordan’s net worth is currently $475 million.

“We’re going through some hard times. Let’s see how tough and resilient we are.” – Eddie Jordan

“Really! Not Micheal Jordan’s Brother” — Noa Pharaoh

Kobe Bryant

$500 Million

Does Kobe eat steak?

Kobe Bryant is an American former professional basketball player. He played all 20 seasons of his career in the NBA with the LA Lakers, and holds the record for longest number of seasons with one team.

Kobe Bryant’s net worth is $500 million, putting him on this list of the richest athletes worldwide. His entrepreneurship journey will surely only add to this figure in the future.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.” – Kobe Bryant

“Three truths and a Lie” — Noa Pharaoh

Floyd Mayweather

$560 Million

Boxers love to blow their money on exotic animals. How many llamas do you think Floyd have? The animal not the Dalai (lama)

Boxing great Mayweather reportedly pulled in well over $200 million for his fight last summer with UFC champion Conor McGregor, bringing his gross career earnings in the ring up past a mind-blowing $1 billion.

Despite Mayweather’s remarkable 50-0 record as a pro boxer, he has one memorable loss—a controversial decision in the semifinals of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Some say that Mayweather was robbed of a gold medal (he wound up getting the bronze), and that the loss has motivated him to push for perfection in the boxing ring for years to come. His net worth has been estimated at $560 million.

“You hear certain things, negative things, all the time that aren’t true, but you never hear about the positive.” – Floyd Mayweather

“What?” — Noa Pharaoh

Roger Staubach

$600 Million

WOW

Roger Staubach is a former American football quarterback in the NFL.

Staubach joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1969 and played for them for all 11 seasons of his career. He was with the team for five Super Bowls, four of them as the starting quarterback.

Roger Staubach’s net worth is estimated at $600 million

“Confidence doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a result of something… hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication.” – Roger Staubach

“Let me hold a dollar” — Noa Pharaoh

Magic Johnson

$600 Million

MF I’m Magic Johnson!

Basketball icon Earvin “Magic” Johnson briefly retired from the NBA in 1991 after announcing he contracted the HIV virus, but went on to serve memorably as co-captain of the legendary original “Dream Team” in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Alongside co-captain Larry Bird, plus Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, and other NBA Hall of Famers, the team easily won the gold medal.

After basketball, the five-time NBA champion became a highly successful entrepreneur at the helm of Magic Johnson Enterprises, a $1 billion investing conglomerate with partnerships with Sony Pictures and Starbucks, among others. Johnson is also a co-owner of baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, and the MLS’s Los Angeles Football Club. His net worth is estimated at around $600 million.

“Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.” – Magic Johnson

MF I’m Magic Johnson — Noa Pharaoh as Magic Johnson on “Why So Serious Sports” Podcast

Tiger Woods

$740 million.

Tiger Woods is an American professional golfer, and one of the most popular and notorious golfers of all time.

He is also one of the highest paid athletes in the world on a yearly basis, which probably explains how he was able to make it onto this list of the richest worldwide.

Tiger Wood’s net worth is estimated to be $740 million.

“I get to play golf for a living. What more can you ask for – getting paid for doing what you love.” – Tiger Woods

“For Shizzle” — Dave Chappelle as Tiger Woods.

Michael Schumacher

$800 Million

Give us hugs

Michael Schumacher is a German former race car driver in the Formula One. If you can only name one Formula One driver, it’s probably Schumacher.

He is regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. He is also the only driver in history to win seven Formula One World Championships, five of which he won consecutively.

Michael Schumacher’s net worth is $800 million, making him the 4th richest athlete in the world.

“When you start out in a team, you have to get the teamwork going and then you get something back.” – Michael Schumacher

*Singing* “You’ve got a fast car

I wanna ticket to anywhere

Maybe we can make a deal

Maybe together we can get somewhere — Michael Schumacher

Michael Jordan

$1.7 Billion

The Charlotte Hornets WOAT owner (Worst of all time).

Jordan, usually recognized as the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time) led the U.S. Basketball team to gold medals in two Olympics, as a college player in 1984 and later as the reigning NBA regular season and Finals MVP in 1992. He is best known as the greatest basketball player in history—a six-time NBA title winner and 10-time NBA scoring champion—as well as the name behind the most powerful brand in basketball sneakers.

According to Forbes, over the years Jordan has earned a pre-tax total of $1.3 billion in sponsorships, with the lion’s share coming from Nike and the iconic Air Jordan brand. Jordan also has lucrative endorsement deals with brands like Gatorade and Hanes, and the North Carolina native is a part-owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. His net worth is estimated at $1.4 billion.

Michael Jordan’s net worth is estimated to be $1.7 billion in 2019, making him one of the richest athletes in the world.

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” –Michael Jordan

So like the rest of us Jordan too has no memory of the Wizards years — Noa Pharaoh

Ion Tiriac

$2 Billion

SURPRISE!

Forget that beer commercial. Ion Tiriac could truly be the world’s interesting man.

A national hero in Romania, which he represented as a member of the ice hockey team at the 1964 Winter Olympics, Tiriac became a top-10-ranked professional tennis player in the 1970s—and later, a wealthy business manager for sports stars like Boris Becker.

Tiriac then pushed beyond sports to gain status as a global entrepreneur, with investments that include stakes in insurance companies, auto dealerships, and petroleum distribution. He even owns a museum in Romania, the Tiriac Collection, which displays his personal cars, including several Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, and Ferraris. According to Forbes, Tiriac’s net worth is $1.32 billion,

“I have every single Ferrari that came out. I have all the Mercedes they came out with, all the Jaguars they came out with, all the Porsches they came out with.” – Ion Tiriac

“I have all of the Flavor Aid that came out.” — Noa Pharaoh

Vince McMahon

$2.2 Billion

…

Vince McMahon is an American former professional wrestler. He is currently the majority owner, chairman and CEO of WWE. McMahon took control of the company from his father in the 1980’s.

Vince’s net worth is an incredible $2.2 billion, and although the majority of that net worth came from his success with the WWE company, that doesn’t take away from his professional wrestling success.

“I’m not afraid of failing. I don’t like to fail. I hate to fail. But I’m not afraid of it.” – Vince McMahon

“I’m afraid of twins” — Noa Pharaoh

https://www.instagram.com/thepharaohking/