In a recent Forbes report, it has been revealed that the influence and impact of LIV Golf have lined the pockets of some of the elite golfers even more, with the Saudi-backed series increasing the earnings of the top ten golfers by an estimated $370 million since June. This brings the combined amount to a record $650 million.
For those unsure on what Forbes is, it is essentially a business magazine that features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing. It famously releases lists and rankings on wealth and power etc.
Publishing an online piece titled 'The World's Highest-Paid Golfers 2022', Phil Mickelson tops the pile. The 52-year-old will pick up an projected $200 million, half of which he has likely received upfront, Forbes states.
Thus far, over the past year, the six-time Major winner has pulled in a reported $138 million, making him the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2022. He even beat footballer, Lionel Messi, who raked in a jaw-dropping $130 million!
Mickelson crossed $1 billion in career earnings thanks to his LIV Golf deal
Such is the impact of LIV Golf, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s $620 billion (assets) sovereign wealth fund, that Dustin Johnson ranks as the fifth-highest-paid athlete in the world.
The 38-year-old pocketed a reported $97 million in the last year, including an estimated $62 million signing bonus from LIV Golf in May. Whilst playing on the PGA Tour, he made $74,897,059 in career earnings.
Another LIV golfer who has seen a rise up the leaderboard in terms of pay is Bryson DeChambeau, with the American reportedly getting a guaranteed $125 million from the LIV Golf, half of which Forbes estimates he received upfront.
As a result, the 28-year-old takes the final podium spot, with $86 million over the past 12 putting him 11th in the highest-paid athlete list, ahead of seven-time Super Bowl winner, Tom Brady.
Tiger and Rory rank fifth and sixth on the list
Sitting in fourth is Brooks Koepka, with the first non-LIV golfer appearing in fifth. Who could that possibly be you may ask? Well, unsurprisingly, it's Tiger Woods. Previously, the 15-time Major winner was once the world’s highest-paid athlete ten years running, but now, after total earnings of $68 million, he just cracks the top five.
To round off the top 10, we see two other non-LIV golfers in sixth and eighth respectively: Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. The other three players included on the list are Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and World No. 121 Charl Schwartzel, the winner of the very first LIV Golf event.
Check out the full breakdown below:
- Phil Mickelson - On Course $102 million - Off Course $36 million - $138 million
- Dustin Johnson - On Course $68 million - Off Course $29 million - $97 million
- Bryson DeChambeau - On Course $66 million - Off Course $20 million - $86 million
- Brooks Koepka - On Course $53 million - Off Course $16 million - $69 million
- Tiger Woods - On Course $43,500 - Off Course $68 million - $68 million
- Rory McIlroy - On Course $9 million - Off Course $34 million - $43 million
- Sergio Garcia - On Course $35 million - Off Course $7 million - $42 million
- Jordan Spieth - On Course $8 million - Off Course - $31 million - $39 million
- Patrick Reed - On Course $34 million - Off Course - $3 million - $37 million
- Charl Schwartzel - On Course $30 million - Off Course - $4 million - $34 million
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